100+ Brilliant Ways To Motivate Staff In A Recession
As times are getting harder, managers have been re-evaluating how they motivate their workforce. At Leader House, we’ve put together this comphrehensive collection of motivation tips & tricks to help managers increase their employee’s productivity in this tough economic climate. Most of the tips don’t involve spending a penny, and the ones that do will create far more value than you spent, meaning they’re perfect to use during a recession.
One final point to make before we embark on this list, is that you should consider this a ’sweet shop’ of motivation tips, i.e. you should only pick a few and certainly not attempt to implement them all. There’s nothing worse than being sandblasted by motivational techniques.
Policy
1. One-on-One coaching - People appreciate learning directly from their senior on an individual basis. It helps them remember what they learn, and ask any questions they wish to help form a deep understanding of their work.
2. Training - In general, training is one of the most empowering tools a company can offer it’s employees. Subsquently all large companies invest heavily in training and enjoy the long term payoff.
3. Clear Career Path – Staff are better motivated when they can see where they should be in 3 years time if they work hard. The more barriers between them and promotion that cannot be solved by hard work will only demotivate.
4. Safe Work Environment – Maslow theorised that safety is one of the fundemental pillars of motivation, and that a safe work environment is necessary for all other motivating factors (such as self esteem) to start having a positive effect.
5. Executive Recognition - A congratulatory conference call from the CEO or visit from the finance director will do well to swell the chests of your workforce with pride and admiration for their work.
6. Time off - Motivated employees will not gladly take time off, however a generous time-off system needs to be in place to create motivated employees. Staff are likely to work harder and longer with the safety and knowledge that should they need time off due to stress, they could take it.
7. Encourage employees to praise good work of their fellow colleagues – Build a feedback procedure whereby collegues regularly pass comment on each others work, or team mates share their opinions after completing a major task. Feedback such as this helps reduce infighting and will give many people tips on how to improve their work.
8. Be sympathetic to personal problems – Offer generous time off for those who suffer bereavement. In most cases it won’t be taken, but the gesture will improve relations between managers and staff.
9. Keep your door open – An open office encourages the open share of ideas. You want to remove any barriers to communication, and a closed door certainly constitutes a barrier.
10. Allow flexible working hours - Allowing employees to manage their own time so they can participate in outside work-related activities won’t make their hours shorter. Employees who would take time off to see their child’s sports day will likely ‘pay back’ the favour by working longer hours afterwards.
11. Have annual or quarterly reviews – These are where an employee goes through some targets and review points with another member of staff who is not directly above them, and is more of a guidance counsellor than a boss.This will allow them to discuss important long term career topics that will feed their desire to work.
12. Let your employees choose their own lunch break- Unless your company happens to be a food outlet, it really doesn’t matter whether your employee takes their lunch at 11:30 or 2pm, so don’t attempt to force them to stick to a routine.
13. Forward information to staff after management meetings - A quick debriefing will increase their sense of involvement.
14. Rotate job roles – More appropriate for manufaturing, the rotation of job roles has been proven many times to increase employee productivity, despite the decrease in specialisation. This technique can be applied to any low to medium skilled jobs with a powerful effect. Multi-skilled workers also make life easier for your HR department.
15. Provide quarterly updates on relevant business and customer issues – many members of staff aspire to be senior management in the future, and will thrive on being kept in the loop when it comes to high-level business infomation.
16. Give an incentive to get employees to work earlier in the morning - I’ve learnt from experience that if a salary-based employee gets to work an hour earlier, it is likely they will work until their usual finishing time.
17. Support charity work within the company – Donate 1 or 2 days of charity work per year to good causes. This will help your business get into the local media and make staff feel like they’re a part of a responsible company.
18. Address the environment issue – While we’re on the subject of responsibility, it’s worth noting that employees prefer working for a company with green credentials, so setting a carbon reduction/ energy efficiency/ recycling intiative will help enthuse the workforce.
19. Give your employees choice over their uniform – Often a business casual work dress code makes employees feel more independent than full suit and tie – which is often not necessary in an office environment.
20. Obey confidentiality – A manager who pretends to care about his employees but simply laughs and bitches about them behind their back will loose all respect and credibility extremely quickly.
Freebies
21. Offer stress management/counselling services – These services are easy to outsource and admitedly are very rarely used. But the availability of such a service increases moral without costing you a penny.
22. Use gimmicks - Give out novetly ‘trophy’ style items for exceptional work. For example, give a LP record for an employee breaking a record.
23. Bring in sweets to share out on random days – This is a cheap technique that will improve the relationship between management and the workforce.
24. Give out tickets to cultured events such as theatres and music shows.
25. Send a company T-shirt or hat to the employee’s child(ren).
26. Walk around with free lunch coupons - Hand out on the spot.
27. Give workers a surprise for their work area - A desk organizer, a picture or poster, a new mouse pad even. Any new gift will be an interesting novelty.
28. Give a subscription to a work-related periodical - This is an interesting gift that shows your commitment to their professional development.
29. Buy lottery tickets or scratch cards for people on an irregular basis.
30. Hand out classic self help literature and excellant leadership books – Hand these out to entire departments at a time, or they may feel that you’re indirectly critisising them. Success literature can really inspire employees to work harder – but be wary of the core message of the book. Many of these books encourage workers to quit their 9-5 jobs.
Behaviour
31. Give recognition – Every worker wishes wants to be ‘known’ by those above them, so talk about your workers to your managing collegues and ensure that none of your subordinates go un-noticed.
