Top tips - managing people

• Feed motivation by actively looking for people achieving and then give them the appropriate recognition and praise.
  
  
• Use the "Key Result Analysis" for major tasks, projects or job roles, to agree and focus effort and activity on maximising achievement of what is required by the business. The Key Result Analysis is a simple five-step process:
  • Define and agree the purpose
  • Establish and agree the key result areas.
  • Define and agree key tasks for each result area.
  • Quantify current results for each key task.
  • Agree the standards / results required.

Often, recognising the difference between step four and five provides an automatic performance improvement plan.

• Challenge only motivates if we think we can achieve.  It de-motivates if people do not believe that they have a chance of attaining the objective. It is the responsibility of the team leader to ensure that an appropriate challenge is set.
  
  
• Recognition is a major motivator.  Successful team leaders use all six types of recognition.
  • Acknowledgement - giving praise in private or public for achievement.
  • Seeking input - giving value to another's opinion.
  • Sharing information - including and trusting people.
  • Expanding participation - selecting people for assignments.
  • Personal interest - showing you care by asking about family or hobbies.
  • Reward - providing tangible benefit in such terms as money, a prize or a trip.
     
• How would your company fare in the pronoun test? If a visitor asked your people a few general questions about the company, would they answer using "they" and "them"? Or would they respond in terms of "we" and "us"? Which would you prefer?
   
• A manager is in place to remove the barriers that prevent workers from achieving what we pay them to do". - Roger R Gowland, formerly with IBM.