Nurturing Performance with Open Communications

Any leader knows that in order to gain optimum performance from employees, they need to feel listened to. Simply providing instructions and expecting quality work is the wrong way to motivate, as job mentality becomes one of being told to do something instead of having confidence in ability. More often than not, the employees are the experts in their particular function, and having a manager take the time to garner feedback is a great way to garner results.

Listen to Learn

As the leader, it is up to you to get the ball rolling when it comes to establishing a two-way track of communication. When presenting a new task, bring in the employees as valuable assets when going through the details. Listen when they suggest more efficient ways of performing a task, and listen to critical feedback of the job. Taking the time to listen might well save your company the cost of wasted production time as well as elongated salary considerations.

The added bonus of two-way communication is that employees begin to feel valued, especially if their contributions are recognized after the fact. It is always better to be part of a team instead of being someone expected to simply push the buttons without having an opinion or respected critical analysis of a situation.

Expect Positive Results

Another way to gain employee engagement through leadership is to expect positive results from your team with every job. It’s like the old adage, ‘Look for a bad day and you’ll find a bad day. Look for a good one, and everything will be coming up roses.’ People tend to find what they’re looking for, so by expecting negative results from your team, you will be sure to find them, whether they are significant or not. Have employees know that you trust them and expect as the norm positive results, you can increase employee engagement and begin to see improvements almost immediately in job performance.

Use Coaching Moments

However, there are going to be times where the final outcomes are not optimal, and a ‘redo’ might well be in order. Before coming down with negative feedback, take the time to identify where the lack of communication took place, and what steps can be taken to improve performance the next time through. This lets your employees know that a mistake is a learning opportunity, and you can expect them to take the lesson to heart and try better the next time around.

For more information about employee engagement through leadership, contact the experts at LeadershipHQ. They’re there to show you a path to greater productivity and employee engagement.

Phone 1300 719 665 or +61 424 447 616
www.soniamcdonald.com.au
sonia@soniamcdonald.com.au