Leadership is A Skill You Can Learn

What is a leader?  A leader is a multifaceted style that encompasses more than managing people.  According to Kevin Kruse in an article for Forbes, “Leadership doesn’t automatically happen when you reach a certain pay grade.” (What is Leadership?)  It is a learning experience all its own.

"Leadership scholars define a leader as a person who sets attractive goals and has the ability to attract followers, or constituents, who share those goals. Above all, a leader must be trusted and respected. Trust between a leader and constituent’s opens up two-way communication, making it possible for them to realize their common goals." (Marvin Bower, The Will to Lead)

One of the most important aspects of leadership is good communication skills.  Whether it is coaching or delivering performance evaluations, leaders need to have the ability to communicate effectively.  Leadership and communication skills can be taught.  The ability to communicate and build teams is important for emerging leaders to be able motivate groups of people toward a common goal—the goal of the business. 

In an article, Businesses Don’t Fail – Leaders Do, Mike Myatt writes: ”Why do businesses fail? If you’re willing to strip away all the excuses, explanations, rationalizations, and justifications for business failures, and be really honest in your analysis, you’ll find only one plausible reason—poor leadership.”

In our new course series, Management to Leadership, instructor Dena Loverde explores the differences between managing people and leading them.  Not everyone is a leader, but with the skills learned in this course anyone can learn to be one.

Take a sneak peek at the lesson: Leader as Goal Setter, from the course Defining Leadership which will be posted live on our website: www.knowledgecity.com in the coming weeks.

Read More

Employee Engagement & Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Employee engagement is a workplace mantra.  Managers around the globe are starting to think about how to create a culture where employees thrive and become committed members of the team.  When a company is able to inspire its employees to adopt its goals through engagement, the company will see the benefits in productivity.  One way of doing this is to start with understanding how we as humans are inspired in the first place.  What do we need to become committed and how do employers meet that need?  If you could ask noted psychologist, Abraham Maslow, he might tell you meet their hierarchy of needs.

Who is Maslow and what is his Hierarchy of Needs?

Abraham Maslow proposed in a paper he wrote, “A Theory of Human Motivation” published in Psychological Review in 1943, that people’s motivations are unrelated to rewards or unconscious desires.  He theorized that people are motivated by what has become known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  The hierarchy is depicted in a pyramid that contains five levels.  These levels include: Physiological Needs, Safety Needs, Social Needs, Esteem Needs, and Self-Actualization.

According to SimplyPsychology.com, people are motivated to achieve each of the needs in the pyramid.  After people fulfill the needs at one level they move on to the next.  To progress up the pyramid each lower need must be met.  Any time there is a failure to meet the needs at a lower level it disrupts the person’s ability to progress.  Life is unpredictable.  As situations arise these experiences can cause an individual to move back and forth between levels.

According to Maslow, only one in one hundred people ever become fully self-actualized. This is mainly due to our society which primarily rewards motivation based on esteem, love and other social needs.

How Does Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Help Us Understand Employee Engagement?

To understand how Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs relates, we need to see the bigger picture.  Let’s start with Gallup’s “State of the American Workplace”. According to the report published last year, only 30 percent of employees are engaged.  Another 52 percent are disengaged and 18 percent are actively disengaged. What exactly does that mean?  It means that 70 percent of the American workforce is not committed to their organization’s goals and values.  They are not motivated to contribute to the organization’s success.  These workers are emotionally disconnected and less productive.

According to an article in Forbes, “Surprising, Disturbing Facts from the Mother of All Employee Engagement Surveys”, the leading factor that influences employee engagement is the relationship the employee has with their managers.  Choosing the right leaders significantly impacts the workforce.

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” —Sam Walton

According to a study by Delloitte.com, “Global Human Capital Trends 2014—engaging the 21^st Century Workforce”, 65 percent of executives rated “overwhelmed employees” as an urgent need that must be addressed.  The “always on” employee was built by mobile technology.  We are always connected 24/7.  The new “workaholic” lifestyle just increases with seniority and income.

In addition to employees being overwhelmed, some other reasons for disengaged employees are: workload is too high, companies that do not invest in talent development, no advancement opportunities for high performers, non-inclusive culture, transitions in leadership.

“People leave managers, not organizations.” —Anonymous

The key to engaging employees, motivating your team, and increasing productivity in the long run is to invest in your workers.  Re-design the position, add benefits that matter, change the work environment and develop your team and leadership.  It is not always easy to re-engage a disengaged employee, but people aren’t motivated by the bottom line.  They are motivated by the things that meet their hierarchy of needs.

Read More

Team Building is an Art

Team building takes some human relation skills such as: Motivation, Leadership, and Communications; all of which boost Morale. In addition to an astute understanding of people and your team in particular; here are five tools that you can use to inspire and build your team:

1. Clearly define goals, roles, and responsibilities: To get your team to become a more cohesive unit, it is important to communicate not only the reason the team is in place, but also to clearly define what roles each team member plays in the bigger picture.  When we all know our place, it is easier to contribute to the shared goals of the team.

2. Be a cheerleader: Motivating a team is often a difficult task.  Why? Because you must first build interdependence, respect and trust.  When you take the time to listen to your team, such as through group brainstorming, you show them that their opinions and knowledge are important to the group as a whole and the end goal.  When you take the time to build up your team through encouragement and celebrating accomplishments, you build self-esteem and loyalty.

3. Build the team you need: Leadership is a skill that is learned and there is always room for improvement.  How is this accomplished?  Teach leadership skills and provide leadership opportunities, mentor and give support, provide training in areas your team members need development.  When you invest in your team members; your team members become invested as well.

4. Build a community: A community is like a well-oiled machine.  Each team member has a place and a function that contributes to the united whole.  The community works as a whole to accomplish more than either could alone; toward a shared vision or goal.  Establish the community rules or code of conduct.  Encourage team members to participate in the community building process.  When the going gets tough, you will be glad you created a community.

5. Become a mediator not a judge: Conflicts are inevitable within a community and a team.  How you manage the conflicts will make or break what you are trying to build.  Create a plan that encourages and respects the diversity of the members and their opinions, views or ideas.  Clearly define it to your team.  People matter and finding a middle ground during conflict will help your team weather any storm.

Read More