32. Give Attention – To be distinguished from recognition. Recognition is the long term awareness that boosts self esteem, whereas attention is a short term devotion of time that will keep employees on task and able to voice concerns as early as possible.
33. Applause - Because sometimes words just aren’t enough.
34. Always carry a smile – I once knew a senior manager who famously was never seen with a negative expression on his face. This sort of reputation really inspired subordinates such as myself, and completely stands again the cynicism and sarcasm that exist in workplaces across the country.
35. ‘Manage by wandering around’ – Rather than calling employees to your office, go and visit them yourself. This is a sign of respect and reduces the interuptive impact you have on your team.
36. Listening to employee efficiency suggestions – And more importantly you should be acting on as many as possible, even the petty suggestions. This way you build up credibility in the system, leading to more important, significant proposals to be put forward in the future.
37. Lead by example and follow through with what you say. Just as following through with suggestion box comments you build credibility in the system, if you follow through with your own promises, you build credibility in the system of management as a whole.
38. Ask! - Ask the employees what they want from you.
39. Listen! – Listen to what employees have to say about YOU and what you can personally improve upon.
40. Add a personal touch by going out of your way to inconvenience yourself to please a member of staff. Just the occasional gesture in a busy period can be enough to remove that employees doubt over whether you have their best interests at heart.
41. Understand employee behaviour - Often a negative attitiude or behaviour is a direct response to bad controls/procedures that you can correct or change.
42. Write thankyou notes fairly regularly – These notes only take a second, and will float around for a long time, making the employee feel proud.
43. Actively make a point to speak to every member of staff each day. This doesn’t need to be a major catch up, but just enough so that you’re maintaining a good working relationship, and they would feel comfortable in coming to you when they’re struggling.
44. Ask employees “What can I do to help you with your job?”. You may surprised at the responses and ideas you get in return. A little help like this can sometimes be more effect than formal leadership coaching or leadership training.
45. Get your hands dirty with your staff - Learn about the good and bad aspects of their day to day work. Only through understanding what their day actually entails will you be able to see what would motivate and enthuse this person to work more effectively.
46. Show the courage to let your employees learn from their mistakes - Don’t jump on their error and shout at them, as they will already feel embarassed enough. Managers often destroy many hours of work building up trust and enthusiasm by loosing control and shouting at workers when things go badly. Nothing destroys intrinsic motivation quite as quickly as raving tyrant.
47. Show great confidence in relying on subordinates expertise in areas that you have none – Trusting in the skills of others is a sign of a great leader. It will improve the confidence of others as well as take some weight and responsibility off your shoulders.
48. Stand behind your employees and back their decisions - Similar to relying on a subordinates’ expertise, this will improve their view of their own skills, and benefit you in the long run.
49. If you have many employees with the same job title, give them a list of the tasks that need doing and let them divide the work up among themselves. It reduces the feeling of ‘meddling manegement’ and allows for more efficient work allocation - as people are more likely to take on jobs that they’re personally good at.
50. Don’t be a pushover - While nearly every employee would love to have a soft manager, they would also admit that it is because they would do less work. Be clear with orders and don’t allow yourself to be fobbed off with excuses.
Financial Incentives
51. Arrange discounts for them at local stores to increase loyalty
52. Offer rewards for great ideas. If it saves money or brings in business, give the employee a percentage of the savings or profit. – entreprenial atttiude.
53. Send $10, $25 or more to a spouse with a thank-you note for his or her support during the employee’s overtime.
54. Pay an employees rent for a month - This will take the weight of their shoulders more than a simple cheque would. Give your employee piece of mind.
55. Pay for the tutoring of an employee’s child - This is a generous ‘donation’ that will really help establish true loyalty and admiration for the company.
56. Give employees who recruit new workers a cash bonus.
57. Sponsor membership in a professional group for your employee.
58. Surprise your staff with a new challenege out of the blue – Give your employees 2 weeks to increase their sales by 15% for a 5% salary bonus reward and watch how they suddenly start looking at their work in a whole different way.
59. Move your staff onto more heavy commission based salaries – This brings employees personal goals in line with those of a sales department. A word of warning – make sure the variable upon which the commission is based is what you truely want. Because staff will often chase that commission at the expense of others goals such as customer satisfaction and quality of service.
60. Give out gift vouchers as a way of rewarding individuals for a good job on a specific task – Amounts of £50 are respectable but won’t break the bank. You can reserve these for when staff members have demonstrated working by company’s values, or have shown hard work.
61. Give generous staff discounts on products - This is a rather standard perk in the modern day, but its effect on employee morale must not be forgotten.
Activities
62. Pizza/Popcorn/Cookie Days - These really put a smile on alot of employees faces. Just hope that few people are on strict diets at the time!
63. External Seminars - These can be attended by individuals, teams or whole departments if they’r relevant. Trips to seminars, events and conferences can be a welcome break from work for staff, while actually still building their skills and adding value to the company.
64. Dress-down Days – Again, another motivational tool that has become a standard in all companies large and small. And why are they popular? Because it really does improve morale!
65. Leadership Teasers - Give employees a glimpse at what it is like to run a team, lead a division or speak in public. These positive ‘taster’ leadership sessions will really get them hooked onto their career track and really kick start leadership development.
66. Share letters of praise from customers with the member(s) of staff involved - A kind word from a customer not only gives effective feedback on the service at your organisation, but it also warms the hearts and motivates the staff who read the mark of appreciation. These are so effective that I would suggest you contact customers to ask for feedback.
