How To Motivate and Coach Employees for Success in Today's Job Market

I talk to lots of people each day, and what I hear is a lack of love, support, motivation, and recognition from their direct manager or supervisor. Too many people in management positions think the only reason someone works is for money. Many managers believe that the paycheck is why people work and there is no reason to tell anyone thanks for doing a great job. We nitpick things they are doing wrong and fail to recognize and celebrate what they are doing right.

These people I am talking to are ready to leave, want to leave, or are waiting for the job they really want. When you lose an employee today it is much harder to find a replacement. Especially someone good.

Each day you can motivate your staff or turn them off. When you put employees down, they get depressed and their effectiveness disappears. A manager’s job is to coach i their workforce and bring out the best in everyone they manage to help foster both their own and their employees’ success. Everyone wins when organizations treat their employees well, coach them effectively, and continually work to motivate empowered performance.

The typical supervisor and manager have had virtually no training on leadership, management, and coaching skills. It is critical to spend time and money each year developing these skills.

Coaching focuses on proper motivation, teamwork, expectations, and corroboration rather than a command-and-control approach. The modern manager as coach works as a team leader as well as a team member.

Employees think of managers as paper pushers, number crunchers, or administrators, while coaches are teachers and mentors who have employees’ interests in mind, in addition to the organization’s business goals. In the eyes of employees, managers are standoffish and reticent, while coaches are approachable, open-minded, and accessible. Employees want to work with someone willing to see them as the people they are. They want to impress them and do their part to help the entire team succeed.

Employees want to feel wanted

We’re human: we want to feel wanted – by everyone in our workplace. This is especially true of their coach. When a manager, coach, or co-worker doesn’t want an employee around, it is obvious to everyone. They will process that standoffishness consciously or subconsciously to the detriment of the team’s performance.

Employees want to feel needed

Employees want to know that their skills and talents are being put to use by their team and by the organization. Many of your employees toil for years honing their skills and improving their experience. They want to feel like they are using what they have learned and that those skills are being employed appropriately.

Employees want to feel they belong

Employees want to feel like there is a place for them – not only within the organization, but also within the team. An employee will spend more time at their job than any other single place during their life except at their home. As humans we thrive on creating and subsisting within our interpersonal relationships.

Employees want to feel valued

Employees desire recognition for their efforts and performance – from you, from your organization, and from their co-workers. Not only do employees want to feel they are using their skills, they want to feel that the organization appreciates their talents and values them when they meet and exceed expectations. Providing recognition is a way you can show employees they are valued.

An employee who feels wanted, needed, and valued feels secure and supported in their job. This can lead to positive outcomes, including:

• Employees making more empowered decisions

• Employees working better with their customers and co-workers

• Employees being unafraid to take risks

Keeping employees and motivating them for greater success is critical. Employees are 10 times more fragile than you think they are. Your success is their hands.

John Tschohl is a professional speaker, trainer, and consultant. He is president and founder of Service Quality Institute, with operations in more than 40 countries. He is considered one of the foremost authorities on service strategy, success, empowerment, and customer service. His monthly strategic newsletter is available online at no charge. Contact him at 952-884-3311 or quality@servicequality.com. He can also be reached on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.