Why is it that no matter what you do to boost morale, from parties and picnics to pats on the back, you end up with the same short-lived results? You know, everyones happy for a couple of weeks, then they default to heel dragging and excuse making again? If youre banging your head against the wall looking for new tactics, the only guarantee is a sore head. Heres why. Traditional tactics address symptoms, not causes of low morale. Look to mechanics rather than people when seeking solutions.
Employees want to feel good about the work they output. Most want to excel and see hope for advancements in position and pay. But when theyre always swimming against the current, they lose hope. As a leader, your role is to equip employees with the right tools to do their jobs well. Functional equipment and systems breed success and maintain hope. Sometimes management tries to make everyone happy without really addressing whats causing unhappiness to begin with. The mistake is more common than people realize.
Vermonts Sugarbush ski resort suffered low morale at its ski school a couple of seasons ago. When parents came to sign in their children for daily classes, they could...