Ways To Inform Employees About Their Importance

Good morning everyone

Sorry I have not posted for a while. I was in France for three weeks and in South Africa on vacation and on business. In many locations I could not get a good internet connection on other days I was just too busy enjoying the country and its people. We took our grandchildren so they could get a grasp of another part of the world. The people of South Africa are terrific. We met so many nice people….Some are doing well and some are not doing well but everyone was nice to us and very hospitable. We saw lions, cheetas, elephants, rinos, buffalos, wildebeests, and lots of monkeys and baboons and even lots of penguins. It was winter in South Africa which we really enjoyed. Finally got to use my new coat and gloves. The following article was sent to me recenty and supports all of my beliefs. I hope you enjoy it…Have a great weekend…Lee

Ways to Inform Employees About Their Importance

The truth is that the way togreater success is through a focused, day to day effort to improve the level of
commitment of the people in an organization, and that takes hard work,leadership and the acceptance of change.

Leaders know the old saying “How you act shouts so loudly I can’t hear what you’re saying” is the truth. They
use it to their advantage. Leaders know the greatest sense of accomplishment and importance often comes from non – monetary rewards, and from positive recognition from the person who is the boss. And they know they can do it
without “breaking the rules” or incurring big expenses.

Many managers feel constrained by the rules and regulations of their
organizations. They feel that their hands are tied when it comes to rewarding
their people – that their actions are controlled by others, and there is little
of any real value they can do to motivate their people.

Here are 12 Ways leaders let their people know how important they are:

Way #1 – Leaders truly believe the work performed by their people is
important. This may sound pretty basic, but that is an absolutely essential
belief. Without it there is simply no way people can be convinced that what
they do is important.. How often have your heard – or been guilty of saying –
or thinking – “Oh, she’s just the receptionist” or, “He’s just
the janitor” or “They’re just trainees” or “They’re just a
staff weenie?”

Way #2 – Leaders expect the best from everyone, and settle for nothing
less. Nothing makes people feel more important than high expectations for their
performance. Leaders make sure their people share in setting the expectations.

Way #3 – Leaders create goals that are shared and that show the tie in
of individual work with the success of the organization.
Way #4 – Leaders select the best – in every opening they have. Every
tool is used to ensure that the best possible decision is made on who is
selected. People watch very carefully to see who is picked – they need to be
involved in the selection process whenever possible. Leaders know that actions
taken in selection communicate how important the open position is. Who is
selected is seen as a direct reflection on the quality of the people in the
organization.

Way #5 – Leaders are their people’s institutional champion!

Way #6– Leaders are absolutely intolerant
of unsafe, disruptive or other negative behaviors. They act on them quickly and
decisively, and never let their people see them knowingly ignore a bad
situation. Leaders know these situations will not go away, regardless how much
“wish’in and hop’in and pray’in” might be done.

Way #7 – Leaders know that trust and respect are not the same thing as
being liked. It is nice to be liked, it is absolutely essential that people
trust and respect their leader. As a comedian said: “If you want to be
liked, get a dog.”

Way #8 – Leaders cultivate a climate of civility for their people. In
their relationships with their people, they make sure their actions reflect a
fundamental respect for others.

Way #9 –Leaders get every one of their people some form of self
development activity on a regular basis. It may be a seminar, it may be tuition
refund, it may be a book, it may be a CD set, it may be reimbursement for a
Webinar or a podcast, it may be a Community College course – it does not have
to be expensive and time consuming, but the act of creating added value through
the investment of personal effort supported by organizational resources is a
powerful way to express importance.

Way #10 – Leaders respect their people’s time – it’s their most valuable
asset. Leaders start meetings on time, end them on time, keep meeting
commitments. They do what they have to do to ensure their people have the use
of as much of their work time as possible.

Way #11– Leaders keep the rules and policies to absolute
minimum. If there is workable set of cultural and organizational “Way’s Of
Doing Things” then the basis for treating people with individual regard
exists. If they don’t exist, leaders set them in their own area of
responsibility.

Way #12– Leaders celebrate the successes – they create the opportunity
for group recognition to happen all over the place – if Safety is an issue,
they create a Safety Award process that celebrates progress. They make the
celebration events frequent, the rewards modest – but they do it all the time.
Leaders know the frequency of awards and the opportunity for celebration are as
important, actually more important, than the annual lunch or dinner or
whatever.
Did you notice one thing about all 12 Ways? Not one of them deals with lots of money,
or more capital, or new policies or procedures. All do require beliefs and
behaviors – and they are the most challenging, most high leverage efforts that
can be made to improve an organization. It’s always tempting to do a feel good
seminar, or buy something, or take some action that shows a high level of
commitment to the people.. But the truth is that the way to greater success is
through a focused, day to day effort to improve the level of commitment of the
people in an organization, and that takes hard work, leadership and the
acceptance of change.

If you can see Ways that can help your organization or your work group or
yourself in this article, take them and run with them – they are the basis for
successful managers becoming successful leaders.