they were doing this time last year? Then they are unlikely to be developing new skills.
5 Encourage real ownership and responsibility. When I own something I have more incentive to make sure I’m doing it to a high standard. Delegate whole tasks where you can. Make sure you’ve read our seven ‘must do’ delegation tips (2.6)!
If you’re a good manager you’ll know that there are some real ‘turn-offs’ that demotivate people. But demotivated people don’t always tell you what it is that’s demotivating them. So you have to make sure you find out. Ask things such as “What is the biggest factor that prevents you from achieving your goals?” My bet is that a big demotivator will soon emerge.
Some demotivators you can deal with and some you can’t. Be creative and try and see the situation from the employee’s point of view. Tackle the demotivators together. Sometimes just being listened to is enough to get them fired up again.
Mastering motivation takes time and insight, but the contribution it unleashes can be amazing.
2.3 Training is a chance to grow your own
Someone once remarked, “Everyone asks about the cost of training. But have they ever considered the cost of not training?” Nobody’s good at everything. That’s why a manager takes the time to train his or her people. But you must be systematic in the way you train. Even when it’s only one-to-one.
Always prepare for the training session. Define the training objective in a single sentence. For example: “By the end of the session you will be able to locate a given file in a server within one minute.” Notice the measurement? It’s vital if you are going to encourage a sense of achievement.
Next, decide exactly how you’re going to structure your session. Don’t ignore this. Effective trainers know that time spent on this increases the session’s success. Will you need equipment? Where would be the best place to train?
“What nobler employment…than that of the man who instructs the rising generation”
Marcus Tullius Cicero, Ancient Roman philosopher
On the day itself, make sure you go through the following steps:
■ Clarify with the trainee(s) what they are about to learn. Tell them the objective you prepared for the session.
■ Demonstrate the skill. Let them see the whole skill. Then repeat it slowly. Explain what you are doing and why it’s important.
■ Do the exercise together. This isn’t always possible. But if you can go through it at the same time it’s a great way to transfer a skill.
■ Ask them to do the exercise alone. Also ask them to talk through the process. Listen out for what they say – and what they miss out!
■ Give helpful feedback. Direct your feedback at the skill and not the trainee. Make sure you praise and encourage throughout.
■ Follow up after the session. When you see them doing the skill ensure you continue to give encouragement and feedback. Especially for larger, more demanding tasks.
Of course, you don’t always have to give feedback. Sometimes just asking “Why do you think that happened?” or “What do you need to change?” gets the answers you want. Asking good questions gets the trainees to talk through the skill. The more they talk – and think – it through, the more they understand.
Training builds relationships and demonstrates your commitment to staff.
Responsibility and ownership – if every employee demonstrated these two qualities, how much easier management would be! One way that will really encourage these qualities is coaching.
Don’t confuse coaching with training. Training is about putting knowledge into someone. Coaching is drawing knowledge out with questions that inspire the coachee to think through and solve issues from their own experience. One great coaching technique is GROW, pioneered in John Whitmore’s book Coaching for Performance.
“When I want to, I perform better than when I have to”
John Whitmore, racing driver and performance coach
case study Pierre was an outstanding salesperson. However, he ran into trouble when he was asked to coach other salespeople. He became impatient when waiting for answers to his coaching questions – the coachees simply weren’t as fast in their thought processes as him. Eventually he started to prompt the coachees with answers he was looking for. He even began to ask questions that they could only say yes or no to. Great performers do not always make great coaches.
■ G = Goal. What is the goal that you want the coachee to achieve? Is it a short-term or long-term goal? Will you share the goal with the employee?
■ R = Reality. What is happening now? How aware is your coachee of the behaviours they are currently employing? What are the underlying reasons for their behaviours?
■ O = Options. What are the alternative behaviours available to the coachee? What are the merits – or disadvantages – of each option?
■ W = Will (or way forward). What option have you chosen and how will you achieve it? What are the obstacles that you must overcome? What help will you need?
Coaching is all about asking questions in a structured, searching way. For instance, during the ‘Reality’ stage, I might ask, “So what’s happening now?” “Why do you think that’s happening?” “What effect is that having on your work?”
These questions make the coachee analyse the situation and come up with their own solutions. After all, we all prefer our own solutions to problems!
Coaching is a powerful way of building accountability in your people.
2.5 Keep on track with feedback
“How am I doing?” This question is so important. People want feedback but they want it to be delivered sensitively and effectively.
Sometime we give feedback that’s positive and says: “I love what you’ve done, keep doing it!” Sometimes we give feedback to make someone even better at what they are doing: “I like this but adjusting this would really help”. Of course it’s the second type of feedback, developmental feedback, that most managers struggle with.
If you have to give feedback to improve someone’s performance then go with these six simple steps.
1 Clarify why the behaviour is happening. “‘Renu,
