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How To Speak “Management”

For most people, picking up a new language is a challenging task, no matter how smart they are.  Gaining proper eloquence, learning the nuances – it can take years of practice.

However, there is one language you can pick up in a matter of hours, and while it may be most relevant for only a select number of people, it may have more to do with your professional development (and possible promotion) than any other language you could acquire.  What language is this? “Management.”

    Yeah, those people   
    “up there” have their
    own language… 

 

This article will attempt to offer an introduction to the language called “management,” by presenting some of the key words in this language’s vocabulary. Remember, language is more than just a means of communication; it’s also represents mindset, and effective management is all about being in the right mindset.

This language can be picked up in a matter of hours and used fluently in a matter of weeks. Why? Because it doesn’t have tens of thousands of words, like regular language do, and there are only a few single grammatical rules. There is only a short list of key words you need to learn and fully internalize in order to gain ownership of this language.

Your new vocabulary list:

  • Asset
  • Burden
  • Objective
  • Milestone
  • Bottleneck
  • Force Amplifier
  • Early Indicator
  • Assumption
  • Problem Oriented
  • Solution Oriented
  • Reactive
  • Proactive
  • Descriptive
  • Analytical
  • Recommendation
  • Alternatives

Let’s get started with the most important words on this list:  Asset.

The standard definitions of the word ‘Asset’ are:
–noun

  1. A useful and desirable thing or quality: Organizational ability is an asset.
  2. A single item of ownership having exchange value.
  3. Assets,
    • Items of ownership convertible into cash; total resources of a person or business, as cash, notes and accounts receivable, securities, inventories, goodwill, fixtures, machinery or real estate (opposed to liabilities).
    • Accounting. The items detailed on a balance sheet, esp. in relation to liabilities and capital.
    • All property available for the payment of debts, esp. of a bankrupt or insolvent firm or person.
    • Law. Property in the hands of an heir, executor, or administrator, that is sufficient to pay the debts or legacies of a deceased person.

In Management, the definitions of the word “Asset” are slightly different: 

–Value

  1. The degree of your contribution to your manager’s ability to make better decisions.
  2. The enhancement you bring to the overall resources your managers have available.

Management is about a whole list of challenges that relate to vision building, resource allocation, team building, and more.  But at the heart of all of these challenges, there’s one fundamental core-challenge: decision-making. 

If you want to speak fluent management , you need to understand that your message has to be directly related to the most pressing decisions that decision-makers are facing at that time, in context of the Objectives “they” are trying to achieve.

When your message does not relate to these pressing decisions, you will quickly be tagged as a Burden, a vocabulary word you want to avoid. However, if you consistently ensure that your message is directly related to the pressing decisions they are facing, and if you construct your message in a way that helps them make better decisions, you will quickly be tagged as an Asset.

Remember, being an Asset is about enhancing other people’s ability to make better decisions.

The first thing about being an Asset, has to do with your own orientation.  Which has more of your attention: the problem at hand, or the possible solutions to that problem?

When you are Problem-Oriented, the nature of your message is likely to be Descriptive – offering endless details and facts about the current situation as well as the path that led up to this current situation, without any suggested solutions.  Problem orientation is about looking back, searching for excuses (and in many cases, people to blame).  Being Problem-Oriented is the fastest way to become a Burden.  Until humanity finds a way to travel back in time, the past cannot be altered, making this mindset a total waste of your manager’s time (and your time, too).

Effective managers care more about the future than the past.  When they do look into the past, it’s only in order to better shape the future. 

To ensure that you are perceived as (and are in fact) an Asset, you need to discard the Descriptive approach, and adapt a Solution-Oriented mindset, usually indicated by Analytical messages that focus on possible solutions to the current problems in a way that is based on clearly defined Assumptions, Alternatives, and Early Indicators.

Forward Framing
The fastest way to becoming Solution-Oriented and adopting an Analytical approach when speaking Management, is to always begin your message with a reference to the future, specifically relating to Objectives you know the person with whom you are communicating needs to achieve.

This is called Forward Framing – when your entire message is framed in context of the future (rather than the past).

