Training Program Leadership and Motivation

Motivation, Leadership, Communication, and Group Discussion RVCE Training Program Resurgent Technologies 16 May 2008

Overall Agenda

Introduction

Motivation and Leadership

Stress Management

Communication and Group Discussion

Participative Learning

Participative Management

Conclusions

Introduction

Have mastered technical skills

Need for finishing skills

Looking at Motivation, Leadership, Stress Management, Communication, and Group Working (Participative Management)

Ideal career scenario: self motivated, self directed, self assessed, and self controlled

Motivation and Leadership

Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success. - Explorer Ernest Shackleston in a 1890 job ad for the first Antarctic expedition.

What is Motivation?

A person's motivation is a combination of desire and energy directed at achieving a goal. Influencing someone's motivation means getting them to want to do what you know must be done

It is generally believed that self motivation is easier (and more efficient) than external motivation

What does motivation Depend On?

A person's motivation depends upon two things:

The strength of certain needs. For example, you are hungry, but you must have a task completed by a nearing deadline. If you are starving you will eat. If you are slightly hungry you will finish the task at hand.

The perception that taking a certain action will help satisfy those needs. For example, you have two burning needs - The desire to complete the task and the desire to go to lunch. Your perception of how you view those two needs will determine which one takes priority. If you believe that you could be fired for not completing the task, you will probably put off lunch and complete the task. If you believe that you will not get into trouble or perhaps finish the task in time, then you will likely go to lunch.

What Motivates People?

People can be motivated by such forces as beliefs, values, interests, fear, and worthy causes.

Internal Forces: needs, interests, and beliefs.

External Forces: danger, the environment, or pressure from a loved one.

There is no simple formula for motivation -- you must keep a open viewpoint on human nature.

There is a complex array of forces steering the direction of each person and these forces cannot always be seen or studied. In addition, if the same forces are steering two different people, each one may act differently. Knowing that each person may react to different needs will guide your decisions and actions in certain situations.

Power to Influence Motivation

Allow the needs of your team to coincide with the needs of your organization.

Nearly everyone is influenced by the needs for job security, promotion, raises, and approval of their peers and/or leaders.

They are also influenced by internal forces such as values morals, and ethics.

Likewise, the organization needs good people in a wide variety of jobs.

Ensure that your team is trained, encouraged, and has opportunities to advance.

Also, ensure that the way you conduct business has the same values, moral, and ethic principles that you seek in others. If you conduct business in a dishonest manner, your team will be dishonest to you, for that will be the kind of people that you will attract.

Reward good behavior. Although a certificate, letter, or a thank you may seem small and insignificant, they can be powerful motivators.

The reward should be specific and prompt. Do not say something general, such as "for doing a good job," rather cite the specific action that made you believe it was indeed a good job.

In addition, help those who are good. We all make mistakes or need help on an occasion to achieve a particular goal.

Set the example. You must be the role model that you want others to grow into.

Develop moral and esprit de corps.

Moral is the mental, emotional, and spiritual state of a person. Almost everything you do will have an impact on your organization. You should always be aware how your actions and decisions might affect it.

Esprit de corps means team spirit - it is defined as the spirit of the organization or collective body (in French it literally means "spirit of the body"). It is the consciousness of the organization that allows the people within it to identify with and feel a part of. Is your workplace a place where people cannot wait to get away from; or is it a place that people enjoy spending a part of their lives?

Allow your team to be part of the planning and problem solving process.

This helps with their development and allows you to coach them.

Secondly, it motivates them -- people who are part of the decision making process become the owners of it, thus it gives them a personal interest in seeing the plan succeed.

Thirdly, communication is clearer as everyone has a better understanding of what role they must play as part of the team.

Next, it creates an open trusting communication bond. They are no longer just the doers for the organization -- they are now part of it!

Finally, recognition and appreciation from a respected leader are powerful motivators.

Look out for your team. Although you do not have control over their personal lives, you must show concern for them. Things that seem of no importance to you might be extremely critical to them. You must be able to empathize with them. This is from the German word, einfuhling , which means "to feel with", or the ability to perceive another person's view of the world as though that view were your own.

The Sioux Indian Tribal Prayer reads, "Great Spirit, help us never to judge another until we have walked for two weeks in his moccasins." Also note that empathy differs from sympathy in that sympathy connotes spontaneous emotion rather than a conscious, reasoned response. Sympathizing with others may be less useful to another person if we are limited by the strong feelings of the moment.

Keep them informed. Keeping the communication channel open allows a person to have a sense of control over her life.

Make their jobs challenging, exciting, and meaningful. Make each feel like an individual in a great team...rather than a cog in a lifeless machine. People need meaningful work, even if it is tiring and unpleasant; they need to know that it is important and necessary for the survival of the organization.

Leadership and Motivation

Leadership and motivational qualities are excellent to have not only among management in a business, but among employees as well.

Many individuals tend to have a propensity to be leaders, while some learn successful leadership behaviors and go on to be effective leaders.

Leading is the ability to influence others in a group. Being a good leader takes understanding of what motivates others. Leaders want to influence things to continue or create change. Either way it takes a person with certain skills to do the task.

