Leadership and Motivation
When people are asked to think about their best line manager they often cite the same range of characteristics. Our best leaders and managers show a genuine interest in us as individuals; they empower us, encourage us, and push us out of our comfort zone. They have positive expectations of us; they trust us, defend us and are there when we need their support. They are also honest, consistent and competent professionals who set a strong example for how to behave.
In her studies of Transformational Leadership Professor Alimo Metcalfe demonstrated how this People-Focused style of leadership transforms human performance. Not only does it have the ability to increase our motivation, confidence and productivity, it positively affects how stressed we feel. No wonder we feel so lucky when we find ourselves working for one of these people. We will often remember their impact on us throughout our career
Imagine if all our leaders could have such an positive impact? How much more successful would we all be? The good news is that transformational leadership is a learned skill - sure, it comes a little easier to some than others, but every leader at every level can improve. It simply needs an insight into what is required, a willingness to practice and of course a great line manager to support us.
If you would like more information on how to harness the benefits of People-Focused Leadership in yourself or your organization, please contact me here.
Communication and Engagement
Unlike computers and machinery, human beings exert discretionary effort over their work. We all know that there are days when we feel inspired and productive and others when we are a little off our game. Sometimes this is down to how interesting the work is or how motivated and alert we feel as individuals. More often than not, however, it is down to how respected, trusted and confident our employer makes us feel.
The Engage for Success research conducted by David Mcleod demonstrated how critical employee engagement is for increasing our discretionary effort. In turn this positively affects all manner of organizational outcomes from productivity and profitability to improved creativity, risk management, quality and service.
At the very core of such engagement is effective communication. Do we have a shared pupose that people feel personally invested in? Do we all have a say in how the organization operates and progresses? Do line managers build respectful and trusting relationships which increase confidence and competence?
If you would like more information on how you can evaluate and improve the levels of effective communication and employee engagement in your organization, please contact me here.
Resilience and Wellbeing
The pace of change within organizations is ever increasing. We can no longer expect a period of stability before the next phase of disruption occurs. It is never-ending, over-lapping and multi-faceted. The problem this presents is that human beings are most resilient in the face of acute stress followed by a period of rest, not when it is chronic and continual. As a result individuals are suffering from higher levels of stress related conditions than ever before and our organizations are taking a hit on absence, retention and lowered productivity.
We cannot avoid change or hold back progress. Our only option is to build our personal and organizational resilience towards it. Psychologists have long studied why some people cope better than others and their resilience skills are key.
If you would like more information on how you, your team or your organization can build resilience and maintain motivation in the face of turbulance, please contact me here.