The Dreaded Workplace Zombie: How to Motivate your Workforce

Looking for ways to motivate your workforce? Having trouble with productivity in your office? This article helps leaders develop strategies to combat the Workplace Zombie.

You know the type. They “go through the motions” day after day, seeming almost unresponsive to any and all requests. No matter what, work is always the last place they would ever want to be, and they constantly eyeball the clock, counting down the seconds until they can leave. If you experienced this type of worker in your leadership experience before, than you are already familiar with the dreaded Workplace Zombie. Instead of sucking brains, Workplace Zombies suck profitability, production, and morale out of the office.

While it does seem daunting, there are ways motivate your workforce without having to worry about having the resources for bonuses. Here are a few tips to use leadership in order to make your Workplace Zombies more effective employees:

Use a System of Recognition

Even the laziest, least responsive worker responds well to being told they are doing a good job. Try and develop a merit or recognition system that would work well for your workplace; this system should be inclusive enough that everyone can be a part of it, and visible enough that employees can receive acknowledgement of their successes by their peers.

Examples of recognition systems include Employee of the Week/Month or competitions centered around an integral workplace task, such as sales. Recognizing the hard work of an employee does not even have to be formal- something as little as a small compliment to a Workplace Zombie lets them know that you care about the work they do and that they are appreciated.

Set a Good Example

Many managers’ response to a disinterested staff is to become disinterested themselves. Don’t fall into this vicious cycle! If your work habits noticeably regress, this will be noticed by your staff and the Workplace Zombie virus will only spread further. Instead of finding reasons to be discouraged with your work, strive even more to be a hard-working example of consistency and reliability. Demonstrating your skills as an employee will establish to your staff the value of hard work and will inspire them to mold themselves in an image similar to yours.

Be Flexible

One type of work or a particular, rigid routine does not necessarily work for all employees. Younger, more sociable employees may find a weekly 8-to-5 schedule daunting and draining because of the activities they have outside of work. Simply being too tired or being unable to adjust to a particular schedule can cause even the most well-intentioned employee to become a Workplace Zombie, simply by virtue of how they spend their time and at what points of the day they have the most energy.

The answer for these types of employees is to find different routines based on the type of worker they are and what they respond best to. Some individuals may appreciate coming in to work later and staying later, while commuters from long distances may prefer to work 4 ten hour days as opposed to 5 eight hour days, in order to save on travel time and the expenses that come along with it. Getting to know your staff, understanding their different needs and wishes, and having the ability to account for these differences is an integral part of both being an effective leader and motivating your employees.

Communicate!

Regardless of the other techniques you use, your staff will not respond to you well if you cannot communicate with them using methods they respond to. Leading effectively involves having strong communication skills with your subordinates; gives them the resources that they need in order to succeed allows you to work towards tangible goals and deadlines reasonably and cooperatively with your staff. In addition to being constantly available to talk to promptly, encourage your staff to provide their feedback on goals or tasks, and ask for their input from time to time; this will make sure they know that their opinions are appreciated and that they have a legitimate say in how business is conducted.

Along with allowing for feedback on their own work, make sure that you are able to communicate your long-term visions and goals either for a particular task, goal, or the business in general to your employees. Some individuals respond better to working towards long term goals, rather than the monotony and repetition of daily tasks; using this method is sure to remind your Workplace Zombies that the work they are doing right now will have a tangible impact in the long run.

Motivate Your Workforce: Conclusion

Consider your life figuratively saved from the horrors of the dreaded Workplace Zombie! Through the recognition of hard work and accomplished goals, serving as an appropriate example to your staff, offering flexibility and variability in your practice, and maintaining an open line of communication, your Workplace Zombies should diminished and disappear entirely in no time!

By Alisha Webb. Alisha is a British writer working out of Barcelona and content developer for The Gap partnership HK – negotiation experts. This video is a great resource on how to motivate your workforce and enhance your communication skills.