In order to be a leader, it is important to understand what motivates the employees around you. It is necessary to discover the fundamental needs that employees, coworkers, and bosses have.

All people have a need for a basic income and necessities.

Additionally, they have a need for a deep social connection and friendships. People want to fit in somewhere and feel as if they belong.

Another large category of human need is the need for growth and challenges. A staff member lured to a job by high salary may find their job dissatisfying if she is unable to have friendships and connect with other people at work. It is much easier to lead and motivate if you understand what people’s undeniable needs are.

There are a few qualities that seem to put people at the head of the pack as far as their ability to obtain leadership positions.

Many leaders tend to be outgoing, brave, tall in stature, well-liked, articulate, and task oriented. By no means are these qualities always correct. Napoleon happened to be a very short man, and Abraham Lincoln has been described as being very introverted.

There are countless factors that can make a person a good leader, but it depends on the group of people that they are leading. There is a common misconception that leaders are always outspoken, flamboyant people, and this just isn’t the case. Less articulate individuals with other combinations of skills are quite successful as well.

Leading is used to channel motivation into practical use. There are many factors that play into keeping employees motivated.

A common factor in motivation is the type of work that the employee is doing. You might think that if an employee has simple tasks that they would become more efficient at them over time. However, it is also important to look at the fact that doing a job that is the same day in and day out can become quite boring.

When employees are given a job with varied tasks and ability to grow they tend to stay more motivated. Sadly, many workers are underutilized and do not get challenged or the ability to show their creativity to its fullest potential.

Many people are goal oriented once a leader shows where their efforts should be focused. They respond well to deadlines and planning.

It is a good feeling to have a concrete goal to shoot for. Having the ability to achieve goals can be very personally satisfying. In organizations usually there may be specific planned goals.

Attempts by many within an organization to achieve the same goal can also create stronger drive to be successful.

As a manager, it is important to make sure that the goals are reasonable. The effect of having a goal that is impossible to attain has reverse effects and can cause discouragement rapidly.

When goals are eventually accomplished or milestones are reached, many people like to be able to get a reward or benefit.

Some goals create personal satisfaction upon completion naturally such as learning, growth, and self-esteem. Additional rewards such as salary increases, bonuses, and celebrations are also good reminders that individuals are appreciated for what they are doing.

Rewards work so well for some as motivating tools that workers will go out of their way to make sure they use and develop the kinds of things that are rewarded.

This is also a double-edged sword because some rewarded activities will take effort away from non-reward areas. For example, if employees are paid based on the amount of output that they generate, the employees might try to increase their output. They might have more of what they were doing, but it may not be of as good of quality.

The work atmosphere in general has a lot to do with employee motivation. Typically managers that treat employees in a friendly manner are apt to get more of a positive response.

You want to work at a business with individuals that enjoy their work and like their surroundings. Employees will compare themselves to others to make sure they are being treated in a way that they perceive as fair.

If an employee feels that they are not being treated fair, they will lack the motivation to work hard. Everyone likes to have a little independence and to be useful while they are working.

Some control is always needed, but flexibility is appreciated. Employees and coworkers are also happy when they feel like they fit in and are able to be themselves. This goes back to the basis needs that humans strive to fulfill.

Unfortunately, the ability to lead and increase motivation in people is not always used properly.

Leadership should not be based on lies, trickery, or manipulation. You can look back in history and see that there are people who have abused their power and used motivation in negative ways.

When leading other individuals it is important they are getting a benefit out of their own actions. It is important to be ethical and considerate of others at all times.

In order to achieve leadership and promote motivation there are an assorted variety of skills that anyone in an organization can use.

Remember the basic things that people have needs for, and look how individuals respond on a personal level.

Make sure that you do not require things from others that you would not want required of yourself. In fact, one of the best ways to be a leader is to be a good example for others to follow.

Do not feel that you have to conform to what you think that a leader should be. People with different personalities and approaches are able to be terrific leaders. Concentrate on developing interpersonal skills and you will be able to lead others more effectively.

Basic Traits of Leadership

Being in the Know of Things (Knowledge)

Ability to Hear Patiently (Receptive)

Having a Clear Logical Though Process

Ability to Take Decisions (often with incomplete Information)

Ability to Motivate Colleagues and Co-workers

Ability to See to Implementation of Decisions

Attributes for the Dairy Farm Manager

1. Communications – the extent to which one can communicate orally, listen and respond effectively, or express effectively his/her ideas in writing .

Planning and organizing – the process of establishing a course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a specific goal .

3. Leadership – the ability to influence others to move toward the attainment of a specific goal using techniques such as delegation and motivation .

4. Decision making and judgment - the process of identifying problems, securing relevant information, developing courses of action, and making a decision from information gathered . 5. Management control – the extent to which one maximizes and monitors the use of all resources (e.g. personnel, financial and material) to obtain effective outcomes. 6. Empathy – the ability to respond/react to a problem considering the feelings, emotions and needs of others.

7. Teamwork – the degree to which one is willing to work cooperatively with others. 8. Initiative – the ability to begin actions without stimulation or support from others, the capacity to see courses of action and to discover new means of goal achievement.

Group Discussion Performance Areas