Your Manager. Boss or Friend? Part 2

My opinion in this matter is clear. Yes, I prefer to have both a Professional and a Personal friendship with my colleagues.
Are you a person who think that relationships that are personal only can produce disappointment in the long run?

Motivation - Akey to success

I’ve had a lot of discussions around this topic after my previous post, especially with peers and managers in the IT business. The most common comment has been: “Of course you cannot be friend with an employee” That is easy to say but when I then asked the question Why? right back, the answer didn’t come out clear at all. I can see a trend out there today that the people who enjoy their work most also tend to have a great manager/employee relationship. To be able to balance the Line between Professional and Personal Friendship has become a new important skill set.


In today’s busy world, work wise, it is hard to separate work from private life. You spend so much of your time at work, hopefully because your work is enjoyable and a pride to you. To have a successful boss/friend relationships the players have to know when to turn off the corporate switch. To know where to draw the line will then become a key. Work is personal, and when you have a problem at work you want to ask a friend for advise. And if he/she is your boss…and friend, wouldn’t that be perfect or at least a convenient scenario?

Remember from my last post:

“Pros: You trust a friend, you like to spend time with friends, you want to develop things with a friend, you can tell a friend what you really think, most of the time you are loyal to a friend, a friend needs you. You are depended on a friend. You will miss a friend. So, would you care for the same skill set in a leaders profile?
Cons: Blank for now. Help me out here…please…”

Some people say you can’t be friends with your boss without an unequal balance of power. Although a boss have greater responsibility, each person in your organization handles a critical function to that company. If not, that position would quickly have been wiped from the org. chart. Authority or not, each position is essential. Power comes in how you handle yourself in whatever role you are given.
Let’s be honest. Wouldn’t you rather work with a person that you have a great relation with than with a person you either have to obey as a slave or the opposite, treat that person like a slave? Yes yes, a slave is a strong word in this matter, I know, but it puts you in the mindset at least to affect you on this topic…ask yourself:

-Do you have a good relationship with your manager today? Good or bad?
-Do you have a good relationship with your employee today? Good or bad?

I met a guy yesterday that did not even know who his boss was. Well, you obviously have that as well… I’m not sliding in to another topic here. Just had to mention it…Hey -Become a friend with your colleague.
Stay tuned!

Your Manager. Boss or Friend?

Hello and welcome to 2014!

Well, Boss or Friend. Boss or leader. What would you prefer?

Don’t you always wanna be among friends? Of course, however there is no straight answer to the question if your Manager should be a Friend or a Boss. I Think your manager should be your friend although she/he has to act as a professional leader. With that said there is also a certain balance that has to be in place to make it work. Trust and relation are for sure the most important dress for success. Let’s start with some pros and cons to have a coach, manager or a leader who is also your friend:

Motivation - InnovationPros: You trust a friend, you like to spend time with friends, you want to develop things with a friend, you can tell a friend what you really think, most of the time you are loyal to a friend, a friend needs you. You are depended on a friend. You will miss a friend. So, would you care for the same skill set in a leader profile?

Cons: Blank for now. Help me out here…please…

The last 20 years things have changed rapidly when it comes to management and leadership. Before the Boss was untouchable, a person you did not know personally and that was acceptable. Today your recuirements to work with a human beeing is there to stay, yes I hear you…”business is business bla bla bla”. Seriously, you spend so much time at work and the person you have as a friend can become a problem for you as a manager.

Remember, business is all about relationship today. Trust and relation, motivation.
If you do not Think so, Wake up! If you do not have a good relation with your manager, quit!

I’m actually talking about the differences between a Boss and a Leader…I’ll be back with Cons on this topic in a while…stay tuned:-). Meanwhile…do you recognize your manager in the Picture below?

 

Motivation - boss vs leader

Work with Your Manager, not for Your Manager!

Motivation today is all about working with the Company, not for the Company and this can also be said:

Work with your manager, not for your manager.

Blame managers, not Employees when people leave your Company! If you’re losing skilled people, look to their immediate supervisor. I read this article: Why Good Employees Leave? and I couldn’t agree more. The last few months I’ve discovered this is very true out there. A lot of people in my direct network discuss this topic today and there is a clear trend going on. The manager is definitely one strong reason why great people leave Companies. AND this is also a reason why certain Companies attract top players and good employees to join. Great leaders/coaches attract skilled people and good Employees more than The $$$$$ itself or the “Company brand”. True or false? I convinced this is true.Motivation 3

Some manager-employee relationships are easy and some more challenging, but there is no doubt that working to get the most effective and well managed relationship possible will ease your working life and help your professional and personal development. The Manager has the “Power” and is the key person for making this happen. If not, change job!

