5 Ways to Attract and Motivate Employees

Dan Blank -- Expert Business Source, 3/6/2007 8:13:00 AM

Entrepreneur posits that your leadership style is a key factor in attracting and motivating employees, sharing 5 tips:

• Have a vision.
  In order to create a common belief structure and business goals, you need to be able to organize and communicate them to others. Don’t assume that it is implicit within the business process, and don’t neglect the power of talking about it with employees.Three tips:
• Learn to paint a picture with words. Speak it, write it, draw it, touch it.
• Ask each of the other managers in your company to tell you, in their own words, about the vision of the company. Is your team on the same page as you?
• As you work, your company's vision should be in your mind every day, and you should reevaluate it occasionally so that it stays current as your business evolves.
• Have passion.
  To build an extraordinary management team, you've got to light the "fire in their bellies," to get them to feel passion about the company and connect to the leader's vision. Passion is such a key part of being a great leader that if you don't have it, you simply can't be a great leader. Passion is infectious.
• Be a great decision-maker.
  Don'tbe one of those leaders who consults no one before making a decision, announces the change the next day and then gets frustrated when no one follows it.
  Here's a system you can use to become a better decision maker. It's called the Q-CAT:
• Q = Quick. Be quick but not hasty.
• C = Committed. Be committed to your decision but not rigid.
• A = Analytical. Be analytical, but don't over-analyze (Too much analysis can cause paralysis.)
• T = Thoughtful. Be thoughtful about all concerned, but don't be obsessive.

When you use the Q-CAT, it'll help you to decide when to bring others into the process and what steps need to be taken to help you make better decisions.

• Be a team builder.
  To become a great leader, you must develop a great team. Hand off responsibility to your team and let them run with it. Don't micromanage, but make yourself available if questions or problems come up.
• Have character.
  Y our innate character strengths and limitations play a critical role in your leadership style. The real question is, are you aware of just what role they play? All great leaders have taken steps to learn about their individual personality and what part it plays in their leadership style.
  Here are two leadership style assessments test:
• Myers-Briggs assessment
• "360-Degree Feedback" model