Motivating the backbone of the company

These myths are:

a) Only you can motivate the employees: This is a very wrong concept since it is very important that the employees try to be motivated by themselves. However, you can provide them with the right kind of environment.

b) Money is the most important motivator: Money is no doubt a good motivator but it is not the most important one. Each individual needs a different type of motivation and you need to understand that

c) Applying same motivation idea for every employee: Do not think whatever motivates you, would motivate the other employees also. As everyone do not have the same mindset, same things do not motivate them also.

d) Job satisfaction is equivalent to increased job performance: It is not that increased job satisfaction will increase the job performance also. If the goal of the organisation clashes with the goal of the employees’ then job performance will get hampered.

e) Fear is a good motivator: Fear might act as a motivator but it is not necessarily the best one. It acts as a motivator for a very short period.

There are some basic points also that you need to remember before you apply employee motivation program. These are:

1) First motivate yourself and then motivate others: You should be the first one to get motivated before you think about motivating others. If you do not like your job then you would find that no one else likes it also. So try to be enthusiastic about your work then only you can motivate the others.

2) Match the goals of the organisation with the goals of the employees: It is very important that the goals of the employees match the goals of the organisation. As an employer you should know what you want from the employees and you should clearly give directions to the employees to do the same

3) Understanding what motivates each employee: People are motivated by different things and therefore before you start any motivation program you should research and know what motivates an individual employee.

4) Support the employee motivation by using policies and procedures: Don’t just believe the good intentions of the company rather try to motivate the employees by passing policies such as good compensations, employee appraisal and other policies.

On the basis of these points you should carry forward employee motivation programs. Some programs that you can practice are:

1) Employee of the Month award: This is a popular motivation program where a single individual who has performed outstandingly in a month is chosen and awarded by management. The awards may include increase in perks, a small gift or put up the picture of the employee.

2) Competition between different teams for completing projects faster: In this motivation program teams are rewarded and this helps in building cooperation within teams and henceforth motivate a group of employees at the same time

3) Customer Review Motivation Program: Some companies ask their customers to review the performance of the representatives and on the basis of those reviews the best performer gets the award.

These motivation programs have indeed been successful in motivating and retaining the employees since they are solely based on the job performance of the individuals.

My grandmother, when she was owner and CEO of a successful company (having to do with medical supplies for the fields of cryogenics), was, as I understand it, and absolute genius at staff motivation. She kept it simple. If she’d for instance received a call from a client who complimented her administrative assistant on her professionalism, then the my grandmother would present that assistant with a $100 bill at the next staff meeting in front of the other employees to motivate them. Now I think that is effective staff motivation.

Staff motivation is more an art than science, but make no mistake it is incredibly important. Think about what you want from your staff and what that staff consists of, humans with human feelings and needs. Humans are, of course, strange creatures by our very design. In one study I read when I was taking an elective course on management psychology (which included such phenoms as staff motivation), a staff of factory workers were actually affected by changes in lighting. The heads of the company brought in light bulbs with dimmer wattage…and it was learned that production actually increased but they didn’t like. The heads then brought in bulbs of a brighter intensity (than the original bulbs)…and the staff cheered and worked harder: production went up just as much. I guess this was an example of bait and switch.

So a good example of staff motivation is manipulation and subtle deceit. But be sure not to overtly trick anyone or cause harm in any way. After many years (decades) of working for and with and “over” teams of employees, I have personally found that rewards work best for motivation. I was the spirit leader in one company, coming up with freaky Friday and Muddled Mondays ideas for staff motivation by way of staff morale-boosting (for the company and the work was typically quite Kafkaesque).

It was almost childish sometimes, but it really did break up the monotony and add a little life into the mix. It actually put a lot of smiles on people’s faces and that can never be under estimated. We had make-your-own-sundae days, international food days, and show-and-tell days…yes, just like when we were kids back in school but with adult objects and stories that distracted temporarily, enlightened, humored, and entertained…getting us through another week. We also openly encouraged employees to express their own ideas and suggestions and try to foster that type of thinking (learning the jobs each had for a change of pace and for support of whomever was bogged down or behind).

Some ways to destroy staff motivation, which of course is not something you want to teach, but rather be on the lookout to avoid, are those which do the opposite of the above, those whaich are the antithesis of good leadership. I recall having jobs were clueless bosses and administrators could make the workplace they truly miserable place to be (for unsavory political reasons they got into the position in the first place). One leader would hold brainstorming meetings and then say no to every single “idea”. Could you imagine that? What’s the point?

Another would insist on a project, get everyone working at completing the project/presentation, then on the day of debut would bring unrelated changes and items and schedules so that only one person looked together and knew what she was doing. The signs, tents, flyers, and fundraising items were all tossed aside as irrelevant and thereby tossed away potential buyers and supporters, too.

