Each team leader or manager at some stage or the other wants to acknowledge team mates’ efforts. They see giving motivational pep talks as part of their talent management tasks. However, in spite of the genuine efforts many get this wrong, and instead employees feel let down. Employees feel compliments as insincere when they are acknowledged on the go, while managers seem preoccupied with something else. They also feel let down when they can sense that their superior is simply making things up to increase his/her popularity ratings. A lot of managers actually have a sense of guilt so to make up they shower praise just to hide their own shortcomings. This too must be avoided at all costs. Instead, employees always feel valued when their superiors ask for the back story behind the success. If the same gratitude spoken of earlier, is contextualized as part of something bigger, employees feel valued. Finally, bosses will raise their popularity stakes simply by acknowledging the personal cost attached.

Source:https://hbr.org/2018/07/what-not-to-do-when-youre-trying-to-motivate-your-team?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Uploaded Date:16 August 2019

A question that has often been mooted in recent years, has been on the continuing central importance of leadership to any organization. The gig economy at play presently ensures that a huge percentage of people across industries are working remotely. Leaders though still play a massive role in promoting this autonomy, thus further fueling in creativity. Lindy Greer, who teaches MBA students at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, speaks about how a hierarchy- less structure can breed anarchy. She wrote an article recently on the Journal of Applied Psychology. Titled as Why and When Hierarchy Impacts Team Effectiveness, the article explores various facets of social dynamics of teams, talent management, hierarchy and status. The alternatives are simply not reliable, as they lead to confusion within the ranks.

Source:https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/why-teams-still-need-leaders/

Burnout has unfortunately become a common trend among business professionals. This is especially true for those up on the company pyramid. In spite of themselves suffering from the same, the leaders still need to ensure that their team members do not suffer from burnout. Before helping others cope up though, one needs to take care of one’s own physiological and psychological health. Specific corporate training sessions ought to be provided to help employees tide over these problems. The problem must not be considered an individual issue, but one that pertains to the entire group. Leaders themselves need to exhibit a sense of compassion. One needs to set a good example for the others to follow on. Focus must be established on diagnosing the reasons for this burnout in taking place. The leader must also act as an advocate for the team, speaking up for the others. He or she must also prove to be a beacon for optimism, so others feel good about working there.

Source:https://hbr.org/2019/03/how-to-help-your-team-with-burnout-when-youre-burned-out-yourself?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter_weekly&utm_campaign=insider_activesubs&utm_content=signinnudge&referral=03551&deliveryName=DM42915

Uploaded Date:29 July 2019

Freeing the front line workers and providing due autonomy to the employees, has long been vouched for by company leaders. Yet, few have managed to actually crack this code. One way to inculcate this is for leaders to develop a strategic mindset. This will ensure that the grind of wanting to micromanage will reduce, if not disappear altogether. A lot of team leaders fear that excess autonomy granted to the employees could lead to a tailing off of their alignment with the overall corporate strategy. The management must also adopt the system of funneling. This will ensure that while the will to innovate thrives, too much time will not get wasted on poor- quality initiatives. The talent management structures should also be defined such that the rules to be followed are simple. The fear that weeding out bureaucracy will lead to employees not knowing what to do, can be eliminated by having simple house rules. In order to mitigate risks, the ventures must be distributed across the levels. Oversight can then be avoided.

Source:https://hbr.org/2019/07/how-to-give-your-team-the-right-amount-of-autonomy

Uploaded Date:29 July 2019