Leadership Lessons: Motivating Team Members

Motivating all Generations

Oprah has topped the list of celebrities whom hourly workers, including teens, are motivated by to make their day more fun. Kathy Gurchiek, associate editor for HR News, reported in a September online brief results of more than 2,300 people completing the SnagAJob.com online survey conducted recently. Oprah was the top choice ahead of Angelina Jolie and Will Ferrell among workers in the age groups 18 to 24, 25 to 44, and 45 and older.

What does this mean? Perhaps nothing, but it is another indication of the inter-generational workforce and the little quirks that are emerging that may affect how we motivate, hire, and retain employees.

Some Perspective

The SHRM® Generational Differences Survey Report indicates that 51% of HR professionals felt that employees of different generations work effectively together. However, managers need to employ a variety of leadership styles to be better equipped to deal with potential conflicts and motivate employees.

Authors Lynne C. Lancaster and David Stillman in their book, When Generations Collide, say that effectively managing the new workforce depends on understanding the values and experiences distinguishing different generations:

• Traditionalists, born prior to 1945, value loyalty and prefer a top-down approach to management. Information is something provided on a need-to-know basis.
  
• Baby boomers, born 1946-1964, are optimistic and idealist. Success comes from challenging authority and creating open lines of communication.
  
• Generation Xers, born 1965-1980, are more skeptical. As latchkey kids and/or the product of broken homes, they grew up in a time of political and corporate scandals. They distrust institutions and value individualism.
  
• The Millennials, born after 1980, will change employers during the span of their career and they will change the type of work they do.

Understanding this diversity also means adjusting recruitment and retention strategies and training managers to motivate appropriately. Doing so will reap bottom-line results in the years to come.

The concept of how managers lead and motivate is complex and undergoing a major shift. The manager creates the environment - a climate positive for success. In reality motivation springs from within, but it is fostered in an environment in which people motivate themselves through reinforcement of confidence, trust, and satisfaction.
A Solution

When high performers have unresolved motivation issues their performance declines, or they leave for another job. When poor performers are not motivated to improve, they drag the team down and reduce productivity.

Competent leaders must motivate and empower the new generation of workers.

The Vital Learning curriculum is designed to meet your training and budgetary needs. Want to learn more about "Essential Skills of Communicating" or the complete Vital Learning leadership development curriculum? Available in Classroom, Online, or Blended delivery options, the Vital Learning curriculum includes the following essential topics.

• Delegating - understanding when to use delegation and how to make it motivating
• Complaints - being able to effectively manage complaints
  
• Coaching - knowing how to productively coach job skills
  
• Project Management - being able to run projects, both on-time and on-budget
  
• Conflict - understanding how to successfully resolve conflict
  
• Hiring Winning Talent- knowing what to do to consistently hire the right talent
  
• Providing Feedback - understanding how to establish performance goals and standards and give feedback
  
• And more...

For detail go to www.TheLearningEngine.org