An Infographic Every Boss Should Read

An Infographic Every Boss Should Read

 BY GEOFFREY JAMES  @SALES_SOURCE

These all-too-common management behaviors make self-motivation almost impossible.

 

 

 

I've written several posts on management mistakes, but this infographic is a brilliant summary of how bad and weak management practices can destroy a team's motivation. It's from Weekdone, a startup that builds status report software. I've provided my own commentary afterward.

My comments:

1. Inadequate rewards. While salary is clearly important even to "engaged employees," there are many ways to increase employee loyalty, as I explain in "10 Things Employees Want More Than a Raise."
2. Awful office space. In my experience, the managers and consultants who love the concept of the "open office" usually have private offices of their own. The last thing workers need is more distractions, which are inevitable when everyone is in the same big room.
3. No personal development. Unfortunately, many bosses are still stuck in the time-clock mentality. Look, if you're asking people to work long hours (i.e., unpaid overtime), you should expect them to spend some of that time doing stuff that's not work-related.
4. Inefficient collaboration. This problem isn't so much "inefficient" as it is "just plain stupid." As I point out in "How to Have a Meaningful Conversation," people must be heard before they're led.
5. Negative people. It's very difficult to stay motivated when the people you work with are constantly sabotaging your enthusiasm. It's the responsibility of the boss to winnow out the pessimists.
6. Fear of failure. In my personal experience, the amount of fear inside an organization is inversely proportional to its ability to get things done. While it is possible to conquer fear, fear causes people and teams to freeze up.
7. Lack of clear goals. This usually manifests itself in what I call "multiple priority syndrome," when there so many priorities that nobody knows what they should actually be doing.
8. Micromanagement. The trick to avoiding this is to tell your people what to do and why they're doing it, but never tell them how to do their jobs (unless, of course, they ask to be coached).
9. Useless meetings. The most common type of useless meeting is the "update," during which everyone at the table updates everyone else on what they're doing, as I point out in "The one Meeting You Don't Really Need."
10. Time-wasting emails. The deeper problem here is the lack of clear goals. When you know where you're headed, it's easier to cull out the emails that aren't worth your attention. To solve this problem, you need to know the secret of time management.