Imagine the following scenario – you pay a visit to your
doctor one day and in the course of the conversation he or
she lets it slip that they have no formal medical
qualification. However, everything’s okay because they’ve
been involved in the “doctoring” business for years, had
lots of experience and have read several books on the
subject; I bet you’d be out of there like a shot.
Imagine another situation where you’re looking to employ an
auto mechanic to look after your company vehicles. One
applicant tells you how good they are at fixing cars and
trucks. Been doing it for years, the only thing is that they
haven’t served an apprenticeship or had any other form of
formal training. Would you give them the job, of course you
wouldn’t.
So why, why, why do so many organisations trust their most
important and most expensive asset – their employees – to
someone who’s had no training in how to deal with people?
And many Business owners and mangers experience huge
difficulty in managing people because they’ve never been
show how to do it.
People most often get promoted into a manager’s job because
they know the business they’re in and they know the products
and the industry. Sometimes they also get promoted because
they get on with the team and ironically, in some cases,
because they don’t. (Some senior managers believe that you
shouldn’t promote someone who is too “close” to the team)
When appointing a manager organisations traditionally look
for someone who can do all the “management” things. All the
technical skills to do the job such as planning, cost
control, resource allocation, interviewing, solving problems
and dealing with customers.
Management training in many organisations usually addresses
the activities listed above. Managers go on courses for time
management, report writing and health and safety issues
amongst others. However none of these activities helps the
manager to motivate their team.
Before you start writing to me I’m aware that some
organisations are running courses on leadership skills and
management of change; more “people skills” type of
programmes. I know this because I’m running some of these
courses. However, I also know that the people who come on
these courses are often hearing for the first time, about
how to motivate their people. Some of them have been
managers for over twenty years and have never had any people
skills training.
It’s often just taken for granted by senior managers in an
organisation that managers will have the “natural” skills to
motivate, coach, give feedback and get the best out of their
people. Tiger Woods has the natural skill to play golf but
he’s been listening to trainers and coaches for years and he
still does.
I didn’t get any training when I started as a manager, I was
left to get on with it and find out how to motivate my team.
It worked out okay for the first few years but it was only
until I started formal studies in motivation techniques at
the Open University in the UK that my management success
really took off. I’ve been reading books and studying
successful managers for twenty-five years. If you want to
make your life easier – I suggest you do the same.
Discover how you can generate more business by motivating
your team!
Alan Fairweather is the author of “How to get More Sales
by Motivating Your Team” This book is packed with practical
things you can do to get the best out of your people.
Visit