67. Have a family day - Perhaps on the last day before a public holiday, you could arrange for staff to bring their children to work. As well as lightening the atmosphere of the workplace, it also helps create harmony and understanding between workers, as they come to understand more about each other and what they’re like as a family person.
68. Go to lunch with each one of your employees on a quarterly basis – Ask the question, “What do we need to do to keep you with us?”
69. Invite employees to your home for a special event - This gives you the opportunity to recognise them in front of their spouses and co-workers. Obviously only suitable for small businesses or departments, this activity is a rare but powerful one.
70. Let them attend a meeting in your place – As well as giving temporary empowerment to your staff, letting them sit in or replace you in a meeting also will increase their understanding of what pressures you are under and what you need from them.
71. Let them “sit-in” with an upper level person for part of a day – Similar to the leadership taster, this shadowing of senior management is more appropriate for junior members of staff. Middle management may feel uneasy about taking a perceived ’step back’ into the activity of shadowing.
72. Involve them in a special project that allows for company exposure and visibility. Such as being written about in the news. All too often – these sorts of tasks are handled by only a couple of individuals who become desensitised to the novelty of being publically recognised. By rotating these sort of tasks round a larger number of employees, you are efficiently maximising the motivation gained from such a job position.
73. Let your employees craft the mission statement – More and more managers are discovering how effective this is as a motivational tool. It’s most powerful when absolutely every employee contributes torwards it’s creation. Without proper employee involvement – mission statements are simply empty rhetorical ‘wish lists’ of values and objectives put forward by the CEO.
74. Minature golf and other fun indoor activities - Fun golf courses, bowling alleys, Scalextric tacks and casino tables can be affordably hired in a recession as businesses cut back on novelty client entertainment and expenses. You can use this to your advantage by hiring such fun equipment to become the centrepiece of a project-end event. Having something fun to look forward to at the end of each major project will have a motivational effect.
75. Team building days out – In a similar fashion, outdoor activity courses and events can also be used to keep your staff happy and promote good team leadership.
76. Hand out awards - Prizes for awards such as ‘best team player’, ‘best attitude’ etc should be also accompanied by humourous ‘caffeine addict’, ‘chief photocopier person’ and other quirky awards.
77. Run short term target-based competitions between staff for freebies or bonuses. But ensure a level playing field or you’ll only create frustration and conflict!
78. Take your employees to the cinema. Cinemas offer cheap corporate deals and will cater well for your employees. Picking the right film is tricky though!
79. Promote the creation of company sports teams – These will help build ties across departments. Encourage recruitment from all areas, rather than simply being teams of cliques.
Other
80. Develop a Wall of Fame to share letters of praise and similar with everyone in the office – Put it near the photocopier for maximum exposure.
81. Create personalised rewards – everyone values different types of rewards more than others. Some workers prefer time off, others prefer cash, so ask people which they’d prefer before setting up any bonus or reward scheme.
82. Additional Responsibility – While you may grimace at the idea of being given ‘another’ batch of responsibility, a more junior member of staff may actually jump at the thought. Start leadership programmes that give subordinates that opportunity at stepping up.
83. When pay cheques are sent out, always write a note on the envelope recognizing an employee’s accomplishment(s).
84. Try to remove all the cynical and sarcastic posters & slogans from around the office. They provide a cheap giggle but demoralise staff. A quick example of short term benefit, long term pain.
85. Remember birthdays with a simple birthday card, mini cake or gift.
86. Take out an advertisement in a local paper and include your star employees’ names and pictures in the feature.
87. Speak truthfully and transparently – All employees have a good skill at knowing when they’re being lied to, so don’t even attempt to pull the wool over their eyes. Learn from Obama – he didn’t try to tell America that the economic was just a ‘little’ bit under-the-weather; he told it how it was. Rather than trying to cover up the failings in a company, instead emphasise how you are going to solve it, and employees will reward you with hard work.
88. Increase your employees span of control – this decreases costs and motivates them if they’re the type that crave control and authority.
89. Remind people of what drives them to do what they do. Allow pictures of family and other such drivers to be strewn around the office, and talk to them about their family, their dreams for the future and desires. You can use their dreams to motivate them easily.
90. Pin up genuine motivational posters etc around the office. These motivational quotes really do inspire some people.
91. Get your employees to replace their default screen saver with a playful ‘Get off your butt and back to work’ message that they’ve typed themselves.
92. Let employees give new recruits on-the-job training - It’ll show them how much they’ve grown as an employee in your company and leave them feeling senior and skilled.
93. Make sure you know everyones name in the office - whether they’re in your span of control or not.
94. Ensure free coffee is available. Caffeine or hot chocolate will always help!
95. Have a bowl of fresh fruit for employees to snack on – The women especially will appreciate this nice gesture, yet it only costs a tiny amount per day.
96. Make sure the service staff (cleaners, janitor, receptionist) greet staff throughout the day, rather than simply trying to be invisible.
97. Play the occasional tasteful practical joke
98. Invite in a motivational speaker to talk to your staff - These speakers often charge high fees however, so ensure that their key messages concern long lasting motivation rather than a ‘fad-like’ short term buzz that will fade as the speaker slips from memory.
99. Give your team a cool team name - Admittedly easier said than done.
100. Ensure that all members of staff feel that they are the best at at least one task - This will give them a ‘place’ in the organisation and make them feel important.
101. Finally - Share this blog post with other managers in your organisation!
Phew! We’re done! If you found this article as helpful as I enjoyed making it, then please use some of the neat buttons below to help share this motivational advice across the world!
