Effective management is a critical factor in the success of any organization, and one of the most effective management strategies I have termed “Encourage Management.” While there are various management styles, one that needs to gain more popularity, and more quickly the better, is using encouragement instead of critical analysis to improve employee effectiveness.
Encouragement Management is an art founded on science
Encouragement is the art and act of inspiring and motivating team members to achieve their goals and reach their potential because the manager has carefully aligned corporate purposes to be reached as individual team members improve. This upbeat, synergistic management approach focuses on uplifting team members by highlighting their strengths and achievements.
For Encourage Management to assist in reaching corporate goals and a team member’s individual goals to align, managers must take more time to get to know their team members face-to-face instead of attempting to manage from afar with little to no interpersonal engagement. Encourage Management requires a manager who is typically less concerned about corporate end goals and more concerned with the trajectory of each member. Not an easy step for organizations to take in a short-term focused environment, but an action that does ensure the long-term stability of more content and an improving workforce, with less turnover and failing onboarding/training costs.
Encourage Management Changes an Organization’s Effectiveness
Recent studies have shown that encouraging management strategies benefits the team and the organization. For example, a study by the Harvard Business Review found that teams that received more positive feedback and encouragement from their managers were more engaged and productive and performed better overall than those who did not receive as much encouragement, not only in the short-term but more significant returns were gained in the longer term. This study suggests that positivity in management, or Encourage Management, can improve organizational outcomes.
Furthermore, research published in the Journal of Business and Psychology indicates that using Encourage Management techniques can also improve employee motivation and job satisfaction. This study found that when managers used positive reinforcement and encouragement, employees were more likely to feel valued and recognized for their contributions, leading to higher job satisfaction. They were more motivated to work with other team members to buy into the company’s long-term vision.
In contrast, the contention that comes with critical analysis management styles will have instant and future negative consequences. A study published in the International Journal of Business and Management found that employees who experienced high levels of conflict with their managers were more likely to experience stress, lower job satisfaction, and increased turnover intentions. This research supports the notion that managers who use contention as their primary management style, or motivation technique create toxic work environments that can harm the organization’s ability to improve and achieve.
And in an age where the newest workforce members are increasingly sensitive to their mental well-being while feeling more empowered to pick up and leave an employer when their contentment level is threatened, the turnover and onboarding costs can become catastrophic to a company’s ability to grow if Encourage Management strategies are not implemented. And because this newest generation feels the need to share their troubles and opinions with their peers through a limitless number of social and communication platforms, a company’s sustainability to hire the best and brightest candidates can easily become a dried-up well of lost opportunity when Encourage Management isn’t a core part of how a company functions.
Using encouragement techniques in management involves balancing every criticism or negative feedback with at least three (or more, depending on the individual) positive comments or phrases of encouragement. By doing so, managers can help their team members feel valued, appreciated, and motivated to perform at their best. Employees who feel more valued need less pay, cause fewer organizational problems, and file fewer lawsuits as they continue to become more productive and integrated company members.
It is without question that Encourage Management techniques have numerous benefits for organizations, including improved engagement, productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. And companies that take steps to train their managers to be more capable of implementing encouragement techniques into their normal daily routine will find increased profitability, productivity, positivity in the work environment, and fewer disgruntled, departing team members. Not implementing more encouragement in any organization will result in less of what the company hopes to gain.
If your organization would like to implement formal Encourage Management techniques into your organization, contact us for a free consultation and discussion on how we can help.