Employee Motivation and Goal Setting
Introduction
No single employee looks forward to the annual performance reviews. Even the high performing staff members can feel demoralized by arbitrary and rigid goals. However, what if there is a way that this can be flipped? What if there is a way that the organization can turn the annual performance review into a positive experience that makes the employees feel empowered to grow and develop in their profession? While goals have been seen as the quantitative measure of employee performance, many organizations still think that the process of setting goals consumes a lot of time, and may not be as effective as they would want it to be. Done correctly, however, goal-setting can improve the engagement of employees in a way that enhances performance and benefits the whole organization. Setting goals can prove challenging, but organizations can keep a few things in their minds when establishing some practical goals.
What is Leadership?
Leadership can be defined as a process by which one individual influences others to accomplish objectives and directs an organization in a manner that makes it coherent and cohesive. In simple terms, leadership is an art of motivating a team towards acting in a way that leads to the achievement of a common goal. In a business setting, it means directing the employees with a strategy to meet the needs of a company. In my opinion, a good leadership definition should capture the need to be able and ready to inspire other people. Effective leadership is founded on ideas, which may be original or borrowed. Still, it cannot happen unless the ideas can be communicated to other people in a way that they feel engaged enough to act in the manner that the leader would want them to. Simply put, the leader is the inspiration and director of action.
John C. Maxwell once said that a good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit. Such a leader is kind, knowledgeable, motivating, and concerned about other people. A good leader builds excellence and accomplishes it first by building character. Understandably, a leader should be trusted. He or she must prove himself or herself trustworthy so that the people that he or she leads can look up to and admire him or her. A person striving to be a good leader must be inspiring, honest, intelligent, and must stand firm for what he or she believes. He or she should also know more; leaders need to study continually so that they can become inspirations for the people that they lead. Leadership means continuous learning through study and experience; they may be his or those of others. Leaders must constantly put themselves in the real world so that they can relate to other people in their everyday lives.
In a business setting, there are set goals that need to be achieved. Leadership is linked to the performance that leads to the attainment of these goals. While it may not be solely about generating profits, effective leaders are only those who can drive the employees towards increasing a company’s bottom line. A good leader is one who is competent enough to motivate the employees to increase productivity that, in turn, increases the company’s profits. If a leader does not meet the expectations of the higher management, board, or shareholders, then he or she can be terminated. Yet, while the senior management looks at the bottom lines, a lot must happen behind the scenes. One of the most important actions happening behind the scene is the leader motivating the employees so that they can work towards increasing their productivity. Once the leader manages to increase worker productivity, he can be assured of the elevated company’s bottom lines to the satisfaction of the board and senior management.
While many people use leadership and management interchangeably, management refers to the management structure of an organization, which dictates or directs what happens there or the individuals who manage as leaders in different teams. Leadership, on the other hand, demands traits that go beyond management. A leader can only be effective is he or she can manage the resources at their disposal. These resources may include people, time, money, and the company’s assets. Leadership also involves communicating, supervising, and inspiring the employees and other people in the organization. Yet, these are just primary skills needed to be successful. Still, many others are essential to anyone elected to lead an organization’s operations towards achieving a common goal. Leadership calls for emotional intelligence, where a leader empathizes with his subordinates, honing their skills and abilities so that they are inspired to do better.
Strategies for Motivating Employees
Every leader understands that some experiences and events may cause employees to seek greener pastures. Yet, this is a challenge that one can avoid by keeping the workers engaged since as long as they are productive, they are less likely to leave the company. A good leader will continually seek new ways to keep the employee motivated and increase their productivity. Simple things, experts say, can boost the workers’ morale and satisfaction. An excellent example is setting small weekly goals and planning a recognition program to celebrate the productive employees in the company. A culture of recognition goes a long way in boosting employee happiness, which, in return, improves the company’s bottom line by promoting productivity and increasing sales. It takes a few seconds to appreciate an employee for work well done. A leader can even write thank you cards or plan a small event to reward the employees. These rewards may seem insignificant, but employees derive a level of satisfaction once their efforts are acknowledged and rewarded.
Another important strategy for motivation is team empowerment. Goal-setting is one way through which an organization can engage its employee team. The better the employees understand the company’s goal, the more likely they are to work harder and have results. Autonomy, to employees, is just as important. A manager may be specialized in one area, but he may not excel in everything. The subordinates, however, have diverse skills and professional backgrounds. If the employees suggest an issue that needs to be addressed, the manager must listen. What the employees need may not seem as important to him, but it could make the operations efficient. A good manager should encourage his or her team to try new ideas, take risks when situations allow, and offer their input in meetings. This shows that the manager cares about their opinions and is confident about their judgment.
The third important strategy for employee motivation is prioritizing work-life balance. A healthy work-life balance is an effective technique for employee motivation. A good leader knows well not to cause his subordinates burnout and increase productivity. Employees are motivated when their manager cares enough to create a flexible work environment for them. For instance, an organization may offer flexible work hours, unlimited paid time off, and networking opportunities. A survey by RAND Corporation revealed that many employees quit employment in search of what they consider a healthy work-life balance. About one-third of those involved in the study reported planning to leave their jobs since their employers did not allow them to work remotely. An employee values a company that gives him or her a chance to manage his or her time than one that does not. A flexible work schedule also goes a long way in ensuring that the employees have a lot of energy and are less stressed since they do not have to spend many hours commuting.