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The Effective Habits Of Very Successful Entrepreneurs
April 29, 2009 by admin
Filed under Leadership
Entrepreneurs are some of the most successful individuals in society – but not simply because they’re lucky
Entrepreneurs are some of the most powerful individuals in society. Not simply because they”re wealthy. But because the habits they have ensure they”re successful in whatever they do. Have a look at the list of habits below and see which ones you share with incredibly successful business leaders, managers, team leaders and entrepreneurs world-wide!
Entrepreneurs…
1 – Have a Hatred for Sleep
You”ll find most entrepreneurs NEVER lie in (unless they”re on holiday of course). While you lie-in, you”re not doing your body any good, and you”re literally sat there watching your productivity plummet. Taking a break is nice. But that?s what your 8 hours of sleep is for. Anymore and you just won”t cut it as a business leader.
2 – Possess a True Willingness to Delegate
While I”m sure you think delegation is something you could get very used to; in practise its a tough decision. Imagine yourself as the bride in your first wedding. Would you happily delegate all the decisions to a wedding planner? Of course you wouldn”t. ”My wedding day is far too important to let someone else potentially mess it up. Surely they won”t give it as much attention and care as you would. It simply isn”t worth the risk.”
This might be appropriate for a wedding, but most people experience the same feeling when delegating any important work. A successful leader simply places confidence in those beneath them, and let experts do what they do best, leaving the entrepreneur do what they do best – Leading!
3 – Pursue Opportunities Fiercely
The difference between a successful entrepreneur and a normal individual. Is that when they both see a business opportunity. They react differently. A normal individual may actually consider it, and have a look at their bank account… maybe plan the possibility of leaving their job. However by this point, the entrepreneur will have already organised a team to begin!
4 – Demonstrate Proactivity
Business Leaders do not wait for opportunities to slip onto their lap. They partake in extensive research (or pay someone else to) to always make sure they have some new directions to be exploring. They”re never happy staying in the same place, and are always looking for the next big thing.
5 – Are Optimistic
You may think – “There are pro’’s and con’’s here… lets weigh it up”
The successful business leader thinks – “Those pro’’s are worth enough to pursue this, we”ll cope with the cons later.”
Being optimistic is a crucial habit for entrepreneurs, because it’’s the only way to deal with the amount of risk these people take on! Would you risk your year?s salary in order to make more money next year? Many wouldn”t, and that’’s why successful entrepreneurs aren”t common.
6 – Are Never Afraid To Invest In Themselves
In a different approach, smart entrepreneurs have often sought out useful leadership books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and leadership. These days, most tend to be rather disappointing, but I’m pleased to point you torwards one e-course that is still respected by leadership professionals such as myself: The 11 Forgotten Laws. I consider it as an essential ‘crash course’ in the principles you need to know to further your leadership & career and even help find happiness in other areas of your life.
7 – Are Obsessed with Attention to Detail
Everything has to be perfect. Competition is so fierce in today’’s business world that you can”t afford to do a half job. A successful businessperson won”t go home until the job is done 110%. This is how profits are made and how a small venture can explode into a multi-million dollar success.
How to Inspire People: Part 2 – Appeal to their Competitiveness
April 28, 2009 by admin
Filed under Leadership
Enthusiasm and inspiration are very powerful motivational states. What’s even better is they’re completely free! A culture of inspiration, innovation and creativity has been proven capable of turning a company’s fortune right around, showing it to be a key leadership skill. If you’ve ever wished to learn how to motivate people to work with you effectively, read on for part 2 of my series on inspiring others.
2. Appeal to their competitiveness. Humans are competitive beings. Naturally we have to compete for life partners and a salary, but we also have to compete for the best education, the most enjoyable job or even the last doughnut in the shop! We all have a competitive spirit within, and this can be used by leaders to motivate others into performing brilliantly. As a leader, you simply have to set the challenge. Give the individual a high standard to try and meet, or compare them with another whom they wish to beat. Once the challenge has been set, nature takes over and hard work will follow.
Back in my sixth-form college I remember a conversation with my business teacher very well. The exam results from the first round of examinations had just been released and I found out I had achieved full marks on my business exam. Only a few minutes into the following class, my teacher called me to his desk and said the following words to me sincerely;
“I’ve known your results for 2 days, and couldn’t wait to talk to you. They’re Fantastic! About 3 years ago there was a girl in my class who did brilliantly in her exams; she was a bit arrogant and up herself though, but ended up getting full marks in her whole A Level anyway. She’s the only person to have ever to have done that in this college, but I honestly think that you could achieve that too, without being an arrogant individual! It’d be good to see a well-rounded student manage to do it as well.”
What a perfect demonstration of leadership. He had set me a challenge to try and complete. Was I now going to slack off in class and become complacent on the back of just one good grade? Of course not. I was going to try and beat that ‘undeserving’ girl; I was driven to get full marks without being ‘arrogant’ or unkind about it. It followed that during 2 year course I put in a tremendous amount of effort for that class and came out with an excellent grade. Who was I to prove him wrong in believing I could do this? My teacher had given me a good reputation and a challenge; a challenge that I was too competitive to ruin. He also gave me a chance to prove I was not only an academic equal, but more deserving than this unpleasant person. It was a perfect combination of challenges that had one desired result = complete dedication on my part.
Examples of challenges
- Setting a clear objective for the person to be achieved – A personal challenge.
