The Manager as Motivator

Book excerpt: A manager has more opportunity to directly motivate employees than does any other organizational influence. And in today's complex and fluid work environments, where retention of top-performing employees is paramount, managers are under considerable pressure to motivate individuals to achieve both personal and organizational goals. Integrating insights from management and psychology, The Manager as Motivator covers such issues as the development of a free-agent workforce, with talent following supply and demand; the emergence of employees as the only true sustainable advantage; and the opportunities and challenges that managers face in their role as motivators, especially when they themselves are wrestling with limited resources and competing demands. Featuring diagnostic exercises, case examples, checklists, and other interactive elements, the book addresses common myths and misconceptions about motivation (such as the popular focus on charismatic leaders) and offers readers many practical tools for becoming more effective motivators—and measuring the positive results. A manager has more opportunity to directly motivate employees than does any other organizational influence. Conversely, research reveals that de-motivating managers are the primary reason employees voluntarily leave. Managers set the tone, translate organizational strategy into employee performance and developmental plans, provide the carrots and the sticks to achieve those plans, and in virtually every other way reinforce—for better or worse—the cultural attitudes of the organization. The Manager as Motivator explores the dynamics of motivation, especially in the context of today's complex and fluid work enivronments, where retention of top-performing employees is paramount. Integrating insights from management and psychology, the author covers such issues as the development of a free-agent workforce, with talent following supply and demand; the emergence of employees as the only true sustainable advantage; and the opportunities and challenges that managers face in their role as motivators, especially when they themselves are wrestling with limited resources and competing demands. Featuring diagnostic exercises, case examples, checklists, and other interactive elements, the book addresses common myths and misconceptions about motivation (such as the popular focus on charismatic leaders) and offers readers many practical tools for becoming more effective motivators—and measuring the positive results.