Five Tips for Motivating Your Employees

Being in a management position is not easy, and not always fun. The position comes with much responsibility and can prove very stressful. Holding a management position often means you are put in charge of large numbers of people, all with different attitudes, moods and dispositions; whose performance you are held accountable for. That is the bad news. The good news is even if things are not optimal; you can do something about it. Learn to motivate your employee's and you can turn things around for everyone. You may be thinking that the change needs to come from the individuals when really the change begins with you. Being in a management position by default makes you a leader. Others are looking to you for guidance and support. You must rise to the occasion.

Your management style can greatly improve the general attitude in the workplace. Positive messages coming from you as a manager will go a long way towards improving your productivity and the work performance of your employees. As a manager the small ways you interact with the workforce everyday greatly impacts how they carry out their duties as individuals. So maybe you have not been so positive in the past, it's never too late to change. Start anew. Start with you. I think you will be amazed with the overall outcome.

1. Smile. - A lot. It is a simple thing but contagious. Even if you think people will not smile in return. Do it every day. Just give it a try and see what happens.

2. Praise. - Try to accentuate the positive no matter how small. If someone cleans up a spill or picks up something off of the floor, it may be their job to do so but, you can still use that as an opportunity to praise them. Say "Thank you for taking care of that, someone could have gotten hurt" just this simple action will create a positive feeling in the person and make them want to do better every day. People want validation that they are contributing in positive ways and that their efforts are not going un-noticed.

3. First Names. - Make a concentrated effort to learn everyone's first name. Even if the name is hard to pronounce, ask and repeat until you get it right. You interact with these people frequently and knowing their names conveys that you are interested in them personally and, care about them as individuals.

4. Be willing to pitch in. - People will work harder for someone if they know that when the chips are down, you will jump in the trenches with them. If they are really struggling and you pitch in and help them get to the finish line - you earn their respect. If you stress out or panic instead of taking a hands on approach that permeates the crew and the task will suffer.

5. Share the goal. - If there is a daily, weekly or monthly goal, let your employees know what that goal is. If they have something to work towards they will work harder to get the job done. It creates a sense of purpose. You could even make a game or a competition out of it for meeting or exceeding the goal which adds a fun feel to the challenge. You can build on that concept when the goal is met or exceeded by saying " We did such a great job this month, I can't wait to see what we do next month"

Don't expect things to change overnight. If the environment is now negative - implement these ideas over time and you will see attitudes start to turn. It may take people a while to adjust to your new attitude and behaviors. It's ok. You are a mirror for their workplace experience, if you remain positive and implement positive behaviors sooner or later they will too.