The Manager's Pocket Guide to Leadership Skills

Creating a Motivational Environment

The best supervisors have the most productive people who are also happy. The real challenge for supervisors is to design incentive systems that encourage high performance and also engender high employee morale. The following steps related to positive reinforcement will help raise levels of employee motivation.

Step One: Describe the Goal or Target Behavior

The target should always be related to performance. What specifically must the individual do to become a high performer? Answers such as work faster, be dependable, or take initiative are too general. “Answer the phone in a more professional manner” should be replaced with, “When you answer the phone, say, ‘This is XYZ Enterprises, Donna speaking. How may ...