Here’s a tough question: Do your employees work for you because they have to or because they want to?
Of course, most people’s main reason to work is to earn a living and pay those bills. But it would be nice to know that your employees actually want to earn their living by working for you.
The next tough question is: How can you motivate them to be loyal? By becoming a workplace hero.
Use the following strategies to increase your hero status:
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Be uplifting. Sincere words of praise, appreciation, support, guidance, and encouragement cost nothing but reap tremendous returns.
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Be disciplined. It can’t be stressed enough that managers must practice what they preach. Those who ask more of their employees than they’re willing to give usually inspire only contempt.
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Be giving. Instead of always asking yourself how to get more from your staff, try asking how you can give more. What can you do to lighten the load, to inspire creativity, to make the work environment enjoyable as well as productive?
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Be responsible. Everyone makes mistakes, but some people are incapable of admitting them—and seem always to be looking for some way to pass the buck. When you mess up, have the courage to own up.
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Be humble. You probably worked hard to get where you are, and that’s commendable. But it doesn’t make you better than those who haven’t climbed as high. Arrogance is not an attractive quality—and it doesn’t inspire loyalty.
—Adapted from “How to be known as a village hero,” by Rene Godefroy, on the Village Hero Website.
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