Employee Motivation Involves Assessing Ability, Devoting Resources, Then Reaching Job Goals

Today’s best managers know how employees tend to be motivated. First, employees assess their ability to perform tasks, then based on those assessments, they select performance goals that they believe they can achieve. Once goals are set, then employees devote energy and resources to achieving their goals. In this way, employees self-regulate their behavior and resources toward reaching desirable goals. Today’s best managers can help employees stay motivated by helping them set specific, difficult, yet reachable goals for their own individual knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Source: Vancouver, J. B., More, K . M., & Yoder, R. J. 2008. Self-efficacy and resource allocation: Support for a nonmonotonic discontinuous model. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 35-47.

Employees With High Core Self-Evaluations Can Be High Organizational Performers

Today’s best managers know that a core self-evaluation (CSE) is how employees view themselves and their role in the world. An employee CSE is comprised of beliefs about four things: self-esteem, self-efficacy, emotional stability, and locus of control. Self-esteem refers to what employees think of their own self-worth. Self-efficacy refers to an employee’s belief that he or she can perform a task. Emotional stability refers to how well an employee can stay calm and not react badly to commonplace, everyday occurrences. Locus of control refers to an employee’s belief that he or she can influence the environment and control outcomes.

Source: Johnson, R. E., Rosen, C. C., & Levy, P. E. 2008. Getting to the core of core self-evaluation: A review of recommendations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29, 391-413.

Work-Family Conflict Perceptions Tend To Be Stable Over Time

Today’s best managers know that work-family conflict means that the demands from work and from family collide with each other. The level of work-family conflict that employees perceive tends to be stable and unchanging over time, even over long periods such as six years. If demands on an employee’s time and energy are exceeded, then exhaustion and extreme tiredness can result. When employees become exhausted with their job, psychological stress and distress can result. Then, the distress can lead to parental stress at home. Employees of both genders tend to have these same experiences.

Source: Rantanen, J., Kinnunen, U., Feldt, R., & Pulkkinen, L. 2008. Work-family conflict and psychological well-being: Stability and cross-lagged relations within one- and six-year follow-ups. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73, 37-51.

Innovation Benefits When Employees Network Across Company Boundaries

Today’s best managers know that company structure can get in the way of innovation that brings together ideas across departments. Managers can help innovation happen by bringing together people from different areas. Some employees have informal social connections that cross company boundaries. These employees are helpful at bringing about innovation. However, managers must help them by encouraging formal communication across company departments. Periodically bring together key people who typically don’t work together and encourage them to discuss their problems and potential joint solutions. Help employees build strong social webs that can generate new innovative ideas.

Source: Kleinbaum, A. M., & Tushman, M. L. 2008, July-August. Managing corporate social networks. Harvard Business Review, 26-27.

Strengthen Your Relationships At Work By Improving Trust

Today’s best managers know the importance of building trust with their coworkers. Two different types of trust are possible. Trust “from the head” refers to how you feel about someone else’s competence and reliability. Trust “from the heart” refers to how you view someone’s feelings and motives at work. This second type of trust involves expressing concern and care for another person’s welfare, and is more long-lasting than trust from the head. Today’s best managers look for trust gaps, and work to build better and more trusting relationships with employees they don’t yet fully trust.

Source: Chua, R.Y. J., Ingram, P., & Morris, M. W. 2008. From the head and the heard: Locating cognition- and affect-based trust in managers’ professional networks. Academy of Management Journal, 51: 436-452.

The Seven Minute Difference: Small Steps To Big Changes.

This book explores seven major ways to improve your life. For example, take the time to discover the purpose and passion for your life. Set six types of goals for your life: personal, financial, small, far-reaching, career, health, and leaving your legacy after you die. Believe in yourself and take time to practice dreaming. Expand the possibilities for your growth in small, seven-minute increments. Choose to be successful each day. Remember that life-changing actions require you to make life-changing decisions. If you don’t replenish your energy, then it will soon die out.