- Creating a positive reputation for the person to uphold – A reputational challenge
- Challenging the person to beat a rival and giving them an honourable reason for doing so – A rival challenge
- Casually mention that you wouldn’t expect someone of the person’s level to normally be able to acheive the specific goal, but that they could be different. – A peer group challenge
In a different approach to motivate competitive teammates, leaders have often sought out useful leadership books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and leadership. These days, many e-courses tend to be rather disappointing, but I’m pleased to point you torwards one e-course that is still respected by leadership professionals such as myself: The 11 Forgotten Laws. It’s generally seen as an essential and core ‘crash course’ in the laws and secrets you need to know to further your leadership & career and even help find happiness in other areas of your life. Its an excellent base upon which you can build your personal development.
The lesson from a leadership perspective is clear. If you can set your own friends or team-mates challenges in such a way, you too could fill them with a clear sense of purpose, and a focus that could only emerge from that nature competitive spirit that has inspired and motivated humanity throughout the ages.
Inspiring Other People: Part 3 – Radiate with Enthusiasm
April 28, 2009 by admin
Filed under Leadership
Its obvious that enthusiasm and inspiration are a key factors in the success of our careers, love lives and hobbies. What’s even clearer is that they are states of mind that are largely affected by ourselves, and those we spend time with. This is why to succeed at improving your leadership skills, you must understand how to inspire your collegues. Part 3 of my inspiration series explores how your own attitude has an effect on the inspiration of others, and will show you how to take advantage of this.
3. Radiate with enthusiasm. Can you really expect your team mates to feel enthused and motivated if you, their leader, is apathetic and cynical? Of course not. People hate following hypocrites, and will tend to avoid working for them at all costs. You must be, or at least appear to be fully behind your mission in order to gain followers.
For your toughest task or goal, you will want everybody to contribute towards the common purpose in order for it be the biggest success it can be. Therefore a lack of enthusiasm on your part will harm the team just as much as if it was a subordinate slacking or showing apathy. Expecting unwaivering dedication from your friends when you slack at every opportunity is unrealistic to the core, and will only result in failure.
In a smart approach to inspire teammates, leaders have often sought out useful leadership books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and leadership. These days, many e-courses tend to be rather disappointing, but I’m pleased to point you torwards one e-course that is still respected by leadership professionals such as myself: The 11 Forgotten Laws. It’s generally seen as an essential and core ‘crash course’ in the laws and secrets you need to know to further your leadership & career and even help find happiness in other areas of your life. Its an excellent base upon which you can build your personal development.
You’ll find all the motivation tips and articles you need on Leader House, so you have few excuses if you cannot rise to the occasion and motivate yourself for the task in hand. If you truely cannot inspire yourself to work as hard as you would expect others to, you’re in the wrong job, or have chosen the wrong path. Increasing your leadership skill is a sincere and genuine process, not a superficial attempt to make your life easier. Insincere attempts to simply manipulate others will only arouse resentment amongst those you try to lead. If you’re in the situation where you have to pretend to be enthused; you really need to think about changing your career or current direction because it is unlikely that you will never feel truely happy on your current path.
Provided you are genuinely enthusiastic within yourself, you will find this will pervade the culture of your team or group of friends; spreading through them at a dizzying rate. Provided you talk in terms of their ambitions and set a personal challenge, you will begin to see enthusiasm bubble out of your collegues like champagne from the bottle!
Bringing Together The Inspiration Series:
- 1. Talk to their dreams
2. Appeal to their competitiveness
3. Radiate with enthusiasm
Leadership Quotes
April 28, 2009 by admin
Filed under Leadership
Quotes can be pretty influential on our life. Little did we know that just a few strings of words could really make a difference in our life. There are quotes on friendship, relationship, leadership, success and many others that can be pretty inspiring and impactful on us. But is it true that quotes on leadership can make you be a real leader?
Some people are still skeptical regarding the hidden potential of the leadership quotes. You are definitely not to be blamed if you are one of them.
Quotes actually serves more than just the purpose of inspiring someone. These quotes are actually very useful tool in offices and schools. Good quotes on leadership are the ones that are able to move you. Not all quotes can be inspiring as such it is important that you choose one that is able to leave an impact on you after you finish reading it.
As well as use leadership quotes, effective leaders have never been afraid to invest in themselves, and have often sought out useful leadership books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and leadership. These days, many e-courses tend to be rather disappointing, but I’m pleased to recommend one e-course that is still respected by leadership professionals such as myself:
The 11 Forgotten Laws
. It’s generally seen as an essential and core ‘crash course’ in the laws and secrets you need to know to further your leadership & career and even help find happiness in other areas of your life. Its an excellent base upon which you can build your personal development.
Quotes comes in all length and personally, I would prefer the ones that are short and to the point. Succinct and to the point – that should be your ideal quote.
But why use quotes? Well, quotes are actually great sources of inspiration when you are down in the dumps. Quotes on leadership can give back the life in you and spur up all determination to lead again.
Being a leader is not an easy task and that is why you will definitely got to have all it takes to be one. Quotes of leadership are just like your back up support that reminds you of who you are and what exactly do you do in life.
“A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.” -Dwight David Eisenhower
Quotes such as this helps to remind you of certain traits or qualities that might have brushed past you while you were leading. Humor, decisiveness, care and concern towards fellow co-workers are just some of the attributes that these quotes posses to keep you reminded of your role and responsibility as the leader.
But the question is, does this quote really work as well as it should do? As aforementioned, not all quotes are worth remembering. Some quotes are just too long winded such that you lost the meaning halfway through reading it. Just choose one of your favorites and know it like it’s the back of your hand.
