Leadership coach Bill Munn writes to Heat Treat Today’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2022: "[You] are positioned not only to work with fellow human beings, but to lead them. And if your potential is to be realized, you may already know well that those people are the true key to your future success."
Bill Munn, leadership coach at Bill Munn Management Coaching, wrote this article for Heat Treat Today’s September 2022 Tradeshow print edition. Read the Spanish translation when you click the flag to the right!
Leadership Coach
Bill Munn Management Coaching
Source: Bill Munn Management Coaching
Congratulations to the Heat Treat Today 40 Under 40 Class of 2022! This accolade is an honor, and it marks you as one carrying a unique and important responsibility: You are a leader.
By definition, this means that you are not functioning alone. Moreover, you are positioned not only to work with fellow human beings, but to lead them. And if your potential is to be realized, you may already know well that those people are the true key to your future success.
So how will you engage them?
✔ Step one: Embrace a teachable spirit. Bring enough humility to your role to pursue advice, insight, and continuous learning.
✔ Step two: Learn how to motivate people.
The 3 Pillars of Team Motivation
After over five decades of working closely with hundreds of excellent leaders and their teams, I have identified and repeatedly confirmed that three key factors motivate engagement and performance in people: vision, autonomy, and growth.
Vision
People want to be part of something important.
They want what they’re doing to matter. They want to not only understand the vision of their team and organization, but to also believe in it.
You don’t need to be saving the world in order to cast such a vision. Simply take the time to think through your core values as an organization. Ask, “Why is this important? What is key to us being here, doing what we’re doing?” Then communicate that message to your team.
This process is essential, powerful, and far too often overlooked.
Autonomy
People hate to be micromanaged.
True or not, micromanagement communicates two messages that kill motivation: “I don’t trust you” and “I think you’re incompetent.”
On the other hand, when you give your team members assignments and invite them to ask questions, gain clarity, and then charge in on their own, you communicate exactly the opposite message. You say, “I trust you” and “I believe you can do this.” That is incredibly motivating.
Bonus: Your team members will learn and grow farther, faster when given the autonomy to do so. And they will take greater ownership in the organization and its vision.
In short, they will be more engaged and effective.
Growth
Your people want to receive input, attend seminars, participate in training programs, read great and informative magazines like this one, and have access to help, coaching, and development in their area of focus.
Too many leaders go to their people and say, “You should be better at X” or “You should improve Y,” but they don’t support them in doing so. So, what they communicate is a lack of investment in that person’s long-term success, which in turn makes that person less invested in the organization and its goals.
If you want a team made up of valuable people, show your people that you value them by supporting their growth.
People want to be developed. They want to feel — throughout their lives and careers — that they are growing and improving, becoming better at what they do.
The Results of Effective Motivation
Motivated teams are engaged, and engaged teams are effective. As a high-potential leader, you have a unique opportunity to ignite the people you work with — and improve your own outcomes in the process.
Set the vision. Unleash autonomy. Nourish growth. It is now your responsibility and a great honor to do so — one your career and your people will thank you for.
Best of luck to you.
About the Author: Through strategic visioning and in-the-moment issue resolution, Bill Munn helps executives manage teams to their greatest potential. As a 32-year management-coaching veteran and former Dow 30 top executive, Bill has supported hundreds of corporate leaders worldwide with practical wisdom, real-world action tools, and out-of-the-box insight. An MBA and former professor of fi nance and economics, Bill is a dynamic public speaker and Amazon best-selling author of Why Make Eagles Swim? Embracing Natural Strengths in Leadership & Life and Lead or Be Led.
For more information: billmunncoaching.com
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