Make an Impact As a Manager

Over the years, many employees have come to me, even when I was no longer their manager, and acknowledged the positive impacts I have had on their careers and professional growth. Feedback like this has comprised some of the most fulfilling moments of my career. When it comes to employee motivation and making a positive impact, I follow some basic principles that I have learned and developed over the years. I would like to share my learning and thoughts with you.

Establishing Trust:  Knowing Each Other’s Story

Do you know their story?

Every individual is unique, defined through his or her own perceptions and life experiences. This drives what one believes about oneself – who he is, what he believes in, what he wants and why. These simple but powerful questions define what success or failure means for an individual. The essence of this understanding is one’s “story.” Knowing their story helps you understand their underlying interests and needs; and builds a foundation to develop a trusting relationship.

I had an employee performing a people manager role, who often felt frustrated and unappreciated. As I started to understand his story I realized he came from a technical background. He became a people manager as he perceived it to be the path of progress and recognition in a corporate hierarchy. But deep down he was still a technical person who gets fascinated and motivated by learning new technologies and architecting solutions.  Unfortunately, he was spending majority of his time in people management and administrative functions. I helped him build a path to pursue his interests by carving out an individual contributor role solely focused on architecting solutions. This propelled him, established him as a star performer, gained recognition and rewards that he would have never received as a people manager. He felt accomplished, motivated and happy with the job.

Do they know your story?

Many managers often make the mistake of not telling their story to their teams. You have to become vulnerable in this relationship – you have to tell them your story. Helping your teams to understand who you are, where you came from, what you believe in, what success or failure means for you individually, etc. this brings a personal touch and sense of genuineness in your relationship. This will help break the barrier of discomfort and open the door to a trust-based relationship.

This is even more crucial in today’s world as more and more organizations are going virtual with remote employees. A virtual organization brings flexibility for employees but at the same time drives sense of isolation. I remember a time when my team was re-organized and I had to report to a different manager located thousands of miles away in a different time zone. This made me nervous and insecure as I was preparing to attend my first one on one meeting with him, on the phone.  Contrary to my expectation, in this first meeting, he did not spend time discussing work; instead he spent time telling his story. It was a genuine experience. My nervousness melted away. I walked away with a feeling that I had known him for years and a trust-based relationship was established in no time. 

Demonstrating Trust: Establishing Ownership

As you are establishing trust, there is a point where you have to demonstrate it with an action. You have to make it clear that you as a manager also have skin in the game. Your employee’s success is your success and his or her failure is your own personal failure.

I had a consistent “B” performer, a strong player but stayed within her comfort zone for several years and never made it as an “A” performer. I asked her to own a highly visible, cross-organizational initiative typically performed by an individual one level higher than her.  At first she felt nervous but she quickly realized I trusted her enough to put my reputation at stake by giving her this highly visible assignment. That established a strong sense of ownership in her. Her motivation level soared right away. She demonstrated her sense of ownership to the fullest, gaining recognition as a star performer from the leadership and managers beyond her immediate organization. Many of my peer managers wondered what caused her to turn into a star performer; it was all about demonstrating trust by establishing a sense of ownership.

Reward:  Show You Care

Managers often look for major milestones to reward people and accomplishments and it is easy to lose sight of the fact that these big milestones are built up of thousands of little steps. Every single step presents an opportunity to express gratitude and more importantly to show that you care about that individual and his or her contributions. Of course, you have to leverage all of the monetary and other tools available to you, but keep in mind at every small step there is an opportunity to reward – be it a recognition in a meeting, taking one out for a coffee, small gifts or even a thank you letter to their family with movie tickets – there is a lot that you can do. It will go long way.

I will always remember this conversation. It was a year when my team did extremely well but the company did not meet targets and decided not to give bonuses. I was dreading delivering this news to my team, in particular to my top performer of that year. When I informed him that he was not going to get a bonus, his response surprised me. Though he would have loved to have a bonus, he made clear that the biggest reward for him was an opportunity to work for me. He genuinely felt I cared for him. He remembered the time when I helped him at work while he was going through a family situation. Though to me helping him was not a big deal, for him it was a big act that conveyed I cared for him. That act developed a sense of loyalty and motivation.

In summary, to make an impact as a manager you have to establish trust with your employee by knowing his or her story, back that trust by your actions and reward him or her at every step of the journey.