For instance, when questioned by their managers as to why they need the extra resources they’ve recently requested (bigger budget, additional personal, etc.), most people offer Descriptive answers that relate to their current workload, and the list of problems they have due to lack of resources.  From their perspective, these problems are what they face on a daily level, so it’s understandable that they are preoccupied with them.  Their managers, however, need to keep their eyes on the bigger picture, understanding exactly how certain extra resources they approve will help meet the overall objectives they are committed to. Therefore, when you speak Management, you need to always use Forward Framing, ensuring that you always incorporate into your message an answer to the question: “why?”  Why should you be given extra resources?  Why should your recommendations be approved?

Example:

  • Question: “WHY do you need extra personnel?”
  • Problem-Oriented: “We are extremely understaffed and we’re already running behind schedule.  We can’t handle the current work load without extra personnel.”
  • Solution-Oriented: “With the extra personnel, we should be able to guarantee meeting the deadline without falling behind on the rest of our workload.”
  • Fluent Management: “If we want to secure future contracts with this client, it’s imperative that we meet the current deadline.  We can either delay some of the other projects we are currently working on – in which case, I would like to discuss prioritization with you when you have a chance – or we need to extra personnel to stay on schedule with all the current projects.”

The ability to speak Management is an extremely important tool to have in your arsenal. These few simple tricks can help you to close a big deal with a client, help decision-makers come up with the best possible solution, and maybe get you a promotion. Take a few days to learn this language; it’ll be worth it.

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Strategic Communication: Becoming an Asset in the Workplace

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to be better at your job.  While it’s super general, most don’t really know how to accomplish this goal.  What it really comes down to is your unique value to others and how you can become an asset.

The most important value of Strategic Communication is its ability to support and assist other people’s decision-making processes.

The greatest difficulty facing decision makers is the lack of resources available to support their decision-making process:  Information, Time to analyze that information, and Analytical Ability (see below: “The Decision Maker’s Dilemma”– the source of these challenges).

The Decision Maker’s Dilemma: 4 key steps to effective decision making):

  1. Define objective(s) in a tangible and objectively measurable way.
  2. Identify and generate as many different alternative paths that lead to the defined objective(s).
  3. Select preferred paths.
  4. Execute!

Strategic Communication is about you becoming a valuable resource for your environment in dealing with this process.

If you become a resource, supporting the decision makers with these challenges, you are likely to turn (in their eyes) from a mere Service Provider to a Consultant or even a Business Partner.

  • As a provider, you are perceived as a drain on your client’s resources, making you an inherently unwelcome agent.
  • As a business partner/consultant, you are perceived as an addition to your client’s resources.  You are a resource, making you a welcome agent!

Basic Principles of Strategic Communication:
Manage Expectations – Understand the objectives (beyond your own).  See and relate to the bigger picture.
Be Solution-Oriented (not problem-oriented!) – Understand, relate to, and generate additional possible courses of action.  Avoid focusing on the past or spending too much time describing the present.  Do so by:

  • Addressing the future
  • Being positive and proactive – even when you have questions, come prepared with possible answers or with your own recommendations on how to best go about finding the answers to these questions.
  • Be analytical not descriptive – present your analysis, or the simple context of the data you want to present BEFORE you present the data itself.

Remove Barriers and Bottlenecks – Simplify the ability to receive and internalize your message by:

  • Prioritizing what you have to say – every word you speak is a resource your listener is allocating to you.  Make sure your message generates a value greater than the value of the resource spent listening to you.
  • Pay attention to Logical Sequence – make sure the inner structure of your message make sense.  Make sure each part of your message builds on the previous parts.  Try to make the order of your message be in sync with the questions occupying your listener as they come up in his/her mind as they listen to you.
  • Distinguish between WORK (=process/”how”) and PRODUCT (=desired outcome/”what”) – this is an extension of the previous point:  present your conclusions and/or recommendations before you present your evidence.

Now go ahead and actually keep your resolution this year. Strive to become an asset and a big influencer at your job!

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How To Master Small Talk

As we near the end of the year, it’s no doubt that most of you attended some sort of workplace holiday party. One thing that we here at VAYOMAR are sure of is that every office party contains a large amount of small talk. While some of you may dread the idea of small talk, we are going to show you 5 easy tips on mastering small talk and how to become the life of the party! CLICK HERE take a look at our new infographic.

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Starting on the Right Foot

There is an old tradition that says you should always enter your house with your right foot first. That first step, where things are fresh and undetermined, makes all the difference.

Much like that old saying, conveying a message has a lot to do with the beginning; you need to figure out how to open on the right foot in front of your audience in order to set the tone for the entire session. The beginning, in this case, is the first 30 seconds to 4 minutes on average, depending on the length of your session. This is your window of opportunity to create a powerful first impression on a new or even a familiar audience.

