Employee Management

Every manager's goal is to create a work environment in which people are empowered, productive, contributing, and happy. Don't hobble them by limiting their tools or information. Trust them to do the right thing. Get out of their way and watch them catch fire. This phsycology works in majority of the organisations and environments.

Every manager has to avoid the frequently observed four mistakes;

1. Fail to ask which mistake was I making.

2. Managing has more to do with directing day-to-day tasks, whereas leading has more to do with creating and promoting a vision, goal setting, and building motivation. In many cases, managers start micromanaging, closely observing and controlling the work of their emloyees, monitoring and assessing every step. Severe forms of micromanagement usually completely eliminate trust and can provoke anti-social behavior. While the main drivers are internal and are related to the personality of the manager it also can be partially attributed to external pressures such as organizational culture, severe time pressure, increased performance pressure, instability of manager position, etc. Sometimes, micromanagement is used as a tactic to get rid of unwanted employees. Micromanagement is instantly recognised by the employees and when a leader spends more time, managing than leading, the morale of the workers suffers. Most employees prefer a goal to shoot for and some freedom to figure out how to reach that goal.

3. Newton's cradle approach to leadership is the next biggest mistake and almost very hard to detect. Newton's cradle is a cross beam with several steel balls hanging in a row with the help of plastic connectors. You as a leader act as a crossbeam, employees as steel balls and the relationships between you and the employees are the plastic connectors.Employee loyalty should not be confused with the importance of team building. If you pull one steel ball away for a while and let is go, it bangs with others and the others bang with others, swinging back and forth, keep bumping into each other. We shouldn't neglect the individual relationships with those who work closely with us. We also can't miss the important steps necessary to putting those people together in team situations where they learn what it means to work together.

4. Failing to create motivation is the next mistake. Motivation is created not by merely saying encouraging things but actually letting people practice their abilities to cretae, by giving them the freedom to find solutions to the problems, and letting them thrilled by new challenges. It means we have to risk other people's failure. It means we have to bite our lips and let some people toddle out into the unknown world. Yet they'll thank you for allowing them to tackle a new challenge, even if they stumble a few times. This practice might seem costly in the begining, but is very effective for long-term fruitful partnerships between the managers and the managed. As a manager or supervisor, your impact on employee motivation is immeasurable. By your words, your body language, and the expression on your face, as a manager, supervisor, or leader, you telegraph your opinion of their value to the people you employ. The following four aspects create or break the employee motivation;
a. You present yourself as a stressed out and a grumpy manager. It takes a few minutes for the entire workforce to get the word.
b. Use simple powerful words to show that you like and appreciate them and their work.
c. Make sure employees know what you expect.
d. Provide regular honest and constructive feedback to employees about their work.
e. Reward for positive contributions.
f. Create an environment in which workers choose to be motivated and be disciplined about it.
g. Continue learning and trying out new ideas to create a motivating environment
h. Make time for every worker atleast one hour per week
i. Dont keep them in the dark, share why is what happening with workers and listen to their feedback and process it

The ten most important principles for managing people in a way that reinforces employee empowerment, accomplishment, and contribution are given below. These management actions enable both the people who work with you and the people who report to you to soar.

1. Value People
Your regard for people shines through in all of your actions and words. Your facial expression, your body language, and your words express what you are thinking about the people who report to you. Your goal is to demonstrate your appreciation for each person's unique value. No matter how an employee is performing on their current task, your value for the employee as a human being should never falter and always be visible.

2. Share Leadership Vision
Help people feel that they are part of something bigger than themselves and their individual job. Do this by making sure they know and have access to the organization's overall mission, vision, and strategic plans.

3. Share Goals and Direction
Share the most important goals and direction for your group. Where possible, either make progress on goals measurable and observable, or ascertain that you have shared your picture of a positive outcome with the people responsible for accomplishing the results.

4. Trust People
Trust the intentions of people to do the right thing, make the right decision, and make choices that, while maybe not exactly what you would decide, still work.

5. Provide Information for Decision Making
Make certain that you have given people, or made sure that they have access to, all of the information they need to make thoughtful decisions.

6. Delegate Authority and Impact Opportunities, Not Just More Work
Don't just delegate the drudge work; delegate some of the fun stuff, too. You know, delegate the important meetings, the committee memberships that influence product development and decision making, and the projects that people and customers notice. The employee will grow and develop new skills. Your plate will be less full so you can concentrate on contribution. Your reporting staff will gratefully shine - and so will you.

7. Provide Frequent Feedback
Provide frequent feedback so that people know how they are doing. Sometimes, the purpose of feedback is reward and recognition. People deserve your constructive feedback, too, so they can continue to develop their knowledge and skills.

8. Solve Problems: Don't Pinpoint Problem People
When a problem occurs, ask what is wrong with the work system that caused the people to fail, not what is wrong with the people. Worst case response to problems? Seek to identify and punish the guilty.

9. Listen to Learn and Ask Questions to Provide Guidance
Provide a space in which people will communicate by listening to them and asking them questions. Guide by asking questions, not by telling grown up people what to do. People generally know the right answers if they have the opportunity to produce them. When an employee brings you a problem to solve, ask, "what do you think you should do to solve this problem?" Or, ask, "what action steps do you recommend?" Employees can demonstrate what they know and grow in the process.

10. Help Employees Feel Rewarded and Recognized for Empowered Behavior
When employees feel under-compensated, under-titled for the responsibilities they take on, under-noticed, under-praised, and under-appreciated, don’t expect results from employee empowerment. The basic needs of employees must feel met for employees to give you their discretionary energy, that extra effort that people voluntarily invest in work.