A "Must Do" Tactic to Improve your Team Motivation Skills
Has this ever happened to you? You go to speak to your boss, or
a colleague, a friend or even someone in your family and you
feel they're not listening. How does that make you feel - not
very good I suspect.
When I bring this up in a team motivation seminar, some managers
start to feel a litle bit uncomfortable.
If you want to motivate and have a good relationship with the
people in your team, your customers, colleagues, friends and
family, then you need to be a good listener.
You need to look and sound like you're listening. When face to
face you need to look interested, nod your head and keep good
eye contact. Over the phone you need to make the occasional -
"Uh-Huh - I see."
I've seen managers, when faced with a problem from a team
member, start to do something else, like work on the computer.
I've also heard managers say - "It's okay, I can do two things
at once, I can listen to you and work on the computer."
Maybe you can, but the message your team member gets is - "My
problem isn't that important, my manager just isn't interested."
When you're spending time with people you need to give them your
full attention. You need to look them in the eye, concentrate on
them and make them feel that what they say is important and
deserves your attention.
As well as looking interested in your team member's or your
customer's problem, it's a good idea to write it down. I've
fallen into the trap of thinking - "I'll remember that when I
get back to the office and I'll check on it." However, one
person I was with said - "You wont do anything about what I've
said Alan because you wont remember it." From that point on I
wrote things down. It's also a good idea to paraphrase - to
repeat back what the person has said to ensure your
understanding and let them know you've been listening.
It may seem like a simple thing but it's very important to use
names. You could say in response to a problem from a team member
- "I'll speak to the accounts department about that."
Its far better to say - "I'll speak to the accounts department
about that Susan, thank you for bringing it to my attention."
That's a much better way for a motivating manager to act.
A person's name is one of the warmest sounds they hear. It says
- "I recognise you as an individual." However, don't overdo it
as it may come across as patronising.
So just some food for thought - many people believe that to be a
good motivator you need to be a good speaker when in fact - you
need to be a great listener.