This absolutely destroyed morale and to fight the opposite of the wanted affect. Another clueless boss came up with the idea of “working retreats”, which we employees made fun but where the leaders would bastardize the concept of “retreat” in the first place…. Still, games, fun, open exchanges of ideas and togetherness projects, and the honoring of (by listening to, acknowledging, crediting, and rewarding) individuals wherever possible seems to work in favor of staff motivation.

It sounds like common sense doesn’t it? But some bosses and companies just don’t get it. Don’t be one of them and your staff motivation will never be a problem.

With yoga, you can develop a deep sense of yourself. It does sound like something positive and beneficial but one cannot help but wonder what that is really all about. How does it feel? What does it look like?

Yoga is not a solution but more of a process. It can help you get in touch with yourself enabling you to fix yourself. Yoga turns your attention inward instead of pointing you to some external solution (such as a new exercise gadget, a trendy weight loss ingredient, a pair of the latest model running shoes). This may sound like a cliche but truly, you have inside of you the answer to every question.

The most popular form of yoga in the United States involves physical postures which reflect the meditative aspects of yoga. Its practice provides numerous health benefits and below, I will be discussing the seven life-enhancing benefits of a good, solid physical yoga practice.

Yoga increases flexibility. Needless to say, yoga is synonymous to flexibility. Regular stretching of the connective tissues in the body improves their elasticity. In the same way that a rigid tree would break due to strong winds and a more flexible one would bend without breaking, a person with good flexibility is less susceptible to torn muscles, ligaments or tendons. They have built-in protection from injuries because their tissues stretch and therefore would not easily tear.

Yoga prevents aging. With age comes rigidity of the connective tissues and organs. In the same way that a plant that has not been watered for a long time would have trouble extracting nourishment from the soil, a body that is not regularly stretched will have circulation problems because the tissues become dense and coated with fibroid tissues. Because of this, blood, vitamins, minerals, and energy cannot flow smoothly through them. This is how being flexible keeps the body young and combats the effects of aging.

Yoga tones the organs. Yoga positions serve several functions. The forward bend for instance, helps to flush the kidneys, while the triangle opens the liver. When done correctly and held for a sufficient length of time, yoga practice can tone and improve the functioning of every internal organ of the body. Keeping ones internal organs in good condition does not only benefit ones health, it also greatly reduces the possibility of developing medical problems which may lead to expensive transplants. Thus, indirectly yoga also provides financial benefits to those who practice it.

Yoga increases healthy energy flow. The yogis of ancient India discovered nadis which are energy pathways that flow through the body. As we grow older, the nadis constrict and because of this, the amount of vital energy flowing through the body increasingly lessens. This results in aging, loss of energy and eventually, death. Yoga keeps these energy pathways open which allows plenty of vital energy or life force to continuously flow into the body. This helps you to stay young and healthy.

Yoga focuses the mind. Another widely known benefit of yoga is that it significantly increases ones ability to concentrate. The physical postures developed by the yogis of ancient India are such that they are impossible to do if your mind is on something else. With yoga, it is essential to focus on what you are doing at the present moment and nothing else, otherwise you might end up in a tangled heap on the floor.

Yoga gives you power. Once you practice yoga, you will quickly understand that thinking is a choice and not an obligation. The mind is very similar to a powerful computer and its an awesome tool to be used by YOU when it is helpful.

Yoga gives you the choice to whether to use your power of thinking or not. It puts you in the position to be the master over your mind, which is probably one of the most powerful things in the world. You can use it to overcome compulsive eating, angry outbursts, all sorts of addictions and other behaviors which all start off as a thought your mind. The essence of all power lies in this ability to decide which thoughts you want to empower.

Yoga gives you love. As you practice yoga, you will begin to realize that all of us are in this together. In its essence, yoga means union and this manifests itself on many different levels. You will come to know who and what you are, and also find integration in many aspects of your life. But it doesn’t end there, you will also come to know others for who they really are. We all wear masks but underneath we are all the same in that we go through life in the same way. All of us are in search for union with each other and with a higher power.

Yogic practices will enable you to see through the masks of the ego and to look deeply into your own heart as well. It will lead you to ponder on such questions as, Why am I here? What is life showing me? And How am I looking at the world? Knowing ones real self is loving oneself with the unconditional love of a mother. And to love oneself is to love the world and everyone and everything in it.

Coaching is becoming increasingly popular throughout the world, be it business coaching, personal coaching, fitness coaching. So obviously there are benefits and that is what this article reveals.

Here are just a few of the benefits that life coaching can do for you:

1. More Money

Most clients that have a coach report that they are netting or saving more money after 6-12 months with a coach. This is because when you focus on money and use a coach as a guide, you will probably make more of it. A coach can also help you significantly reduce your expenses and develop new ways to earn more and how to budget properly. As your self esteem increases so will your money, get this and everything else is easy

2. More of Life

A coach works with all of you and helps you integrate what works and get rid of the rest. A coach expects you to invest in the quality and depth of your life and helps you do it too.