Source: The Seven Minute Difference: Small Steps To Big Changes.By Allyson Lewis, 2008, Kaplan Publishing, NY, ISBN: 978-1-4277-9794-0.

Individually Negotiated Employee Deals May Help Improve Organizational Outcomes

As organizations become more flexible and adaptable, it may become more possible for employees to negotiate individualized work arrangements with their managers. Some employees may make individual deals for unique work arrangements or shape their job to meet their individual needs and wants from the company. Today’s best managers know that individually bargained deals may help reduce work-family conflict and unpaid overtime, and can improve work attitudes and performance. Additionally, personalized deals made with managers have resulted in higher levels of organizational commitment and employee productivity.

Source: Hornung, S., Rousseau, D. M., & Glaser, J. 2008. Creating flexible work arrangements through idiosyncratic deals. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 655-664.

Employee Support Programs Can Improve Employee Commitment For Those Who Give Or Receive

Today’s best managers know that building employee commitment to the organization is vital. One way that managers can help build employee commitment is by establishing formal programs in which employees can contribute to an employee financial support program or foundation. The program should enable employees to give as well as receive funds. Tell employees how they can contribute to the program and show them the rules that are used to distribute funds to needy employees. The process of giving to help other employees can improve the commitment that employees have to their organization.

Source: Grant, A., M., Dutton, J. E., & Rosso, B. D. 2008. Giving commitment: Employee support programs and the prosocial sensemaking process. Academy of Management Journal, 51, 898-918.

Create Employee Performance Dashboards To Provide Instant Performance Feedback

Today’s best managers know the importance of having easy-to-read measures of employee success that provide instant feedback about employee performance. Many companies call such measures “dashboards,” which are named after the dashboard of a vehicle. The dashboard of a car provides the driver with instant information about all of the most important measures, such as fuel, speed, miles traveled, etc. Employee dashboards should also contain measures of the most important employee performance information and should be displayed in one, easy-to-see location so that employees will know when they are on track and when they need to pull over and fix a problem.

Source: Malik, S. 2008. Dashboards: Use them to create a culture of accountability. Leadership Excellence, 25/4, p. 16.

Employee Regret Over Choices They Made Can Influence Their Behavior

Today’s best managers know that employee regrets can influence employee behaviors over time. Employees may feel guilty about how they spent their time off and employees may regret the choices that they made about their leisure time. Employees who completely take time off from work to relax tend to regret not working through their breaks, but their regret fades quickly over time. However, employees who work through their breaks tend to regret doing so over time, but they also have ever-growing feelings of resentment about having missed out during their break. Help your employees lessen their feelings of resentment and regret no matter what choices they make.

Source: Keinan, A., & Kivetz. R. 2008, July-August. When virtue is a vice. Harvard Business Review, 22-23.

Efficiency Without Learning And Adapting Results in Company Failure

Managers used to believe that the way to success was doing things in the most efficient way possible. Today’s best managers know that this limited view can quickly lead to company failure in today’s business environment. Focus on finding the best information available and using that to improve your processes. Make information available to all employees and help them collaborate using the new information. Examine your processes and find out how work is actually being done. Study all of the data and combine it with your best information to create new ways of working that go beyond just being more and more efficient.

Source: Edmondson, A. C. 2008, July-August. The competitive imperative of learning. Harvard Business Review, 60-67.

Relying Solely on Intuition Can Result In Poor Managerial Decisions

Managers many believe that using one’s gut is just as effective as using one’s brain for making managerial decisions. Indeed, many movies and television shows portray a rebellious leader who uses only their gut intuition to determine a course of action. Today’s best managers know that intuition alone is not the best way to make decisions. The best way to make decisions is through a balanced blend of intuition, personal experiences, individual judgment, and thorough and careful analysis of reliable data.

Source: Clancy, K. J., & Krieg, P. C. 2008. Management myth #1: Your gut is not smarter than your head. Leadership Excellence, 25/4, p. 12.

