Motivational and Inspirational Management - the Human Aspect

I was talking to someone employed by the tax office about life, the universe and everything. The conversation turned to management. He bemoaned the fact that none of the managers he had served under seemed not to have read any management books and therefore could not manage properly. But therein lies the problem! The most de-motivating manager I have ever known was highly acclaimed in management circles. He even ran courses on management. Presumably, the people on those courses would go away thinking that his methods worked. He de-motivated by using insincere sincerity, if you see what I mean. My point here is that books and courses are not a panacea to good management. Mulling over the comments of my tax office acquaintance, I wondered how many other people thought that managers needed to read management books. OK, books can give a basis for management but they are often one person's view of the management process. The most important aspect of management is knowing how to treat staff. This is often overlooked in books or courses - these tend to focus on the manager and not those who are managed. They can also lead to a school-like teacher/pupil relationship. Managers are generally regarded as 'company people' whose interests are firstly to the company. But if they have no concern towards the employees, who are the real engine of any business, then the business will not be as efficient as it could be. You need to know what makes your staff 'tick'. Only when you genuinely care what your staff do and respect them as people, will your department reach peak efficiency. Some people are lucky enough to have an instinctive skill with others, but for most of us it takes some effort. It is not always easy to make time during the working day to socialise with staff and get to know them on a personal level. Something simple like organising a weekly trip out to the pub can be a workable starting point. Grab a bite to eat together as a department in a relaxed ambience. You soon will discover more about the interests and background of your team. Team building days have the potential to be either constructive or destructive. Unless you personally have experience of organising and delivering team building activities, you should outsource. Mentioning team building often creates a negative response so choose an event carefully. Generally this is because of the outdated touchy-feely, trite and build-a-chair-from-newspaper exercises that were so popular in the 80s and 90s. Outdoors days in the wilds getting cold and wet can also generate that negative response, not everyone enjoys the misery of being cold and wet for hours on end. Nowadays good team building is achieved by stealth. Corporate entertainment days are also team building, but in a more enjoyable way. Taking your staff to Paris on a chocolate or wine tasting event is memorable. It gets staff to get to know each other out of the workplace. You can easily get to know your staff on a social level and make those connections that are vital to good management. Other corporate entertainment events that build a team by stealth include a treasure hunt or scavenger hunt. Your staff is broken into teams who compete. To win, they must plan, communicate, think laterally to solve problems, keep an eye on the time ... skills that are essential in the efficient and productive workplace. Another corporate entertainment event that doubles as team building is hotel based spy games. These are a series of short activities that rely on the team working together for success. Good team building days have another element in common - a goal. For example a medieval day. With the slogan 'Be A Knight for a Day', Knightactive have put together a sequence of events that build on the previous ones and lead to the climax of the day, the joust. The team has to work together to be successful but in a fun environment. The joust is the goal - achieving a goal is good team building and essential skill in a successful workplace team.   So in short, to get the most out of your team, remember always the human element, use corporate entertainment as team building. And remember to use a variety of different corporate entertainment events to build the skills of your staff and to generate that camaraderie that is found in the most successful teams.