3. More of a Network and Community

Personal and professional success comes much more easily when you have a strong network of people supporting you and are like minded. A coach will work with you to attract high quality people and opportunities. A coach will help you strengthen the network and community you already have.

4. Better Decisions

When you are willing to discuss ideas and concerns with someone who is independent yet subjective, you will usually make better decisions. A mirror always helps. Winners are always willing to get feedback and ideas from others. Sometimes a coach acts like an insurance policy and points out the danger areas that you cannot see.

5. Faster Development

If you are interested in ‘growing yourself’ and in ‘personal development’, a coach can double your rate of development. A coach can help you zone in on the obstacles that are limiting you, and resolve them so you can move forward.

6. Fewer Problems

A coach will help you extend your boundaries so far that trouble stops coming near you. A coach often helps a client to significantly raise their standards so that problems are not caused! When you are working on goals that express your values, you have less chance for mischief.

Stress relief self help tips help you to remain in your center, balanced and able to create your everyday magic and synchronicity.

You get to choose who you are being in each moment. As a result, you’re in the driver’s seat in terms of shifting your thoughts and feelings that comprise your personal energy balance in each moment. Anytime you begin to feel yourself getting stressed and out of your center, shift back. Doing this helps you to prevent your day from running away from you and helps you to keep your energy balance intact.

Here are three quick stress relief self help techniques you can use to create and maintain your centered balance each day:

1) Breathe Deeply from Your Belly:

Take at least five minutes in both the morning and evening to center yourself through deep belly breathing. Breathing gets you back into your center and aligns you with your Soul

Place your hand on your belly, blow out all the air from your lungs as much as you can through your slightly opened mouth, then take a deep breath in through your nostrils, filling your lower lung first. You will see and feel your hand moving outward as you do this. Continue filling your lung, moving upwards until you feel like your chest is chock full of air. Hold for a count of four then slowly release the air through your mouth.

As you inhale, feel yourself breathing in any two combinations of Peace, Love, Wisdom, Abundance, Joy by saying to yourself: ‘I Am Peace and Joy’ or ‘I Am Love and Wisdom’. As you exhale, breathe out all stress, anxiety and fear, saying ‘I release all anxiety and fear’.

2) Release Your Pent-Up Emotion:

It’s a great idea to learn how to release all pent up emotions regularly to help you to keep relaxed, centered and Soul-aligned while you create your highest vision of your passionate and fully self expressed life.

A quick easy way that I’ve used for years is to allow myself regular time to release and express all pent up emotions. You’ll need to lock your door when you set aside some private, alone time. You’ll also need a glass of drinking water, a pillow or two and either a radio, music or television.

Take a few minutes to remember what upset you over the past day or two, allowing yourself to fully feel any emotions that you experienced. Turn up the radio, music or TV and use your pillow to muffle loud sounds. Cry, vent, curse, sob, laugh.. whateverrrr. Allow, in the privacy of your safe space, the full release of all emotions that didn’t get a chance to be honoured and expressed at the time you originally felt them.

The emotions will come up in waves, so allow yourself at least 10 minutes each day for this for the first two or three weeks. You will be amazed at how empty and refreshed you will feel once you get into the rythym of this. Always give thanks for the release and always visualize your body filled up and surrounded with loving and healing purple energy. This will help to finish up any emotional cleansing as you go about the rest of your day.

3) Write Your Morning Pages:

This is another technique that I’ve used for aeons to help me cleanse my heart and mind of ‘stuff’, leaving me free to create my day freshly and passionately. I first learnt it from Julia Cameron’s book “The Artist’s Way”.

Get a notebook to use for your Morning Pages and wake up 15 minutes earlier than you usually do. It’s important that you do this first thing as you awaken, perhaps after going to the bathroom. Write everything that comes to mind or heart. Anything and everything. This is your private book that no one else will see. Fill one and a half pages or sheets (three sides) full of all your thoughts, all your feelings. If you can’t think or feel a thing… write that. The key is to completely fill three sides of notebook paper first thing in the morning, every morning.

Do this for one month BEFORE you review anything of what you have written. You’ll be amazed at the stuff that was taking up all that space within you. You will get many insights into what bothers you deep down inside, what makes you happy, and what issues you are ready to work through in your life.

OK, there you go. You’re now armed with three deceptively simple but highly powerful stress relief self help techniques. I cannot recommend these Stress Busters highly enough. I use them all the time and always get great feedback from those I teach them to.

These stress management self help tips will help you if you feel stressed, overwhelmed and anxious. They are also excellent for increasing and expressing your creativity more fully in your daily life. Increased creativity is the mother of all abundance so enjoy the process of centering each day and reaping the rewards of full self expression as a great bonus.