These quotes are just like positive affirmations that get registered into your brain if you keep on repeating it to yourself. This is a good thing of course as over time, you will realize that you will soon base your leadership on the set of leadership qualities that are said within the quote. As such, it will definitely be handy to know a few quotes.
You do not need to memorize the thick book of quotes just because you think that with more quotes you memorize, the better you will be. Unfortunately it does not work that way. Quotes are meant to the left as it is, and not as a bible that you should read and remember by hard. Quotes on leadership and management can make you be a real leader indeed.
Go grab a quote and make it yours today!
The Ultimate Guide to Transformational Leadership
April 27, 2009 by admin
Filed under Leadership
Transformational leadership is leading by motivating. Transformational leaders provide extraordinary motivation by appealing to followers’ ideals and moral values and inspiring them to think about problems in new ways. These followers have felt trust, admiration, loyalty, and respect for them and were motivated to do more than they thought they could, or would do. In essence, transformational leaders make tomorrow’s dreams a reality for their followers.
Perhaps the most important characteristic that transformational users possess is their ability to create a vision that binds people to each other. Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a Dream” speech galvanized a generation to support the civil rights movement in the United States. But transformational leaders must have more than just a vision, “They also have to know which path to follow in order to attain it.” The followers are attracted to the vision and the leader has to have the plan to energize them to reach it.
All excellent transformational leaders regularly invest in themselves. Leaders have often sought out useful leadership books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and leadership. These days, many e-courses tend to be rather disappointing, but I’m pleased to recommend one e-course that is still respected by leadership professionals such as myself: The 11 Forgotten Laws. It’s generally seen as an essential and core ‘crash course’ in the laws and secrets you need to know to further your leadership & career and even help find happiness in other areas of your life. Its an excellent base upon which you can build your personal development.
Vision plays a crucial role and leaders who are totally committed to their vision and course of action are often called charismatic. Charismatic leaders have an unshakable belief in their mission, are confident for their success and have the ability/talent to convey these certainties to their followers. They are in turn, awarded with unquestioned loyalty and obedience.
In our society, we carry a common notion of the leader as a person with the vision, who then gets people to buy in, to align themselves with that vision. This notion is bankrupt and dangerous, because the leaders who have done well for their communities and organizations are not the ones who came up with the vision. If we picture them as the conductor of the orchestra, they are good at embodying the soul of the music. These leaders are good at articulating the transcendent values of the organization or the community. A leader’s vision has to have accuracy and not just appeal and imagination. Articulating a vision for an organization or community has to start with an awful lot of listening, a lot of stimulating of debate and conversation, to distill, to capture the values. It has to start, as well, with carefully diagnosing the current problematic environment to which one needs to adapt.
When changes in the environment occur slowly, usually managers fail to recognize them as threats to their organizations. To become aware of environmental changes, transformational leaders have to frame their vision by providing employees with a new purpose for working. Framing is a process through which leaders define the group’s purpose in highly meaningful terms. In organizations, framing often involves identifying the core values and purpose that should guide employees. For example, at Walt Disney the core purpose is simply “to make people happy.”
It’s certainly true that most excellent leaders regularly invest in themselves. Leaders have often sought out useful books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and leadership. These days, many e-courses tend to be rather disappointing, but I’m pleased to recommend one e-course that is still respected by leadership professionals such as myself: The 11 Forgotten Laws. It’s generally seen as an essential and core ‘crash course’ in the laws and secrets you need to know to further your leadership & career and even help find happiness in other areas of your life. Its an excellent base upon which you can build your personal development.
Impression management involves an attempt to control the impressions that others form about the leader through behaviors that make the leader more attractive and appealing to others. Impression sounds manipulative and sometimes is. On the other hand, it is also a natural and sincere expression that reveals to followers an alignment between the vision and the person. Integrity, for effective leaders is just that. Revealing how the message the followers hear is related to the personal experiences of the messenger. Telling a story or stating a clear example, can become a particularly effective way to manage impressions-according to some it is the essence of charisma.
With or without the authority, exercising leadership is risky and difficult. Instead of providing answers as a means of direction, sometimes the best you can do is provide questions, or face people with the hard facts, instead of protecting people from change. Often you need to make them feel the pinch of reality, otherwise why should they undergo a painful adaptive learning process? But, people often resist doing adaptive work and painful learning. They resist in a number of typical ways. If you want to lead others, you need to understand how to counteract these types of resistance.
Transformational leaders are more effective when the company is new or when its survival is threatened. The poorly structured problems that these organizations face call for leaders with vision, confidence, and determination. Such leaders must influence others to join enthusiastically in tem efforts and arouse their feelings about what they are attempting to do.
Leadership Qualities
April 27, 2009 by admin
Filed under Leadership
Webster says that leadership is “the position or function of a leader; the ability to lead; an act or instance of leading, guidance, direction.” Do you enjoy leading, guiding or directing? Do you look forward to making decisions that impact the lives of others? Would you rather give the responsibility for making choices to someone else? Most of us have been in a position of authority and all of us have met someone who possesses the qualities of an effective leader.
Being a leader is a difficult task especially if you are given responsibilities that you are not familiar with. If you accept this position, you are going to be scrutinized by how you act, the way you look and the way you talk. It is important to be conscious of your actions because the goal is to project an image of influence. Good leaders possess certain characteristics that can help them gain the respect and recognition of others.
Be A Good Example. The first concept is to lead by example. You need to work harder than those who surround you in order to gain their respect. Demonstrate your dedication by being early and staying late. Distinguish yourself through character and integrity when situations are difficult or they are not going your way. Go the extra mile for those who are in your circle of influence.
