Research shows that 43 percent of
employers use technology to block
the popular social networking Web site called Facebook. Other organizations
go further, limiting or banning additional
sites, including the online career boards.
While removing these distractions may
be a not-so-subtle strategy to increase productivity and retain key employees, it begs
a serious question: If your employees were
more engaged, passionate and proud of the
work they did, would you need to enact
such restrictions?
“An organization that controls too tightly
the manner in which its professionals think
will come up short on innovation and will
stagnate,” says Michael Tuchman, partner,
Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC. “It’s the objective-driven employees who drive the highest value outcomes.”
Smart Business asked Tuchman how to
read covert symptoms that indicate unfulfilled potential and how to create an environment where motivation is organic and
filters are minimized.
How can companies create an environment
to intensify employees?
The best management and professional
employees operate within organizations
that have an identifiable culture and
embrace it. Culture is not how the organization projects itself externally. Culture is
about how the organization views itself.
Effort should be devoted to articulating
your culture and promoting it within the
company. Shared pride in company culture
ties directly to motivation. A culture that
embraces change and looks for ways to
challenge and educate its people, without
trying to measure only by the bottom line,
will increase the bottom line. Think of continuing education not as a perk but as part
of a culture of learning and betterment for
staff. Think of challenges not in terms of
higher objectives for an employee, but in
terms of how much stronger that employee
will be for having met the challenge. By
connecting organizational objectives to
culture, motivation will be organic rather
than externally imposed, and your people
will be stronger for it.
Should leaders place an emphasis on objectives or processes?
The emphasis should be around instructing employees on objectives, not processes. The organization will, of course, have
its processes, but good employees know
what those are. Respect for intellect and
initiative is evident when you articulate the
desired objective and let the employee
think through the paths to getting it done.
If you look at what creates value in professional organizations or what are the attributes of the best management, it is the ability to think creatively and adapt to changes.
Processes are useful for refining efficiency
and are a necessary part of an organization
educating itself. But only objectives-driven
employees will have the motivation to realize the highest value outcomes.
What is the most productive role for feedback?
Feedback — it can be constructive yet
perfunctory and thus pointless. Or it can be
part of a culture of teaching and learning.
Feedback is not so much about what someone did right or wrong on the last undertaking but about how to better tackle the
next one. It is about making the employee
a better professional, not merely about preventing mistakes. An employer who
reminds himself of this before providing
feedback will tone the message in a powerful way.
It is a common refrain that we too often
forget to say, ‘Thank you; good work.’ But
the frequency of positive feedback is not a
substitute for meaningful substantive feedback. At an individual level, substantive
feedback motivates because it evidences
the organization’s commitment to and
respect for the employee. Finally, at an
organizational level, celebrate wins. This
takes feedback to the next level and
emphasizes the team and challenge
aspects of company culture.
What are the benefits to minimizing filters?
Productivity is enhanced when employees interact with outsiders on behalf of the
company or outside of their group and do
not merely push things to someone else in
the group. Here I can draw parallels to my
own professional experience as a lawyer.
In my early years of practice, I would
research and write memos on points of
law. The work was interesting and challenging, to be sure. I recall the first time I
was told I would present my findings and
recommendations directly to a client. My
work, myself and my firm as a whole now
were to be judged by this client. As a result,
the way I saw my firm, myself and my motivation to perform changed markedly as my
role was externalized. The best employees
thrive when representing their company or
group. The intensity of an employee’s commitment and the quality of his or her work
is at its highest when the employee is
exposed to the organization’s constituents
and filters are minimized.
MICHAEL TUCHMAN is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group with Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC in Chicago. Reach him at (312) 476-7550 or [email protected].
