HOW TO BE A MOTIVATIONAL MANAGER

HOW TO BE A MOTIVATIONAL MANAGER An Essential Guide For Leaders And Managers Who Need To Get Fast Results With Minimum Stress Alan Fairweather McMillan Publishers India – 2009 Rs.285        Pages 227

When Maslow, Herzberg and McGregor sashayed into the uncertain realm of human motivation, Management as a science was in its infancy. It was necessary at that time, to define and design the basic building blocks in the form of assumptions about human behaviour, the importance of working conditions (hygiene factors), the significance of human needs (hierarchical or otherwise), and so on. The theories they formulated were relevant to the work context prevailing then; they also formed the strong foundations for further scientific research. It has to be remembered that these studies were held at a time when employees were yet evolving from being a pair of hands, to a whole human being. The Human Relations School was just beginning to take shape.

We have come a long way since then – from ‘hands’ to ‘knowledge workers’ – and the factors governing the employer-employee relationship are far more complex than Maslow et al. could ever have imagined. Rates of attrition are at their all-time high (and ‘loyalty’ is a lost cause); ‘respect’ if any, goes to knowledge rather than to age; and the search for the level of contribution one can-get-away-with (commitment being another lost cause) is rampant. Those who are trained in the theories and practice of ‘motivation’ (HR professionals) are not the ones who are actually required to motivate employees (at least as much as line managers are expected to be). A major question therefore crops up: Can Management motivate its employees? If it can, why is there so much of cynicism around? The number of books spewed out regularly on the subject is proof of its elusiveness. Somewhere along the line though, the author admits: you don’t motivate your team – you create the environment in which they motivate themselves. If that be true, then how correct is it to advise people ‘to be a Motivational Manager’?

This question is particularly relevant when the author asserts: Managing people is a hugely difficult job. A degree in psychology would help but if you haven’t got that then stay with me – I’ve got the answers. One could call his bluff…

… but apparently some managers have that magic wand, most others don’t. Did V. Krishnamurthy for instance, start out with a motivational exercise for the employees of the Steel Authority of India/Maruti Udyog/BHEL? What turned the Indian Railways around under the leadership of Laloo Prasad Yadav – while Rajiv Gandhi’s attempts at instilling pride in India and Indians (Mera Bharat mahan, with references to the Indian Railways being the largest rail network in the world) appear now to be a PR overkill? Large, sluggish, bureaucracy-ridden organisations transformed by a single man’s vision. Where did the motivation come from? What kind of incentives did these leaders give to their managers, staff and workmen – that were not in place already? Neither Krishnamurthy nor Yadav could be the hands-on type of managers – they were as remote from workmen as well as middle management as anyone in those positions could be. So there was no question of their ‘spending quality time’ with the employees.

Krishnamurthy confesses to have met his staff individually and in groups. Laloo Prasad is said to have given a free hand to his managers. Surely, others have been more aggressive in such attempts.

Alan Fairweather says:

·        Know the business you are in, but more importantly, know how to get the best out of your people.

·        Empower them – they should know what’s happening in the organisation/team; give them a feeling of being in on things.

·        Appreciate – demonstrate to your team members that you care about them.

·        Decide who will be on your team.

·        Get out of your office and mix with the team on a regular basis; spend some quality time regularly – it helps better understanding, enables feedback, encourages free flow of ideas.

·        Give feedback – whether you feel comfortable giving it or not, you need to do it for your people.

·        Solving problems is part of your job as a motivation manager. Doing it well or badly determines the level of motivation in your team.

Nothing new? Yes, if you see them as a set of disparate tactics. But as the inevitable outflow of an attitude of caring as much for your employee as you do for the bottom-line – it would be an effective yet simple strategy.

Therefore, one cannot disagree with the author when he quotes William Hewlett: Managers have traditionally developed the skills in finance, planning, marketing and production techniques. Too often the relationships with their people have been assigned a secondary role. This is too important is subject not to receive first-line attention. (Emphasis added).