Be A Good Listener. The second quality of an effective leader is the ability to listen more and talk less. It is more important to listen to the issues that are being raised instead of expressing your opinion about them. Some individuals have the misconception that a good leader talks as much as possible. Effective leaders realize that listening provides them with a deeper understanding of the needs of those that surround them. It also gives them a greater insight into the issues that must be addressed.
Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself. All excellent leaders regularly invest in themselves – they realise that the payoff will always be positive in the long run. Leaders have often sought out useful leadership books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and leadership. These days, many e-courses tend to be rather disappointing, but I’m pleased to recommend one e-course that is still respected by leadership professionals such as myself: The 11 Forgotten Laws. It’s generally seen as an essential and core ‘crash course’ in the laws and secrets you need to know to further your leadership & career and even help find happiness in other areas of your life. Its an excellent base upon which you can build your personal development.
Be Concerned. The third concept for effective leadership is the ability to ask the appropriate questions. Analyzing information provides the opportunity to probe the concerns and issues that confront those around you. Express sincerity and as you examine the regards of others. Asking penetrating questions provides the possibility to discover the root causes of problems so that they can be addressed.
Be Decisive. The fourth quality of an effective leader is the ability to make decisions. Make a choice and stick to the plan. A conscientious leader will have options if the original solution is not working. With leadership comes the responsibility for making selections that affect the lives of others. If one has taken the input of those who surround them before making a decision, other considerations can be developed. It is important to examine all of the options thoroughly to avoid unnecessary mistakes and failures.
Not everyone wants to lead. If you are the owner of your home business, the head of your family or the director of a social group you are wearing the hat of a leader. Effective leadership is not necessarily an inherent quality. It can be learned and applied to the different areas of your life. Consider these four qualities as a foundation for developing your leadership skills.
“People never improve unless they look to some standard or example higher and better than themselves.”
John Fortner lives in Oregon and works from his home through his online pursuits. He is the owner of Best-Income Opportunities which offers free information and proven opportunities for creating work at home businesses. To learn more about this topic please visit his website at: http://www.best-incomeopportunities.com
Leadership Theories – The Ultimate Guide
April 26, 2009 by admin
Filed under Productivity
Many leadership theories have been suggested since time immemorial. Early leadership theories focused on the behaviour and qualities of successful leaders where as later theories gave more importance to the role of associates and followers. Some of the leadership theories are as follows:
Great Man Theory. According to Great Man theory, a leader is born and cannot be made. This theory believed that leaders are people who have inborn exceptional qualities and are destined to lead. Here the term “Man” is used since leadership was considered as a concept that would be primarily dominated by males. Great leaders would arise only when there is an urgent need of it. It also suggests that leadership qualities are inherent.
Trait Theory. According to Trait theory, few people are born with qualities that are suited to leaderships. People who transform into good leaders posses right combination of leadership qualities. Through this approach, people with such leadership qualities could be separated and then people with such qualities could be recruited or selected into leadership positions. This approach was commonly used in military and is even today used to recruit candidates for commission.
Self Investment Theory. From visiting organisations, I’ve found that the happiest employees and managers regularly invest in themselves and their personal leadership training. People have often sought out useful leadership books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and leadership. These days, many e-courses tend to be rather disappointing, but I’m pleased to recommend one e-course that is still respected by leadership professionals such as myself: The 11 Forgotten Laws. It’s generally seen as an essential and core ‘crash course’ in the laws and secrets you need to know to further your leadership & career and even help find happiness in other areas of your life. Its an excellent base upon which you can build your personal development.
Contingency Theory. This leadership theory focuses on variables that are related to environment and that would determine which style of leadership is suitable for a particular situation. It says that it is impossible to determine which leadership style will suit best for any situation. Success depends on qualities of followers and other variables.
Situational Theories. This theory suggests that on the basis of situational variable, leaders should choose the course of action. Diverse styles of leadership will me more suitable to make certain types of decisions
Behavioral Theories. This leadership theory believes that great leaders are not born but are made. The prime focus of this theory is on actions of leaders. The focus is not on internal states or mental qualities. This theory believes that people can become leaders through the process of teaching, learning and observation.
Participative Theory. This theory defines ideal leadership style. An ideal leadership style takes into consideration the input of its associates. Such leaders encourage contribution and participation from group members. The leader also has the right to say no to any suggestion of other team member.
Management Theories. This collection of leadership theories gives more importance to the role of organization, supervision and most importantly the group performance. This theory is based on the system of punishment and reward. Managerial theory is often used in many companies. When employee’s performance is very good, he or she is given a reward. If the employee’s performance decreases below a certain level, he or she is punished.
Relationship Theory. This theory also called Transformational theory focuses on the connections that are formed between followers and leaders. These leaders inspire and motivate people. They also help group members in case of any difficulty. Such leaders focus on performance of of members of group. These leaders have high moral values.
Path Goal Theory. This theory focuses on what leaders should do to motivate and inspire people so that the employees can perform well.
Motivational Quotes
April 8, 2009 by admin
Filed under Motivation
Motivational quotes work really well to inspire an individual and help him or her overcome the toughest phase of life. Now, the challenge can be to come out of the smoking phase, recovering from low self esteem, health issues, weight loss or to enhance their qualities.
Quotes for motivation also posses the power to rewrite negative thoughts that may have extend your mind. This is a great way to achieve success.