So how do you start off on the right foot and experience “good luck” (at least for the duration of the session)? Start with anything that’s interesting and memorable, relevant (related to the topic and your agenda), and fits the time frame. It could range from a personal story, joke, historical anecdote to a piece of data, a quote or a visual aid, like a video or a picture.

In order to make your opening—or “grace period,” as we call it at VAYOMAR—effective make sure you match it to your audience, your comfort zone, and personal style and the kind of image you wish to portray.  For instance, an unconventional joke might not be the wisest choice in front of a conservative audience. If you can, find out who your audience is ahead of time and adjust accordingly.

Next time you begin your presentation, speech, or other form of message, make sure you start on the right foot and choose a strong opening. It could make all the difference.

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All About Body Language

Studies have found that only 7% of the messages we send are verbal – the other 93% are sent in some non-verbal way. This percentage probably shocks you. The bottom line is this: people first pay attention to your body language, and only afterwards do they hear what we’re saying.

Much has already been said about the importance of body language in sending messages and its basis on our status as speakers. But the question that frequently arises is: what can we do to change this? How much of our body language is innate and how much of it can we acquire?

Every individual has his/her own starting point, some finding body language more natural while others struggle. The key is to become aware of the strengths and weaknesses of our body language. Through this, we can learn to elevate our strengths and improve upon our weaknesses. This awareness will help us succeed in dramatically increasing the quantity of the messages we send, as well as the understanding of those messages.

Up until now, studies have mainly dealt with just one of the three aspects of body language.

1. How We’re Perceived – This relates to the audience, and how we succeed in transmitting our message. It applies to how we can improve our status before an audience and transmit our message, as well as using techniques like voice, eye contact, movement, etc.

Today more and more studies are dealing with the two additional aspects of body language, and if we relate to them, we can significantly improve the transmission of our messages.

2. Reading the Audience – Body language can help us to read the audience, to understand and to identify the small nuances that will help us make the right connection (an audience can be anything from one person to an entire stadium). For example, if someone in the audience slightly raises or lowers an eyebrow, we can assume that he/she has a question to ask or that he/she doesn’t completely agree with what we said. Before they are able to interject their question or opinion, try to ask that person, “Did you want to add something? Do you have a question?” The immediate message will be “they understand me, the speaker is reading me before I even said a word.”

The more we are aware of the small nuances in the audience’s body language, body movement, facial expressions, and eye contact, the more we will succeed in creating a better connection, and our message will be transmitted in a much better way.

3. Effect on Ourselves – This is the most innovative aspect: body language not only influences how we are seen by the audience; it also affects how we perceive ourselves. It can succeed in influencing us and how we succeed.

Amy Cuddy, one of the leading researchers in the field of body language, performed many experiments and found that if, just before a job interview, we take two minutes to ourselves in the bathroom or in the car and we stand in a “super power position,” we will walk into the job interview with more self confidence, and our chances of receiving a position reply are that much greater.

Cuddy claims that this isn’t a “fake it ‘till you make it” situation, but rather “fake it ‘till you become it.”

This principle answers the question concerning innate body language as compared to acquired body language. At the beginning, it may seem a little false or forced, but later on it becomes part of our DNA. It will influence not only how we are perceived by others, but also on how we perceive ourselves, and it will help us succeed in business, in our personal lives, and beyond.

In the next few weeks, we will carefully examine each of these three aspects of body language more carefully, so that the next time you present in front of a crowd, your body language will help to captivate your audience and let them connect with you easily!

To hear all of Amy Cuddy’s TED talk on body language, CLICK HERE.

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Information vs. Knowledge

We live in a world that is surrounded by a massive influx of information that is easily available. If you want to find out more about a subject, all you have to do is go to a computer or smart phone and type it in. It’s that simple. We, literally, have a wealth of information available at our fingertips, whenever and wherever we want it.

Often times, the terms “Information” and “Knowledge” are used interchangeably, and people do not give much more thought on the subject. However, in your daily interactions (in the office, at home, etc.), it is extremely important to think about the distinction between the two. What really is the difference?
We have created a short Prezi presentation to show you which of the two is more important when delivering your message, and how to make your audience listen to you. CLICK HERE to take a look!