5 Ways that Leaders Can Listen Better

Leadership in an organization is a golden opportunity to influence and drive change. All of us, at one point or another, have had the fortune of working with a great leader, and the misfortune of working with a not-so-great leader.

Although leaders have the lion’s share of the responsibility in change, those who are positioned under someone’s leadership are responsible for communicating desired changes. Leaders have the unique challenge of having to read between the lines and make sense of communication that is not always forthright. Sometimes, leaders have to pick up on many hints in order to figure out what is really going on.

How Leaders Should Listen

“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.” – John Buchan

1. Listen to What Is Being Said

This is the most obvious way of listening. Asking for feedback directly and then listening to it – perhaps by writing it down – is a surefire way of getting in touch with the team and the first step to getting on the same page. There is no more egregious form of disrespect than to ask for feedback and then ignore it.

2. Listen to What Is Not Being Said

It’s not only important to pay attention to what is clearly being said. It’s equally important to listen to what is not being said. What elephants in the room are being ignored, if any? Why is that? Leaders need to use intuition to grasp hold of communication that is intentionally withheld, whether that’s out of fear, insecurity, or a lack of confidence in a leader’s ability to affect change.

Paying attention to emotion is also critically important to leadership, and leaders must learn to interpret the physical signs of an emotional reaction to both negative and positive communication. In an article published on Forbes.com, author Carol Kinsey Goman writes, “To tap into the power of emotion, leaders must understand how feelings (their own and other people’s) impact and influence an organization’s ability to make business decisions, to negotiate, and to embrace change.” (“Leadership, Emotion, and Body Language”, Forbes.com).

A possible indication that communication isn’t being received well is when employees shut down rather than open up and provide feedback.

3. Listen With Your Eyes

A common leadership skill I learned early on is called MBWA – Management by Walking Around. While the primary tenet of this idea is to influence productivity by being present, this idea lends itself well to leadership, because it encourages the leader to get out from being the desk and see for herself or himself what exactly is going on. A leader cannot make decisions solely based on the feedback she or he receives from team members. It’s important to get out, look around, and make assessments. Also, being present and available can help facilitate conversation that may never happen otherwise.

Some of the greatest and most accomplished leaders are noted as being extremely forward in their approach to face-to-face communication. One such leader, Bill Olsten of Olsten Communication, is recognized in an article on SmartPlanet.com as someone who understood the power of MBWA. “He made it a point to check in and say hello to staff members on a regular basis, and always let each individual know how important they were to the company.” (“How Steve Jobs earned his MBWA degree”, SmartPlanet.com).

4. Listen With Action

Leaders who influence change in a positive way do so by acknowledging feedback and then doing something with it. At the financial software company Intuit, the leadership team asks for feedback from every employee in the entire organization. This feedback is then collected, organized, and sent back to the employees along with actions and tracking. It’s important for the leadership team to communicate that feedback is not just heard, but that it is also acted upon. Leaders who learn to follow up with those who provide feedback encourage trust and inspire confidence. That confidence then leads to more and better feedback.

5. Listen With Trust

A final way leaders can learn to listen better is to trust the people from whom the feedback is solicited.

In the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven F. Covey, habit #5 is to “Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood.” In order to do so, leaders must not only listen but listen with respect and earned trust.

People under the influence of a leader must trust that their feedback will be heard and respected, otherwise, next time, they will not be so forthright with it. What is said in confidence must be kept confidential, and what is said in public must be received with dignity and respect. Leaders are in a great position of authority and influence, but that is entirely dependent upon the level of confidence and trust that followers have in their leaders.

In what ways to do you think leaders can listen better? What are some of the ways that leaders you respected most encouraged and inspired open communication?

This guest post is written by Lior Levin, a marketing consultant for a company that helps businesses with organization using a to do list application, and who also consults for a psd to html company.

Office Gossip – Are Your Employees Out of Control?

Tantamount to bullying, malicious or excessive gossip can severely interrupt production and wreak havoc with your office’s morale. Though “water cooler intrigue” can be entertaining at times, when a colleague becomes a target of harassment it can perpetuate a self-defeating attitude within the company. Set the boundaries now, before it gets out of control and costs you a bundle!

