Good leadership is well versed in motivational skills. The actuation of a person is the outcome of a combination of aspiration and energy aimed at attaining an end. Prompting the motivation of employees means that the leader wishes them to do something which is mandatory to be done. People can be thrust into action by several forces. They include belief systems, interests, insecurity, and just cause. A leader has the gall and gumption to impact motivation to a great extent.
He or she is vested with positional authority and many other sources of power and drive in the organization. Every employee is actuated by the requirements of job society, awards, increments, and approbation of the leaders. “No matter the size of your company, having a team of motivated, hard-working employees is crucial to your business success. When people lose their motivation, however, their job performance suffers — they become less productive, less creative, less of an asset to the company”( Smith, K. L., The future of leaders in Extension).
Employees are also impacted by the ethical orientation of the leaders. Leadership must ensure that team is well managed, equipped with essential training the opportunities for advancement are there and curiosity must be inculcated in the hearts and minds of the employees by effective leadership so that they put their heart in the work. The ways of conducting business must be steeped in some norms and beliefs which are demanded from employees. If the leader will do the business in contravention to the fundamental norms of ethics, the employees will follow suit and earn a bad reputation for the organization.
The good and appropriate attitudinal pattern on behalf of the employees must be rewarded. This reward must be in accordance with the spirit shown. A letter of commendation or pay increase or certain another suitable incentive may be bestowed to encourage employees so that repetitions of these instances happen and the productivity of the organization witnesses experiences a tremendous boost. The employees must be guided by specific actions for explaining what is good behavior and how it is practiced in the ambiance of the organization. Those who make mistakes should not be discouraged but should be taught the manner of overcoming flaws. The punishment may be given in case of extreme negligence and repetitive exercise of blunders.
Leaders are the role model of the organization. They have to exhibit behavior by means of conduct that they are very serious in pursuing the goals set by the organization. They should keep the morale of the employees very high. Morale is the mental, passionate, and devout condition of a person. Everything a leader does renders some impact on the organization. The consciousness of the institution that permits people to have a sense of belongingness is of prime importance and is highly linked with the morale of the employees. Moral in turn is inculcated out of sheer efforts on behalf of the leadership.
The team should be made part and parcel of the problem-solving process and challenge taking rather than reduced to the positions of spectators. They must be made owners of the success and made to feel that the success of his plan is their success and they would reap the benefits too. The recognition they get in the process is tremendous and motivates them to unprecedented levels. Good leadership shows concern for the private lives of the employees and has great regard for their feelings.
The process of empathizing is significant in this regard. All communication channels with employees must remain open and consequently, they must be informed about each and every development. Their task must be made easy and meaningful to inculcate with them with enthusiasm and maintain the level of interest and concentration.
The managers function to execute the aims of the organization, the leaders are different. They coin new ideas and new goals. They discard the outmoded beliefs and try the new ones. Leaders are a harbinger of a new age and connote a positive ambiance for employees. They are propellers of continuous change and employee motivation offers one of the best tools in their armory in this regard. They endeavor to make a difference in promoting the interest of the workers in the work.
Leaders exude a charisma towards which the employees are attracted and later also try to emulate the actions of the leaders. Leaders have to set high standards for the employees to follow. The committed leaders are instrumental in creating positive behavior on behalf of the employees. Non-seriousness on their behalf is always counterproductive. “Encourage them to keep coming up with new ideas, no matter how wacky they may sound at first. And consistently ask them about projects they’d like to take on. Hold regular brainstorming sessions. These people tend to be highly enthusiastic, so try to match that upbeat quality, too.
Challenge them with goals, not specific assignments, and leave them to get on with the job” (Kreitner, R. Management). Performance appraisals are the evaluation of the expertise of employees. It is the process of judging the performance so that employees remain engaged in the work. It aids them to rectify their mistakes and increase their skills so that their grading improves and they come in the ranks of topmost employees of the organization for which later has special regards in the forms of bonuses and other incentives.
They are made an example for others to emulate and thus competition among employees starts to reform their working and thus the productivity of the organization is greatly improved. All this is done by the leadership in its own typical style. The performance of employees is measured on the basis of predefined appraisals. The employees who are worthy of promotions are given high rankings after such a process and others whose performance has remained unusually bad are laid off.
High morale is always changed into enhanced output, more hopes for performance, and contented employees. Confidence is the foundation of useful communication, employee maintenance, and contribution of extra energy. When trust is available, everything becomes easy and affairs of the administration are also smoothened. Leaders can create an environment where employees prefer to be self-disciplined rather than fear supervisory discipline. In the former case, motivation allows them to maintain their level of attention in the working of the organization rather than being involuntarily pushed to work. Leaders must find extra time daily to coin new ways and means of motivating employees.
They should see that if different employees are motivated by different techniques, then typical techniques should be sued in each case. One most important thing is that motivating others is a hectic task; still, the urgent matter is that leaders should also stay motivated. It is more essential than motivating employees. “It’s amazing how, if you hate your job, it seems like everyone else does, too. If you are very stressed out, it seems like everyone else is, too. Enthusiasm is contagious. If you’re enthusiastic about your job, it’s much easier for others to be, too. Also, if you’re doing a good job of taking care of yourself and your own job, you’ll have a much clearer perspective on how others are doing in theirs” (Carter Mcnamara, “Basic Employee Motivation”).
Employee motivation is an important task without which the performance of the role of the organization would suffer. It is essential when the corporations are engaged in the cutthroat competition of survival and survival of the fittest has become the norm. Motivated employees mean that the affairs of the organization are being managed positively and every employee is contributing his or her due share and thus enhancing the overall output. There is no doubt to the fact that each and every ounce counts and contribution of even drop of performance counts much as these are small shares which make up big ones and organization strides forward to overtake its rivals.
References
Carter Mcnamara, “Basic Employee Motivation”. 2008. free management library. Web.
Smith, K. L., “The future of leaders in Extension”. Journal of Extension, 28 (1).1990.
Kreitner, R. Management (6th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.1995.