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Make Your Email Stand Out

It’s hard to imagine what our lives would be like without Ray Tomlinson.

While this name may not ring any bells, we can assure you that you are very familiar with Ray Tomlinson’s work. Ray Tomlinson is the programmer who invented electronic mail, more commonly known today as email.

Email is one of the most, if not the most, used tools today. We send and receive dozens of emails every day. It has transformed into our main means of communication, through which we are able to transmit our messages within our entire workforce.

It’s clear that email has a huge influence in our daily lives, but not everyone knows the proper rules for sending a good email. With our help, your mail won’t be lost in your addressee’s inbox. Instead, it will attract his attention so that he will read it and respond to it. In addition, these rules will help you transmit your message in a much more effective way and will help you avoid commonly made mistakes.

1. Subject line – If we want our email to take precedence over all other mail received, the subject line must attract the addressee. That is, the content must be useful or beneficial to the addressee– why is it worth his while? For example, if you send your boss a weekly report, instead of just writing “Weekly Report” in the subject line, try to give it a more interesting and captivating title. Just adding a few words regarding subjects that are important to your boss could do the trick. It could be” “Weekly Report – Changes in Income in the Asian Sector.” Note that you are giving the report a new title that will work well for chain messages. And take note of the most important rule: email should never be sent without a subject line.

2. Short and to the point – In order to make the content of your mail easy for the addressee to understand, the main subjects should be divided into individual points. Key words in each sentence should be emphasized. When the addressee scans the mail, he should be able to quickly understand its subject and the important points you are trying to get across.

3. Personal touch – It is very important to give your mail a personal touch (within reason, of course). Always open your letter with the addressee’s name, some greeting or words of interest in his welfare, and a closing note with a signature (in addition to your permanent business signature). The more generic your mail, the less significance it has. The content of the mail will affect not only the message, but also the writer. If you write, “Forward the results” instead of “I would appreciate receiving the results,” the addressee’s perception of you is different. You should still keep in mind your existing relationship and situation with the addressee. The question now arises of what to do when you are sending this mail to more than one person. How do you still keep the letter personal? There are two possibilities:

  1. Address everyone at the beginning of the letter: “Dear Noa, Dani, Ron, and Shira.” When a person sees himself addressed directly at the beginning of the email, he will automatically give the letter his attention.
  2. Individually send an email to each of the addressees. Even though this will take more time, the possibilities of receiving a response are higher. When there are a large number of addressees, the tendency is not to reply, because each person is sure that the others will reply or they prefer to know what others will say before they give their opinions. It’s always a good idea invest a little more time and send personal mail to each of the addressees.

4. Punctuation – There are an unlimited number of transactions that are worth millions of dollars, but have failed simply because the email was not correctly understood. Make sure to always use correct punctuation marks and to use them in the right places. In addition, try not to over-punctuate as well, such as exaggerated use of exclamation points or ellipses (dot-dot-dot). People who punctuate properly come across as more intelligent.

Let’s eat grandpa.

vs.

Let’s eat, grandpa.

Correct punctuation can save a person’s life.

5. Moving forward – What does the addressee have to do after reading the mail? Why did he receive it? Was it purely an informational email, or were you asking for his opinion? What you want from the addressee must be emphasized in the body of the letter. The addressee cannot be left wondering why this email was sent to his inbox. Be clear as to what your intentions are. In addition, if you want the addressee to send you a confirmation that he received your email, ask him directly to reply. If your request is unclear, you can’t expect the addressee to read your mind. If several people have been sent the same message, mention them by name in the body of the mail and request of each of them, by name, to reply.

6. Double check – One of the advantages of email over face-to-face conversation is the possibility of proofreading your words before sending it. If we are speaking to someone and say the wrong thing, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to turn back the wheel. With email, we can check the content of the letter, find grammatical or spelling errors, read the letter out loud, and check that the letter was sent. Although this is a relatively basic action, there are many people who do not check their letters before sending them. Devote a few more seconds to this – it’s worth it!

Every day, about 190 billion letters are sent by electronic mail around the world. Research has shown that this figure will grow even larger with time. Your mail, your message, is in constant competition with other mail. So, in order to successfully reach your goals and complete your work, it’s worth using this very powerful tool in the best possible way.

And another little tip… if you’ve sent two emails and the point still isn’t clear? Forget about the email. Pick up the telephone and talk about it.

