Modern Business Magazine April 2016 | Page 43

MODERN LEADERSHIP down to perceptions of fairness, trust, loyalty and the delivery of expectations. If an employee believes that their manger is fair, consistent and cares, this will nearly always override other motivators such as money and working conditions. 3 The Growth Mindset One of the roles of a manager is to coach, mentor and develop their people to enhance their skills and knowledge. Many managers though, struggle to find the time or the correct method to do this. But self development is another prime motivator for today’s employees. Finding ways to develop your staff can be as simple as getting high performing individuals to run sessions for their peers, running book clubs on relevant topics and teaching your managers the skills of effective coaching and mentoring. 4 The Performance Mindset As a manager, accountability, focus and the performance of your team should be a top priority. This mindset will determine your team’s level of success as well as yours. Having clarity about what needs to be achieved and a commitment to the tasks typically gets the job done. Managers with high levels of control (not to be mistaken for micro-management) usually have greater self-control and focus. They also stay composed and positive in testing situations, think clearly under pressure and can anticipate problems and potential bottlenecks. When expectations are ambiguous, so too are the outcomes. An essential area to address to increase performance is to set or reset performance expectations with all staff. Teach your managers how to have the expectations conversation with their team and watch the performance of your employees dramatically improve. Anna-Lucia Mackay is an award-winning educator, speaker and writer in the fields of management and education and is the author of The Four Mindsets: How to Influence, Motivate and Lead High Performance Teams. (Wiley 2015) April 2016 ModernBusiness 4