The Secret to Being a Great Manager & Motivating Employees

Perhaps the top complaint that managers have about their employees is a lack of engagement among employees and a disconnect between the employees’ work and company/team goals. If we peel this back a bit further, what is revealed is that there is all too often a fundamental divide between employees’ values and those held by management. I’m not talking about corporate or “core” values; I’m talking about the values and priorities that managers and executives embody on the daily. 

What got me thinking about this topic was a recent conversation with a client. This client works for a company with an office in Kyiv, Ukraine, and has been in multiple meetings about data protection and business continuity plans in the event of hostile foreign military action in Ukraine. He told me that what really troubled him, though, was the lack of any thought or acknowledgment of the stress and danger under which his Ukrainian colleagues must be living. He said that while he understood that maintaining data integrity and continuity of business is critical, the first concern should be with people and their wellbeing. 

My client is in the US and will be largely unaffected by any potential crisis in eastern Europe. But, he is quite affected by what he perceives as indifference toward his coworkers, and this has made him question if this is a company at which he wants to stay. 

I have said this before, but it obviously bears repeating: your employees are your most valuable assets. They are your profit makers, your innovators, the people who keep the bills paid and the customers happy. Without them, you could do NOTHING. If you are a manager struggling with disengaged, disaffected employees, let me ask you this: Do you put people first? 

The key to being a great manager and having motivated employees who respect you as a leader is simple. Conduct yourself with empathy. Fundamentally, all humans want to know that they are valued and heard. If you treat your employees in such a way that conveys this message, you can inspire them to do great things. If you regard them as “resources,” “human capital,” or “cost centers,” they are going to know that. And in this candidates’ job market, they aren’t going to stay and make you any revenue. 

We have all worked with people who deliver results at the expense of their employees. Would you consider any of those managers to be good leaders? Being a leader is more than being someone who delivers financial results. Leadership requires that you comport yourself with integrity, self-awareness, compassion, and empathy. Yes, the bottom line is important, but it’s hard to hit the bottom line without making your people a top priority.