Management Tip: 5 Simple Ways To Bring Out The Best In People

It's something all managers want to do, yet, as every manager knows, it's easier said than done: bringing out the best in your people.  How often as managers are we frustrated by chronic employee under-performance?  Studies routinely show that an unacceptably high number up of employees - up to 70 per cent - are disengaged, emotionally disconnected from their companies.  Yet the most effective management is often the simplest and most basic.  All five of these management tips have a common cost: nothing.

"Tone at the top" - Lead in a way that makes it easy for others to want to follow.  Setting the right example by your own business behaviour - your own evenhandedness and ethics - makes it easy for your employees to respect you.  Nobody wants to follow somebody they don't respect, yet they're eager to follow those they do.  It's always surprised me how often management doesn't play by the same rules they ask others too - when setting a fine example costs nothing and only breeds productivity.

Take a sincere interest in the course of their careers - Studies show that high-performing companies routinely motivate their people by emphasizing career development.  Any manager can too, easily.  It's human nature and only makes sense.  All employees at all organizational levels are keenly interested in the course of their own careers.  Showing genuine interest in helping employees gain the skills they need to succeed is a solid way to build lasting loyalty.

Ambitious but not unrealistic expectations - Both in formal job objectives and informal day-to-day managerial expectations, you want to set targets that stretch your employees but are attainable.   Let them know you have high (but not unreasonable) standards, and at all times expect excellence.  Competence breeds confidence, and successfully achieving ambitious goals motivates them to do it again.

Provide honest insightful feedback on a regular basis - The keyword here is "honest."   As in candid feedback travelling in two directions - positive and negative, up and down... feedback that neither ducks the hard stuff nor ignore the positive stuff.  If employees aren't receiving regular feedback, how will they know if they're doing well or need to course-correct?  How can they give their best if it's not completely clear what their best looks like?

Get to know who your people are - If you want to bring out the best in your employees, you have to, at least to some extent, understand them.  Gain a basic understanding of what interests them, what bothers them, what they care about, what motivates them.  Is it money, respect, praise, a bigger office, or a chance to spend more time with the kids? There is a multitude of possibilities.  The better you know your people, the better chance you'll have to pull the right managerial levers.

I'll be the first to admit nothing on this list is inordinately complex.  But just because something is common sense doesn't mean it's commonly practised.  The best managers are insightful and employee-centric.   They understand their employees and know that bringing out the best in them - to ultimately drive positive business results - is the absolute best thing they can do as a manager.

 



Source: Forbes
Image Source: Freepik