We are living in a world that is changing fast. Yet, there are
certain ‘unchangeables!’
One such unchangeable is:
that the manager has to accomplish his mission… his organization’s goals
through the work of others. And that is the greatest challenge which every
manager faces!
In today’s knowledge economy this has become even more
challenging. For, traditional command and control management is no longer
fit-enough to generate the kind of performance that a manager wishes to have
from his knowledge workers.
Yet every manager eagerly looks for: enthusiastic and
motivated employees who believe in their ability to successfully execute the
assigned task and those who are easy to manage for they are willing to
collaborate with the manager in his pursuit of organizational performance and
efficiency. What a wishful thinking!
For, as manager is wishing for collaborative employees,
employees too look for a positive, and trustworthy
manager who is engaged in creating and sustaining ‘can-do emotional climate’ at
the workplace. The first step in this direction must, of course, start from the
manager himself. For, a manager only can influence his team indirectly about
how they feel about their work. In order to be in a position to influence his
colleagues, he has to obviously manage his own work-related attitudes in such a
way that it would prompt the rest to emulate him. Secondly, by skilfully
managing his/her own behaviour towards the fellow employees, of course, without
sacrificing the organizational needs, a manager can influence the attitude and
the behaviour of his colleagues.
Similarly, a manager’s communication plays a great role in
generating highly self-motivated employees at workplaces. Instead of simply
giving functional instructions/directions to employees for carrying out their
job, if a manager encourages their participation by asking questions relating
to the job on hand and steer them towards designing their own work-path to
accomplish the organizational goals, it betters employee involvement—indeed
they will execute it as though they are the owners of it.
In the long run, as Thoreau said, “people hit only what they
aim at.” Therefore, a manager has to “better aim at something high”, no matter
even if it “should fail immediately.” For, success in executing a challenging
task always gives the employees the much needed kick and it in turn stimulates their
intrinsic motivation. Here, there is a danger of missing-link: Often managers pay
little or no attention to provide the much needed requisite resources to
execute the task. Is it necessary here to stress its importance in ensuring
successful execution of plans?
Moving on to the next, manager need to learn to undertake the
labour of giving feedback to the employees to improve their performance/results
in a very matter-of-fact tone and it must be specific, accurate, informative
and controllable. To ensure that feedback helps in motivating the employees
positively, a manager must equally be willing to take feedback from the
employees and handle it with fairness to its logical end. He must also use his
discretion to avoid negative feedback that hurts the feelings of employees, for
it can push them into defense.
A manager must always bear in mind that his own motivational
levels as exhibited from time to time at workplaces will have a direct impact
on the motivational levels of employees. Similarly, when work-environment is
seized with conflicts, manager has to necessarily step in to resolve them
productively rather than overlooking them, for it is certain to demotivate the
employees.
When fundamentals of management of the unit are intrinsically
right, rewards and recognitions can be used as an effective tool to further
improve the motivational levels of the organization. For, in an environment of
fairness and employee trust, awards will be received with a smile. To conclude,
a manager has to create a healthy work environment where employees feel happy
to carry on with their tasks with a positive orientation.
Incidentally, the other day, as I got the FT’s supplement —‘how to spend it’ —into hand, as usual,
I straight away went to the last page to look at the column: ‘The Captain’s
Table’. This time round, it featured Carlos Jereissati Filho, CEO of Brazil’s
luxury mall business Iguatemi Group. He opened his conversation saying, “I come
from a Lebanese family and we settle our differences around the table: my
father demonstrates his love with a generous offering of food, and this holds
true for business too. It is vital to build a relationship outside the office,
in places where you can discuss everything from family to problem-solving.” This
appears to be a cultivable attitude for managers too! It shall not cost much to
assemble together over cup of tea—for, it is not necessary that they must go
for expensive lunches in restaurants—once in a quarter or so and take a review
of the happenings in the unit, which shall foster healthy relations in the
unit.
True, it is a challenge for the manager to demand work from
the employees and at the same time keep them in good humour. Well, is there any
alternative! That is where a manager's ingenuity makes a difference….
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