Simple Principles: To Think Big And Achieve Success.

Success is different for everyone. What you define as success should be what you aspire to have and to become for your life. The book stresses that individuals should become people of increasing value. The book offers 200 simple principles for achieving success, and is written around three main areas: increased productivity, importance of networking, and taking the initiative and making things happen. Simple principles include: identify the skills that you have, then put them to use, never eat alone, write your own blog, be sure not to burn bridges, don’t wait to be told, make your voice heard, and don’t be afraid to break the mold.

Source: Simple Principles: To Think Big And Achieve Success. By Alex A. Lluch and Helen Eckman, 2008, WS Publishing Group, San Diego, CA, ISBN: 978-1-934386-07-1.

Flexible Work Arrangements Pay Off For Employees And For Employers

Today’s best managers know the importance of providing flexible work arrangements to increase employee productivity. More and more managers around the world are helping their employees rearrange their work schedule, and in return are getting happier and more productive employees. Although the Family and Medical Leave Act in the United States helps employees take time off to take care of a child or parent, there are no laws in the US requiring employers to provide flexible working hours. Today’s best managers are taking the lead and offering flexible working hours that meet the needs of both the company and the employee.

Source: What U.S. employers can learn about flexible work in other nations. HRfocus. 2008, August. Page 8.

High Team Quality Relationships Can Lead To Positive Emotions For Team Members

Today’s best managers know that TMX stands for team member exchange and refers to the quality of the relationship between team members. Team members who have high quality relationships with their team members tend to assist each other and share information more than teams with low TMX. Teams with higher TMX tend to have higher positive emotions, such as excitement, enjoyment, satisfaction, and enthusiasm, compared to teams with low TMX. This happens because over time teams become more experienced, and negative emotions are reduced due to familiarity and understanding among team members.

Source: Tse, H. H M., & Dasborough, M. T. 2008, April. A study of exchange and emotions in team member relationships. Group & Organization Management, 33, 194-215.

Employee View Of Self Can Influence Their Organizational Commitment

Today’s best managers know that an employee’s view of themselves can influence their organizational commitment. Some employees view themselves based on their membership in groups, and how much they adhere to the goals and values of groups to which they belong. These employees typically have an emotional attachment to their organization and are internally driven to work hard for the company. Other employees have a view of themselves based on their own advantage and well-being compared to others. These employees evaluate themselves based on their own personal goals, rewards, and successes, and they want to surpass other employees. These employees only stay with an organization when it provides them with rewards and benefits that they desire.

Source: Johnson, R. E., & Chang, C.-H. 2008. Relationships between organizational commitment and its antecedents: Employee self-concept matters. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38, 513-541.

Today’s Best Managers Help Employees Make Important Job Transitions

Work is an important part of society. At an early age, children are asked what they want to be when they grow up. Adults get-to-know each other by asking what someone does for a living. Having a satisfying and fulfilling job can help employees have better mental and physical health. On the other hand, not having a job, or being underemployed, can lead to poor mental and physical health. Today’s best managers know that employees make many decisions about their work, both voluntarily and involuntarily, and they help employees transition successfully from one job opportunity to another.

Source: Fouad, N. A., & Bynner, J. 2008, May-June. Work transitions. American Psychologist, 63, 241-251.

Organizations That Successfully Change and Evolve Will Out-Perform The Competition

Today’s best managers know that creating a firm that is resilient and sustainable is vital in today’s marketplace. Firms will be successful that are perceptive, vigilant, continuously lean, think differently from the rest, and anticipate change. Firms that are proactive, are aware of who they are, have strong leadership, make decisive decisions quickly, and are willing to be innovative, will perform well. Lastly, firms that know how to solve problems from the top down, and can get changes implemented, will out-perform the competition. Firms that don’t do these things will be left in the dust.

Source: Harper, S. C., & Glew, D. J. 2008, May/June. Become an ever-evolving enterprise. Industrial Management, 22-26.