Stop rumors in their tracks

Tell your employees to take the “high road” and help to make sure the rumor ends with them. Emphasize how important it can be to not perpetuate gossip, and how eventually others will begin to emulate the integrity of this behavior. Gossip by definition goes around “in a circle,” which means it will eventually come back to the maligned individual; it always does. If you fail to protect an employee from such attacks your business could be exposed to liabilities, such as constructive dismissal.

Zero tolerance

Let your people know you mean business. Create rules with consequences for ignoring them. It’s important that employees understand the ways gossip can demean not only their morale, but also a customer’s impression of your business. One miserable employee can lose you more goodwill in a single day than you can build from a week of lunch meetings with clients and new prospects. Keep your wits about you.

Staff meetings

Many employers get busy and forget how vital these sessions can be for the overall health and well being of their companies. Staff meetings let your people know there is a time and place they can air their concerns, so they don’t have to brood about problems to the point of commiserating with their fellow workers. It is also a good time to let your employees in on your future plans or enlist their suggestions in fixing problem areas.

Is it a symptom?

Not always. Sometimes it’s just a bad habit that got “too big for its britches.” But occasionally it does indicate there is a malady festering within your company. Like antibodies rushing to an infection site, disgruntled employees will flock to the water cooler to plan their attack. They may blame undeserving people, denigrate the “pretty girl” or the “nerdy guy” just to give a physical target to their overall unhappiness, which may be a mere lack of inspiration from their bosses. Sometimes they won’t be able to wrap their heads around what’s really wrong; that is, after all, your job. They just know they are unhappy and they are soon going to give it a face; overworked, underpaid, too few benefits, too many plants. Gossip takes on a life of its own if left unattended. Pay attention.

Be supportive and respectful

The proverbial “golden rule” really does apply in the office environment; treat your employees the way you would want to be treated and they will pass it on. Praise team efforts, especially when one employee shows supportive behavior when another colleague falters. Your people will notice and want “some of that” positive attention as well. If workers are acknowledged for going out of their way to train or assist, they won’t tend to complain if they have to occasionally carry the load of a slower person. Let them know these are leadership traits.

It’s important

Don’t underestimate the damage that gossip can cause in your office. If allowed to go on unchallenged it can and will undermine all your best efforts, distilling what could otherwise be great results into “what-could-have-beens.” If you don’t spot it and stop it first, then your customers will recognize it and back away from what could have been successful relationships with you.

Keep in mind that gossip is not idle; it’s a breeding ground for unrest and derogatory office behavior. Make sure to keep your finger “on the pulse” of your organization. Take time to listen to your employees, give them guidance and encourage their growth with positive learning experiences, and place them where they excel. Better this comes “full circle” than the gossip.

Before having children, Loretta Pleasant worked full time for a reverse phone lookup service in Los Angeles. She now spends her time with her family and, when the kids are asleep, writing.

Five Leadership Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

As a successful leader, you’ve utilized your drive, ambition and business sense to climb the ladder, head up big projects and work with top clients. While you have many critical leadership strengths, you might have weaknesses that can hinder your success. Recognizing and fixing common leadership mistakes is key to leadership development and, ultimately, growing your business. Five common leadership mistakes (and fixes) include:

1. Leave Your Ego at the Door

Get out of your own way! As an entrepreneur or business leader, you might have too much confidence in yourself. It’s that confidence (coupled with serious drive and ambition) that got you into a leadership position, but those traits can also get in your way of making sound decisions for the business. Step back and reassess what is working for the business and what is not. Get feedback from other successful business leaders, and talk with your own employees to find out what they would improve. You can also hire a leadership coach to help you become more aware of your leadership strengths and weaknesses.

