We do this … others just talk about it.
An under performing employee is something every manager or leader will have to face sooner or later, but what’s the best approach? Some will tell you that poor performance is solely down to a lack of ability or self-discipline. Others will duck the issue and just try to remain ‘friends’ with everyone on the team. As with everything in business the balance lies somewhere in the middle.
When Lou Gerstner took over as CEO of IBM in 1993, he took the reigns of an old and prestigious institution with a rich history. Gerstner had no computer industry experience, but he did have deep leadership experience. And taking over at IBM he would need every bit of it: IBM had suffered a multibillion dollar loss and was burning cash.
“There’s been a lot of speculation as to when I’m going to deliver a vision of IBM [but] the last thing IBM needs right now is a vision,” Gerstner said at his first press conference. He needed to make some tough decisions and get the his new team members working together effectively – fast.
Creating a positive atmosphere in the office is not that easy. Sometimes, there are periods of the year when your employees are going to feel less motivated. This is all a normal cycle, as we’re all only human.
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In Leadership and Motivation I started writing with the premise that leadership is about producing more leaders, not more followers.
So, I thought it worthwhile to look at three common mistakes businesses make when motivating people.
Our next sortie into leadership models and theories brings us to leadership and motivation.
We’ll first take a quick look at some commonly held theories and views of motivation — Maslow, Herzberg and Fayol — before considering the work of John Adair.