Job Satisfaction Goes Up For Some Employees, But Not For Others, When They Help Other Employees

Some employees go beyond their job description and actively help other employees, which is called organizational citizenship behavior. These employees help others because they expect that those other employees will help them later in return. For these employees, their job satisfaction improves when they help others. Today’s best managers know that some employees may not help other employees solely because they believe they will be helped in return. Instead, these employees naturally have a high concern for others that enables them to be good corporate citizens without expecting reciprocal help in response. Unfortunately, job satisfaction for these employees may not go up as a result of helping others.

Source: Lester, S. W., Meglino, B. M., & Korsgaard, M. A. 2008. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29, 829-841.

Speak To Win: How To Present With Power In Any Situation.

This book offers a great deal of information about how to make excellent presentations in almost any situation. Great presentations require high levels of energy, vitality, enthusiasm, warmth, and friendliness from the presenter. Have fun while you present and enjoy what you are doing. Pretend that you are sharing great content with friends that you care about. Have a clear objective. Learn the language of the audience and their company. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse your presentation. Check out the room before you present. Keep your arms at your side and not up in front of you when you talk. Tell them stories. Use silence and pauses, smile, and give a wonderful presentation.

Source: Speak To Win: How To Present With Power In Any Situation.By Brian Tracy, 2008, American Management Association, NY, ISBN: 978-0-8144-0157-6.

Employees Tend to Focus on Negative Influences At Work Instead of Positive Ones

Today’s best managers know that employees can be influenced by both positive and negative sources. However, these two types of influences sometimes compete with each other. On the one hand, employees react to positive influences, such as praise, respect, and attention. On the other hand, employees can react to negative influences, such as criticism, anger, and frustration. Today’s best managers know that negative forces tend to overshadow the positive ones. So, be sure to give extra emphasis on positive aspects of employee performance to help encourage the positive influences for improving employee behaviors.

Source: Cameron, K. S. 2008. Paradox in positive organizational change. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44, 7-24.

Structure Teams So That Team Members Aren’t In Competition With Each Other

Managers used to believe that teamwork was always the way to structure employees in order to get optimal organizational outcomes. Today’s best managers know that sometimes teamwork can get in the way of good performance. Instead of unifying different groups, teamwork can sometimes have unintended negative effects on team member attitudes and performance. Negative teamwork results can happen when employees get rewards for being good, specialized, and individualistic performers, and at the same time get rewards when being good, integrated team players. Today’s best managers are aware of this potential problem and help structure rewards to lessen these conflicts.

Source: Finn, R. 2008. The language of teamwork: Reproducing professional divisions in the operating theatre. Human Relations, 61, 103-130.

Having A Short-Term Focus Can Get Managers Into Long-Term Trouble

Managers tend to focus on maximizing their short-term gains, and that tends to blind them from future events and surprises. Managers tend to believe that the future will always be rosy, so underestimate potential future disasters. Managers tend to be influenced more by the short-term, and aren’t willing to sacrifice now for potential future benefits. Managers make short-sighted decisions that advance them now, but hurt them in the long-run. Today’s best managers are aware of these dangerous tendencies and work hard to avoid predictable disasters. For example, make both short-term and long-term plans at the same time to limit future damage.

Source: How short-term focus contributes to future disasters. 2008, December. Negotiation, pp. 6-7.

Not All Rewards Are Valued By All Employees

Managers often wonder why rewards don’t always motivate employee performance. Today’s best managers understand that rewards can mean different things to different employees. Employees can fall in one or more reward categories: 1) employees who desire awards and trophies, 2) employees who value days off, flexible scheduling, and free meals, but not rewards that take them away from home, 3) employees who value cash and cash-equivalents, 4) employees who value flexibility, such as in scheduling, 5) employees who value praise, whether written or oral, and 6) employees who want to move up and be promoted above all else.