2. Delegate, Delegate, Delegate

While you’ve had to make many important decisions (if not all), at some point, you must let go of control and start trusting others to make sound decisions. While your business probably started out very small, you’ve used your business knowledge and skills to grow and expand the company (and you’ve probably called all the shots along the way). Now, you’ve got to move into more of an influential role and out of a controlling role. You’ve hired solid people, so start developing their skills and give them the opportunity to grow.

3. Expand Your Vision

You’ve been involved in the day-to-day operations since the start. Now is the time to step out of that role and reassess your company’s future. Create a strategic vision about where you want your company to go in five, ten or fifteen years. Because you’ve delegated daily responsibilities to others, you’ll now have the time to outline both personal and professional goals. It’s absolutely necessary for the continued success of your business.

4. Encourage a Proactive Environment

If you’re completely dictating the culture around the workplace, your employees will simply follow along with your preferences; they won’t be inclined to speak up or provide honest feedback. Make sure your staff understands that you’re looking for their input – they need to be able to operate proactively, provide suggestions and maintain control over their responsibilities. Otherwise, they’ll just react to your demands without offering any honest input.

5. Never Stop Learning

You’re not the same as you were ten years ago – and neither are your leadership skills. The leadership knowledge you have previously mastered may not be entirely relevant in your current role. It’s imperative that you constantly learn and develop new leadership skills; invest in your own personal reinvention. Stay involved with your business community, mentor others or use a coach to help foster your leadership potential.

While you know your business best, there is always opportunity for growth. Mastering vital leadership skills and knowledge can help you achieve aggressive goals and attract top talent to your company. Though breaking old habits can be difficult, the rewards you’ll reap from expanding your knowledge will be exponential.

This guest article is by the University of Notre Dame which offers online leadership training courses that are designed to teach you effective leadership skills. The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of University of Notre Dame and do not necessarily reflect those of Goal Setting Guide.

Finding The Best Of The Best: How To Spot A Potential Leader

A leader has many responsibilities, but one of the most important is that person’s ability to spot leadership talent in the workplace. Another co-joined ability is the one of guide or helper in making the most of each person’s talents.

Foremost in the talent area is the ability to lead. At each level of an organization, there needs to be leaders. It is not only the responsibility of the top to lead. If that person has been well-chosen, there will be levels of leadership developed to help spread out the stress of keeping each organization running smoothly.

How do you spot a potential leader in among the employees you lead? We are all aware of many qualities that define a leader; that of being able to set goals; that of being motivated as well as the ability to motivate others; and, that of having a good work ethic. But it is just as vital to take into account certain attitudes and personal characteristics that will help prepare a person for leadership:

1. “Happy with who they are” is a nebulous statement, but you can tell that person has identified and conquered the ability to say, “When I am in a room by myself, I like who I am with.”.

2. Sociable in a friendly way, but not part of a clique is an important attribute. It is the person who responds to others, without needing to be surrounded by people who admire them, who will lead well.

3. Patience is a wonderful quality to have. Allowing others to learn and grow takes patience. Nothing will benefit the organization more than a leader who patiently helps others do that.

4. Hard-headed and soft-hearted is almost an oxymoron, but it is a real characteristic of one destined for leadership. Will that person put up a brick wall against dishonesty or lying? Will that person look at all aspects of the job to be done and drive toward a goal of enriching the company? Will a person order flowers when an employee loses a loved one? Some people do not even bother to find out about their employees’ “other side”. If that employee satisfies the leader with their work, other parts of the employee’s life are immaterial and irrelevant.

5. Teachable is a quality often overlooked in potential leaders. We often look for the person who is sure of themselves; has a driving force to succeed; is not willing to see where they could improve with any advice given to them. When an employee is confronted with a mistake, do they ask for the better way to do that job, or do they immediately feel affronted and grow hostile? Leaders are not wanted who never make mistakes because they are not cognizant of the human side of their employees.

Brilliant, even hard-working, people are not always the best leaders. A leader needs to take these other characteristics into account when looking for potential leaders.

