Your expectations of people and their expectations of themselves are key factors in how well people perform at work. Known as the Pygmalion Effect, the power of expectations cannot be overestimated.
When it comes to maximising employee motivation and performance, first and mid-level managers matter much more than senior leaders. And the reason is as old as the history of human kind.
If you’re interested in dramatically improving employee motivation and performance, then you’ll be interested in Daniel Pink’s latest book, “Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.”
In the modern western world the cult of work has become highly valued. Its most recent incarnation is the ‘always on’ culture. Being available via mobile and email, if not 24/7, then at least more hours each day than was acceptable a decade ago.
Of course it feels good to be busy, to submit to the siren call of activity. Yet there is no special virtue in hard work.
The great military and political leader of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, was quoted as saying, “A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of coloured ribbon.”
In more recent times, the Corporate Leadership Council identified that fair and accurate informal positive feedback from a knowledgeable source (such as a person’s immediate manager) is the single most effective performance management lever available.