The fourth way of keeping employees motivated is through employee development since many are seeking opportunities to advance their careers. As a business owner, one is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that his or her staff members continue to grow professionally. An employer can provide training and development opportunities to keep the employees motivated, and he, in return, finds it easier to attract top performers in the industry. Fifth, an employer who emphasizes on employee wellness finds that he or she is better placed to increase engagement as well as productivity while helping reduce stress in the workplace. A company that emphasizes on the health and wellbeing of the employees creates a favorable workplace that keeps the employees motivated. Lastly, it is essential to offer continuous feedback, which is an opportunity for top performers to leverage their capabilities for the organization, and help those struggling to overcome some limitations and do better.
Transformational Leadership Theory
Leadership theories have a powerful impact on employee motivation, but choosing the most effective may pose a challenge to a manager. The list is endless, and a leader may not know whether to focus on a theory that is based on personality or go outside his or the employees’ comfort zone. It is no surprise that the employees enjoy working in a positive work environment. Leaders who are fair, firm, and bold are more likely to be followed compared to those who are dictatorial. A leader should be believable and not fake, although he should understand that he may not please everyone. Therefore, he should not even try. What is important is for that leader to treat all the employees fairly across the board, and follow proper policies and procedures. Based on this knowledge, it would be proper to say that an effective leadership theory involves combining two different styles, the leadership style inherent in a leader, and one that takes him out of his comfort zone.
An effective theory fits the leader’s personality, but also provides an opportunity for him or her to learn so that he can develop into a strong leader. One leadership theory that stands out when it comes to employee motivation is transformational leadership. Transformational leadership refers to an approach where the leader takes the road to sell rather than telling used in transactional leadership. The basic understanding of this theory is that people are more likely to follow leaders who inspire them. Transformational leaders provide positive experiences that inspire others to want to work with them. They have high energy levels that bleed passion and are more concerned about the people they lead more than they are about themselves. This is why transformational leadership theory is one of the best among other theories because it is interesting how much a leader can get done by injecting a dose of energy and excitement.
Transformational leadership is divided into four parts. The first one is building the vision. A project needs something that can create excitement, and the vision can originate from someone in the organization or through brainstorming. It takes a good leader to buy into the vision so that he or she can sell it to the team that he or she leads. The second is promoting the vision because the people commit to supporting the vision at various points. It may take a while before the team members buy into the vision, but as long as the promotion is done consistently, a snowball effect starts to grow. It is, therefore, crucial that a leader takes every opportunity that is available to convince the other people to buy into his idea. Yet, a transformational leader should be careful to create trust, and his integrity is critical in the vision that he is selling. In effect, a leader sells himself as well as the vision.
The third important part of transformational leadership is finding a way forward. A leader does not always have a plan or roadmap to follow. As long as the vision is clear, then a leader will know the direction to follow. The path may be bumpy, with a lot of potholes and stop signs, but this should not deter them. The leader should also know that even with an established plan, it does not mean that he does not have any corrections to make. Finally, the leader should lead the movement. A transformational leader is available and visible. Such a leader leads by example and expects his subordinates to follow what he does. He tries to motivate others consistently and makes rounds listening, enthusing, and soothing his team members. The opportunity to motivate employees can involve a lot of things; these are just a few.
Goal-setting Theory
Goal-setting theory is an approach by Edwin Locke, which is as influential theory in employee motivation as transformational leadership theory. The theory states that setting goals are linked to performance in tasks. It argues that specific and challenging goals, supported by appropriate feedback, contribute to better performance. In simple terms, goals give direction to employees about what should be done, and how much effort needs to be put in. Locke provided several key features of goal setting. He said that the main source of motivation is the willingness of employees to work towards attaining goals. He added that clear, specific, and difficult goals are way better than easy, vague, and general goals. Locke asserted that specific and clear goals contribute to great output as well as improved performance. He believed that as long as a leader communicated unambiguous, clear, and measurable goals that were accompanied by a deadline, he avoided misunderstanding. He also noted that the goals should be realistic and challenging so that individuals would feel a sense of triumph and pride in attaining them. He also added that the involvement of employees in setting goals made them more acceptable, and led to increased participation.
Conclusion
All of these are critical elements of employee motivation. The first one is leadership, where a leader is required to have the emotional intelligence needed to ensure that the employees feel appreciated and inspired enough to work towards organizational goals. The second one is the strategies needed to motivate employees. These include recognition, recognition, team empowerment, work-life balance, employee wellness, and continuous feedback. The researcher then discusses the leadership theory hat best promotes employee motivation. He identifies the transformational leadership theory, which, unlike transactional leadership, sells the vision to the employees. The team members are free to buy the leader’s vision, depending on their level of trust and confidence in the future that he is leading them into. The last is goal-setting, which is also a critical part of the motivation. Goal-setting represents a process in which an organization sets the goals that it needs to attain within a specified period. Edwin Locke, the originator of the theory, argues that the goals should be clear, difficult, and specific since they motivate employees to improve their performance to attain them.