Marc McDermott is a former manager and people leader of a large organization who has since moved on to manage his own businesses in a variety of different industries.  From his digital marketing agency to his metal detecting ecommerce shop which specializes in products such as the Garrett Pro Pointer and Garrett Ace 250, Marc continues to subscribe to the leadership and goal-oriented values in all his entrepreneurial endeavors.

Do What You Do Best – Outsource The Rest

Outsourcing has received a lot of bad press lately, but if you are a small business it may be a lifesaver. Contracting work out is any easy way to save yourself a lot of time and money because you don’t have to hire skilled long-term employees that often call for high salaries and you can still find people that specialize in the skills you need to get the job done.

Using Freelancers to Save Time and Money

You’ve probably heard about the business of contracting if you haven’t participated in it yourself. Essentially, all it means is that Business A pays Business B to do something Business A requires. Do you think every business builds its own buildings? No, they don’t possess the skill to do so; therefore they hire a contractor to do it.

It’s the same thing with freelancers. If you run a website but do not have the time or skill required to make it the best, you have to outsource if you want it to be top notch. Fortunately, there are some websites in place that make it easy to find these individuals and protect both you and them against fraud.

Elance.com, Guru.com, and GetAFreelancer.com are the top three freelancer websites, in that order. Elance has the deepest and most skilled talent pool, Guru is a step behind, and GetAFreelancer lags behind due to a lack of freelancers for whom English is their primary language. While this may not be a huge problem for your project, here we are assuming that your project requires a grasp of English because that is the language in which we are communicating. Regardless, always keep in mind that you always get what you pay for on these websites and while that $50 job bid may look enticing, you may end up paying a second freelancer to clean up the first one’s mess.

The best thing about using freelancers:

• Saving time – Freelancers can devote themselves totally to your project without worrying about ancillary issues with your business. This gives you time to handle all the other facets of your business.
• Saving money – Freelancers do not come with the burdens that employees do, i.e. benefits and long-term salaries. This allows you to put the money you save back into your business.

Getting What You Need

Whether you need a data entry clerk or a web designer to build your business’ perfect site, you can find a freelancer that can handle it for you. Though many freelancers are entrepreneurs working out of a home office, many are actually firms unto themselves. If you have a large job, don’t be afraid to ask questions about the freelancers bidding on it. Many data entry companies, for example, are comprised of many individuals functioning under a single profile on one of these freelancer sites. Such companies often advertise this fact on their profile page to let possible providers know that no job is too big for them. You can also find teams of web designers, writers, and illustrators functioning in the same fashion.

Ray T. Lewis lives just outside of Dallas, Texas with his wife and three children. He reads extensively, and he’s worked as an editor and writer for askdeb.com for a little over two years. His goal is to give you realistic advice when it comes to finding information about data entry jobs. Visitors to askdeb.com can expect to find extensive, detailed answers to reader-submitted questions.

Employee Motivation – The 8 Basics

Building a team of motivated people in your business is vital to get the very best results, but so many managers focus on the ‘ra-ra-ra’, rather than the important things – the things that make people feel comfortable in their working environment. Here are eight that you might want to have a think about:

1. The Weather

Is it too hot, or too cold. Your people need an environment which is, like Goldilocks said, ‘Just right’. So is the office too stuffy in summer? Or too icy in winter? Is it draughty? Do people get wet when accepting deliveries, because the outside roof leaks? Literally make sure that external factors are as they wish.

2. The Breaks

Sometimes working in a day-to-day job can get boring and exhausting. So people need to know when their breaks are and that they wil be able to take them – it’s not that complicated. Yet often, they just aren’t able to have this basic courtesy in place. Planning and caring for your people’s needs is vital. It’s what you would want for yourself, isn’t it?

3. Holidays

And vacations/holidays are important too – some would say it’s the most important thing on the working year calendar. So enable this to happen, when they need to know, so that they can plan their invaluable time away from the business and refresh.

4. Being Heard

Your people need you to listen to them and hear them – really hear what they are saying and respond with action and/or acknowledgement. Be out there creating good, open relationships with your people and take in what they say – what’s important to them – and deliver solutions to make conditions great.

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