Motivating Em Employees During Tough Times.

In today's turbulent economic market, even the strongest and most powerful corporate icons are challenged to find ways to improve their efficiencies. As they require more work from fewer numbers of people, their top priority is having effective leaders and motivators who can propel their group to greatness. Unfortunately, many young managers and leaders have never seen a tight economy, or at a minimum, have only a faint memory of what it can be like. It's during these times that leadership skills are put to the test, because employee motivation becomes more difficult as the resources for motivating are pulled at the same time.

Understanding human psychology is critical during tough times because we need to get beyond the fluff. Yes, ice cream socials are fun for employees, but they aren't the "be-all-end-all" to employee motivation. Contests are interesting, but people find them disconcerting during tough times.

The fact is there are four critical elements of leadership that are extremely valuable during robust times and absolutely essential during challenging times. Implement these leadership qualities in your organization today, so you can nurture a motivated workforce for years to come.

1. Lend an Empathetic Ear.

Guilt, fear, paranoia as well as a few other destructive emotions can freeze employees' performance during tough times. The natural response is for a leader to click his or her heels with the hopes of ending up in Kansas. Denial is the natural response when things get tough, but many leaders never move beyond that. The thought of talking about feelings openly sends shivers down the spines of most managers, and ignoring those emotions only causes greater challenges.

To increase motivation and performance, create a forum for people to share their feelings so they can release them and move on. Put on your "tomato suit," and listen to the whining in a structured forum. If you don't, your employees are sure to keep whining for months and months past the time people would normally let it go.

The funny thing about emotions is that if we don't sense that the other person truly understands our emotions, we tend to stay charged. If you don't want to be listening to the same complaints over and over, then listen with emotion. If someone's voice is loud and angry, say back in a loud voice, "I feel terrible because I see you're so upset." Then, continue the conversation by dropping your voice slowly to a normal range. Watch the magic as they diffuse by simply knowing you "really got it."