We often see only a glimpse of an employee’s capabilities during working hours and believe this is the total of his or her potential.
Think outside the box. Cultivate and tap into employee skills by following some simple guidelines:
Have high expectations. People rise to our expectations of them. If you believe they will succeed and communicate this to them, it is human nature to do everything they can to fulfill your expectations.
Get to know employees. Take the time to get to know people. What do they like to do in their off hours? What organizations do they volunteer for? Hobbies or pastimes are clues into a host of other skills an employee might have. Use them!
Set goals. People need to know what they are shooting for. Spell out expectations in measurable, understandable terms. Aim high but not so high success seems impossible. Break large projects down into smaller pieces.
Give them a vision. People must believe in the task at hand to function at the highest performance level. Illustrate the big picture in an inspirational way. Remind them frequently what the end result will be.
Have faith. When you assign a task, have confidence in the person to get the job done. If you micro-manage or refuse to delegate tasks, people to lose faith in their abilities and may become resentful. Celebrate milestones. Celebrate each achievement along the way. Give credit where credit is due and recognize all contributions.
Karen S. Sieczka is the founder of Karen S. Sieczka Training and
Curriculum Development, http://home.earthlink.net/~ksieczka/. She is
currently writing Foundations of Leadership, a workbook on
leadership development and has developed short trainings on employee
enrichment issues. Sieczka also writes articles and tip sheets on
various subjects including aging, literacy, and crisis
communications issues. She can be reached at ksieczka@earthlink.net