Source: Van Dyke, M., & Garlick R. . Recognition and reward: What are the top tenets and practices? Leadership Excellence, 25/1, pp. 17-18.

Let Your Employees Know What Is Expected Of Them

Today’s best managers get involved with their employees to help improve their working relationships and their performance. Get involved with your employees when their work is not up to par, when there are personnel problems, and when there is a serious conflict. Help employees generate ideas, by showing them that it is OK to speak up and voice their views. Give employees the courage to risk failure and try new, innovative ideas. Realize that the success of the company rests on future leaders, so help develop the leaders of tomorrow for your organization.

Source: Bossidy, L. 2008. What your leader expects of you: And what you should expect. Leadership Excellence, 25/2, p. 6.

Time Out Of Work Leads To Skill Depreciation And Lower Wages

Today’s best managers know about the importance of human capital on wages. Employees develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities, called human capital, then sell these to the organization that will pay them the highest wages. Employees can increase their human capital through work experience and time on the job. Unfortunately, time away from the job, such as for having and raising children, and when unemployed, can cause employee skills to depreciate. When employees lose skills, then they also lose human capital, and that tends to result in a loss of wages.

Source: Edn, P.-A., & Gustavsson, M. 2008, January. Time out of work and skill depreciation. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 61, 163-180.

Negotiating With Giants: Get What You Want Against The Odds.

This book examines how individuals can be as successful as major business players. The book explains how individuals can create power that helps them level the playing field with large companies that seem too large and too dominant to defeat. If you can’t beat them from the outside, then join their ranks and defeat them from the inside. Giants tend to stay away from the negotiating table, so you will have to find other ways to get in the door to get what you want. Giants rarely apologize. Don’t talk with just one person in a large organization, who may disappear.

Source: Negotiating With Giants: Get What You Want Against The Odds. By Peter D. Johnston, 2008, Negotiation Press, Cambridge, MA, ISBN: 978-0-9809421-0-1

Employees Accept Negative Feedback More Readily From Managers They Trust

Managers often give feedback to employees to help them change and improve their job performance. Today’s best managers know that employees may be resistant to change when they don’t have a good relationship with their manager. Employees tend to accept negative feedback when it comes from a person that they like, they trust, and who they think has good intentions. However, when employees don’t have a good relationship with their manager, they tend to resist change if the manager tries to force change or threatens them with punishment if they don’t change.

Source: Furst, S. A., & Cable, D. 2008. Employee resistance to organizational change: Managerial influence tactics and leader-member exchange. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 453-462.

Help Team Members Understand How Teams Develop For Better Team Performance

Today’s best managers know that teams develop and change as they mature. Time plays a critical role in this process. Teams develop over time through a series of episodes in which team members must perform different behaviors at different times depending on task demands. The context of the organization, the team, and the team members influence team performance and lead to team processes such as feelings of safety, potency, and belonging. These team processes then lead to team performance success or failure, which in turn leads back to shaping aspects of the organization, the team, and the team members.

Source: Mathieu, J., Maynard, M. T., Rapp, T., & Gilson, L. 2008, June. Team effectiveness 1997-2007: A review of recent advancements and a glimpse into the future. Journal of Management, 34, 410-476.

Fight All Four Types of Organizational Corruption For Best Results

Most managers actively try to stop corrupt behavior in the workplace, but may not be addressing all four sources of organizational corruption. Today’s best managers know the four types of corruption: 1) an individual acting for their own personal gain, 2) an individual acting corruptly for the company’s gain, 3) a group of employees acting for their own personal benefit, and 4) a group of employees acting corruptly to benefit the company. Stopping group behaviors, such as collusion, may be harder to stop than individual corrupt practices. Hiring more ethical employees and training all employees about the four types of corruption can help lessen corrupt behavior.

Source: Pinto, J., Leana, C. R., & Pil, F. K. 2008. Corrupt organizations or organizations of corrupt individuals? Two types of organization-level corruption. Academy of Management Review, 33, 685-709.