“People leave Managers not Companies” was also quoted by David W. Richard in the article I read and my experience tells me that Money today is not a key motivator for rudimentary cognitive skills, it is the opposite. A larger reward actually leeds to poorer performance. How can that be? Check this out!

What really motivates people.

 

A perfect Manager!

If You have a manager that doesn’t inspire you or has no clue on what really motivates you, QUIT your job please!! If you snooze YOU lose, not your manager. My advise: Please choose a Manager and Company to work with. Not a Company to work for!

The Manager who has the skill set to make you motivated through your career rocks! The perfect manager sees you, not the number you make for the Company. If your manager sees you, you will be motivated and can focus on the tasks that really motivates you. You want to master something. You want to achieve things together with your manager.

Manager…the old school makes you cry and the new school make you increase your self estime and you will be recognized.

Old school? Carrot and sticks mentality

The old school fact is that your manager was a person that you had to serve and obey. Does carrot and sticks mentality comes up in your mind? If you use a carrot-and-stick method to make someone do something, you both offer rewards and threaten punishments. This method really sucks. A carrot is also punishment no matter what you call it. In the Navy it’s called “A physical reward” when you have to make 50 push ups. That’s “not” punishment.

 

Incentive programs can be effective, but only if they incorporate the kind of recognition employees really want.

Check out Robert on his blog. This is something!

http://employeeengagement.ning.com/profiles/blogs/what-really-really-motivates-people

My advise: Please choose a Manager and Company to work with. Not a Company to work for!

 

Why forecast? Hire enablers instead!

Does forecast meetings boost you and your team? So many companies put such a great effort in forecasting, hours and hours in meetings. Does it really help the business? Are you motivated after your forecast meeting?

I haven’t made any direct business out of those meetings in my career so far. So, why do you have forecast meetings? Is it because you as a manager are too far away from the business and the only way to get control you need those meetings…or is it a fact that you do not have the enablers necessary to drive the business with success? Your company need you to provide information, so you attend pipeline and forecast meetings week after week. Or are You the boss who requires this…?

 

Forecast

 

Why forecast? Sometimes you need to predict the future, or at least try to predict it as a foundation to make decision on. True. On the flip side this will often take too much effort in your organization. I’m convinced you will gain more business from a face-to-face meeting with a client or if you put the same amount of hours in selling or hiring enablers instead of having meetings about things that “might” happen. If you dare to cancel those meetings and focus on sales and hiring skilled people “enablers” (those people who really make sure things happens), I think you just increased your sales!

The laws of physics are ruthlessly inflexible, and as it turns out, if you are in your office in a meeting, you can’t also be sitting in a face-to-face meeting with your client. Nor can you be making prospecting calls.

Hit two birds with one stone. Now, cancel those meetings and leave your comfort zone, increase your sales and your teams motivation.

//Öien

Get rid of Commission…go for high fixed salary

What does Commission do to You? Are you really motivated by your Commission. If so, you should have it, or maybe you should change job right now. Why’s that? Well, would Messi score more goals for his team Barcelona if he got a big $$$$$ check for every goal he’d make? Don’t think so. It’s about the excitment to master something that motivates you, not the money itself or a higher reward for doing a certain task. Would you be faster or more efficient with Incentives in your job today? Carrots and sticks questions:

Motivation 1

1) If you Reward something. Do you get more of the behavior you want?

2) If you Punish something. Do you get less of the behavioryou want?

According to a study at MIT and University of Chicago this is a fact.

As long as the task involved used only mechanical skills bonus work as expected i.e. higher pay = higher performance.

BUT

once the task called for rudimentary cognitive skills only, a larger reward led to poorer performance! How could that possibly be?

Well, if you want to motivate your colleagues, get rid of Commission and you’ll see…if you have the right people for the job i.e.

 

Bring your friend to your company

Why would you bring a peer to your Company?

To answer that question, you have to ask yourself why you work for a Company.

Money provides basic motivation. Take that issue away and you will find what’s really motivating. Not the Money, that’s for sure.

Top list today according to about.com is:

  1. Controle of their worklove-my-job-sm
  2. To belong to the in-crowd
  3. The opportunity for growth
  4. Leadership is the key motivation

 

 

First of all…it is NOT the money that motivates people

My experience as a CEO tells me that the key motivator is the Money…up to a certain level. Wonder what motivates me most? To interact with people. This is a blog. No interaction with people. Why do I even bother writing a blog?  I want to share some of my success stories around the topic: Motivation!

Hello world!

Are you motivated?