There is a need to surround you with positive motivational quotes. This is a fantastic way to overcome a temporary set back that has entered your life. These quotes are capable of instilling you with positive energy and zest. You will definitely feel changed up once you read them.
For instance, if you have been given a project, that you want to accomplish and you think that the task is really difficult. This situation is enough to make you feel bad and discouraged.
However, how would you feel if you suddenly happen to read something like the following?
- “Success comes to those who dare and act.”
- “Nothing is impossible in life as the word impossible itself says ‘I’m possible.”
- “Dream, plan, believe and act. The success is just a step ahead.”
- “Believe you can and you will.”
In short, quotes for motivation around you can add up to the zest in your life.
Motivation is also completely intertwined with the idea of self-investment.
As an alternative method, many motivated leaders I have come across regularly invest in themselves. Leaders have often sought out useful leadership books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and motivation. These days, many e-courses tend to be rather disappointing, but there are a few e-courses that are still respected by leadership professionals such as myself such as The 11 Forgotten Laws. It’s generally seen as an essential and core ‘crash course’ in the laws and secrets you need to know to further your leadership & career and even help find happiness in other areas of your life. It’s an excellent base upon which you can build your personal development.
Benefit of using quotes for motivation:
a) Strength and Commitment
Quotes for motivation help in making you strong and committed. There are excellent sources to inspire you to excel in your field and out beat others. Most successful personalities across the globe have got inspiration from motivation quotes and instances. For example the great Napoleon Bonaparte got his inspiration to succeed from an ant who tried to take in food towards the wall and had fallen many times prior to getting to the final destination.
b) Encouragement in the time of despair
There are times when things go wrong and don’t work out. You need a strong source of encouragement during this period. There is a lot in these quotes that will help you to take good action and also strengthen your mind processes and thoughts. If you read these quotes and apply them in your life, you would definitely succeed in your mission.
How to use quotes for motivation effectively:
Once you have chosen a motivational quote related to your goal, you need to print it. Get it printed on a nice paper in an attractive font. You can even write it down in your best handwriting. Make sure that the quote you have chosen for yourself really provides you a kick.
Now, it’s time to display it at places where they are most effective. Stick these notes on a bathroom mirror, dashboard, screensaver, Billboard around your desk or in a picture frame above your bed.
Once you have placed these quotes for motivation at their best locations, read them frequently, several times in a day. Try to say these aloud. Feel them and most importantly believe them. You will see a major difference in your motivation.
Ultimate Guide To Leadership Motivation
April 8, 2009 by admin
Filed under Motivation
Intrinsic motivation is when an individual is motivated by internal factors, as opposed to external factors.
Examples of intrinsic motivation would be doing something because you feel it is the moral and ethical thing to do; doing something because you know it will benefit others or doing something because it brings you pleasure and joy.
The latter is common in regards to an enjoyable pastime or a hobby.
It is believed that intrinsic motivation is far stronger than extrinsic motivation however there are times when extrinsic motivation can become stronger because it displaces intrinsic motivation.
This is known as the overjustification effect. For example this occurs when you begin doing something for intrinsic reasons and then are offered monies or another type of reward for doing it that overrides the reason you started doing it in the first place.
In many cases when this happens, a person loses interest in the activity once the reward is taken away. The key is to not offer large extrinsic rewards for something that is meant to be motivated intrinsically (in other words, from within).
Motivation is also completely intertwined with the idea of self-investment.
As an alternative method, many motivated leaders I have come across regularly invest in themselves. Leaders have often sought out useful leadership books and learning material that will help them along the path to happiness and motivation. These days, many e-courses tend to be rather disappointing, but there are a few e-courses that are still respected by leadership professionals such as myself such as The 11 Forgotten Laws. It’s generally seen as an essential and core ‘crash course’ in the laws and secrets you need to know to further your leadership & career and even help find happiness in other areas of your life. It’s an excellent base upon which you can build your personal development.
Intrinsic motivation has been widely studied by researchers in the realm of education since the start of the 1970s and their findings have been that when students are intrinsically motivated to do well in school, they tend to perform better, make higher marks and they also tend to enjoy the material they are learning a great deal more.
A man named Bernard Weiner created a theory known as the “Attribution Theory” and he looked at such things as the orientation of goals and the locus of control (internal and external).
As an aside, an internal locus of control is when a person believes that they have control over what happens to them whereas an external locus of control means that a person believes that control is outside of themselves and has more to do with extraneous factors as opposed to their own actions.
According to Bernard Weiner, students are much more likely to possess intrinsic motivation in their studies if they feel that their educational achievements have more to do with their own efforts as opposed to anything else.
As well students will experience intrinsic motivation if they feel that they play a paramount role in attaining their own personal educational goals as opposed to feeling as those it has more to do with luck or simply a “roll of the dice.” Finally when students have motivation that comes from within they will work harder to completely understand and master a given subject as opposed to simply learning the work at hand so they can pass a test or exam and then forgetting it afterwards.
Keep in mind that intrinsic motivation holds no promise of rewards for students as opposed to extrinsic motivation, which is all about rewards.
Many decades of research has given rise to a theory known as “Goal Theory” which has shown that intrinsic motivation in some communities and groups is altruistic in nature as the desire to help others and contribute to the greater whole is the number one motivator.
When a person appeals to the common good or does something based on a moral obligation or commitment to others this is when intrinsic motivation is shown to be alive and well in the world.
Guest Author:
Charles Williams is a writer for http://www.lsft.org which is an excellent place to find Motivation and Self Improvment links, For more information go to:www.lsft.org
