100 Ways to Motivate Others : How Great Leaders Can Produce Insane Results Without Driving People Crazy

Don’t Go Crazy

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comes in, but just step in here for a second. I know you
had something on your mind. So please, ah, talk to me...oh,
excuse me.”
When we can get a manager to experiment with slow-
ing down and becoming focused on each conversation as a
way to approach his or her day, they’re really amazed. If
they do it for a week, they call back and say, “Unbeliev-
ably, I got more understanding of my people this week
than in all my previous weeks on this job.”
Yet it could be different. Life could slow down and
become excellent. Because often, when they do slow down
and look at the next urgent task in front of them, it occurs
to them that 
someone else would love to do this task.
Not
only that, but someone else would be 
flattered
to do this.
“They would enjoy hearing of the trust I have in them by
asking them to take this over and get it done, and done
well, because I like the way they do things.”
There are so many things that can be delegated and
passed on to others, but only if you regain your sanity and
slow down. One of the best ways to motivate others is to
give them more interesting things to do. Especially things
that free up your own time. That’s time you can use to
build a motivated team. It doesn’t have to be crazy around
here. You can put an end to that.
31. Stop Cuddling Up
I never gave them hell. I just tell the truth
and they think it’s hell.
—Harry S. Truman

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Unconsciously, managers without leadership habits will
often seek, above all else, to be liked. Rather than holding
people accountable, they let them off the hook. They give
non-performers the uneasy feeling that everything’s fine.
They are managers who seek approval rather than success.
But this habit has a severe consequence. It leads to a
lack of trust in the workplace. Lack of trust: the most
common problem “issue” on employee surveys.
A true leader does not focus on trying to be liked. A
true leader focuses on the practices and communications
that lead to being 
respected.
It’s a completely different goal that leads to completely
different results. (
I am not motivated by you because I like
you; I am motivated by you because I respect you.
)
The core internal question that the leader returns to
is, “If I were being managed by me, what would I most
need from my leader right now?”
The answer to that question varies, but most often is:
1. The truth, as soon as you know the truth.
2. Full and complete communication about
what’s going on with me and with us.
3. Keeping all promises, especially the small
ones (“I’ll get back to you by tomorrow
with that”) consistently, even fanatically.
Not some promises, not a high percentage
of promises, not a good college try, but 
all
promises. When a promise cannot be kept
(especially a small one), an immediate
apology, update, and a new and better
promise is issued.
Stop Cuddling Up

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A true leader does not try to become everybody’s big
buddy, although he or she values being upbeat and cheer-
ful in communication.
A true leader is not overly concerned with always be-
ing liked, and is even willing to engage in very uncomfort-
able conversations in the name of being straight and
thorough. A true leader sees this aspect of leadership in
very serious, adult terms, and does not try to downplay
responsibility for leadership. True leaders do not try to
form inappropriate private friendships with members of
the team they are paid to lead. A true leader enjoys all the
elements of accountability and responsibility and trans-
forms performance measurement and management into
an above-board business adventure.
32. Do the Worst First