Motivational Managers treat their team the way they expect to be treated

Let me tell you a quick story. A branch manager friend of mine, Jennie, was telling me about a recent meeting she had with her boss. After discussing some day to day issues he said, “Jennie, I have some good news; I’m sending you on another weekend team building event.”

Jennie’s heart sunk, she remembered the previous event where they spent the day swinging thorough the trees, falling in the mud, building rope bridges and generally getting wet through. Jennie isn’t particularly athletic and the aforementioned activities don’t exactly fill her with joy. She also has a husband and young children and she regards her weekends spent with them as very important.
Jennie is a very bright outgoing person however she isn’t keen to do much socialising with her work colleagues. She doesn’t attend social events or the Christmas night out.

She is however a very successful manager. Her team consistently hit their target and her branch is the most successful in the company. She runs a ‘tight ship,’ has a happy team with little absenteeism and is generally regarded as a first class manager.

Her boss believes that weekend team building events are good for morale, team spirit and very motivational. In Jennie’s case, it’s exactly the opposite; it’s totally de-motivational.

The Motivational Manager gets to know each individual member of their team. They are sensitive to how they see things and they know that they think differently than they do.

We all see the world in a different way based on our culture and how we were brought up. It’s very important to understand this, particularly when you give your people feedback, be it good or bad.

Last year I spent several weeks in a particular hotel running seminars and I started to get to know some of the staff. One day I noticed that Carol the conference manager had been named employee of the month and her photograph was displayed in the reception area. When I congratulated her on this honour, I was a bit surprised at her reaction - “I hate it, I’m so embarrassed,” she complained.

Carol didn’t like the attention she was getting and as a result, this recognition by her manager didn’t motivate her. Another member of the team could possibly see this completely differently and regard it as a great honour.

If you have good rapport with your people then you become sensitive to how they see things. The Motivational Manger understands each member of their team and doesn’t reward everyone in the same way.

I’ve often heard managers say - “I treat people the way I expect to be treated.”

The Motivational Manager says -
“I treat people the way THEY expect to be treated.”

Don’t be nervous if you’re nervous.

When was the last time you did some public speaking? Perhaps it was a presentation to a client or your colleagues, or an event in your personal live. Did you feel nervous?
It sometimes surprises people when I tell them I get slightly nervous before a speaking or training event. They seem to think that because I’ve been doing it for years, nervousness would no longer be an issue.

Public speaking is still one of our greatest fears; it turns grown men and women into nervous wrecks. The mere thought of it turns our tongue to cotton wool, causes our internal plumbing to act up and turns our knees to jelly.

However, ‘nerves’ is a normal human emotion and as I often say, “I’d be nervous if I wasn’t nervous!” It’s how you handle the nerves that will determine your success as a speaker.

The great actress Sarah Bernhardt once asked a young actress whether or not she suffered from nerves before she appeared on stage. “Oh no, Madame,” the young actress replied. “Well” Sarah Bernhardt said, “Don’t worry; it will come, along with talent.”

Nervousness is vital, you need nerves. Nerves release a cocktail of chemicals into your blood stream, one of which is adrenaline. This in turn releases glucose into the blood stream. This gives you more energy and your mind becomes sharper.
The thing is, not to overdose on these stress chemicals or you’ll start to shake like a jelly and overheat. You need to work off some of these chemicals.
Murray Walker the ex motor racing commentator used to run on the spot as fast as he could just before he went on air. You could try that or run up and down the stairs. Wave your arms about like a lunatic and get lots of oxygen into your system. Obviously it’s better to do this when no one is looking!!

Speak to as many members of the audience as you can before you stand up to speak. This tricks your brain into thinking you’re talking to lots of your friends.
Speak louder than you’d normally do, that helps the nerves as well. It also keeps the people in the front row awake and makes sure the people at the back get the message.

Have a glass of water handy for that dry mouth. Don’t be afraid to stop and have a drink, it makes you look really professional. However, one word of warning; do not drink alcohol. It might give you Dutch courage but your audience will end up thinking you’re speaking Dutch!

If you’re into creative visualisation, then that’s also a great way to handle the nerves. Spend some time before the event visualising yourself being really successful. And what ever you do, have lots of positive self talk with yourself.


Believe me; once you start to apply this, the butterflies in your stomach will all be flying in formation.