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The Dangers of Multitasking

A survey conducted by AllJobs in 2013 yielded that multitasking, along with credibility and teamwork, is one of the top three traits employers want in an employee. Multitasking. Have you ever actually stopped and wondered what it would be like to truly multitask? What we mean here is focusing your brain equally on more than one task at a time. It’s impossible to have your brain focus completely on more than one task. Since multitasking is one of the most sought-after traits employers look for, more and more job seekers are listing it as a skill on their resumes. But should employers really be looking for multitasker as their ideal employee?

Multitasking is the ability to perform a number of tasks simultaneously without it compromising the quality and efficiency of the performance.  A simple experiment held in a number of universities across the country sampled a large number of students who were asked to write a row of 10 numbers (1-10) on a board, and below it a row of letters (A-J).  The second time around, they were asked to perform that same task but this time, write a number-letter, number-letter alternately. The observation showed a clear decrease in the efficiency when the participants performed the second task.

According to David Meyer, a cognitive scientist from the University of Michigan, multitasking causes our brains to slow down and increases the chances of making a mistake. Distractions and interruptions interfere with our ability to process data.

It’s true that every job seeker may declare in a job interview that one of his main strengths is multitasking, and many employers are convinced it’s an attractive trait that one cannot succeed without. However, in recent years, cognitive scientists, psychologists, and management professors have challenged the necessity and prestige of such trait.  In a recent study, it took a group of  Microsoft employees an average of 15 minutes to return to serious work after answering e-mails or text messages.  This distraction caused them to continue to engage in things that were irrelevant to their work.

A classic example of how multitasking affects our daily lives would be when you drive and carry on an important phone conversation (with a Bluetooth, of course) at the same time.  Suddenly, you find you’ve taken the wrong turn, even if it’s the same way you’ve driven home for the last 10 years.  Multitasking not only affects efficiency, but it also quality.  With driving, for instance, the fact that we’re busy with two parallel tasks causes us to become distracted and as a result, not only do we slow down our pace but we also tend to get lost, get off track and head straight into the car in front of us… If we multitask at work, while the danger is nowhere near as large, the outcome is similar: lack of focus and poor quality work.

Jonathan Saphira, a senior analyst in a leading research company in the U.S., estimates the cost of distractions to the U.S. economy to be approximately $650 million a year.  However, it’s important to remember that distractions at the workplace will never disappear, as that’s the nature of how work is done and how ideas pass on.  After all, what may be a distraction to one person could be collaboration to another.

Here are some recommendations for how to keep from multitasking, but still be an effective worker:

  • Prioritize tasks on a monthly/weekly/daily basis.
  • Allocate a realistic time frame for every task and don’t slip into other tasks until you have completed the first one.
  • While working on a professional task that demands great focus, it’s best to filter out any background noises and create an effective work environment (sit in a room with few stimulations, sign out of your inbox, put your phone on silent, etc.)
  • Make a list of your usual distractions (e-mails, phones, hallway conversations, etc.)
  • Set aside 3 timed, limited instances during the day where you engage in your usual distractions.
  • Play some peaceful music with no lyrics. Some say it really helps with concentration.

In the future, maybe employees will be able to program sensors and smart apps with their priorities so that they can serve as a sort of “Time Babysitter” that will efficiently oversee their time allocation.  But until then, it’s all in our hands!  So, try your best to keep your distractions and multitasking to a minimum, and you can become a more efficient worker and overall, a more focused person.

Still don’t believe that multitasking is that difficult? Try playing this game and see your results.

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4 Steps to Creating a Memorable 60-Second Pitch

This week, VAYOMAR’s trainers are taking part in the Mass Challenge Awards Ceremony, happening on October 29th. Over 1700 startups sent in applications in order to win $1.75 million dollars to further their startup. VAYOMAR helped each of the Top 26 Startups prepare a 60-second pitch to present at the awards show in front of 1500 potential investors. Imagine you’re the founder of one of these new startups, eager to expand and gain support from investors.  Would you be prepared if someone asked you to pitch your startup in just 60 seconds?  It sounds impossible.  How can you be expected to give all the necessary details in only one minute?  Believe it or not, 60 seconds is plenty of time to introduce yourself, your startup, and your goals.  All you have to do is follow these easy steps in order to create not just a 60-second pitch, but a GREAT 60-second pitch.

Step 1: The Opening

Every famous speech needs a powerful opening to capture the audience’s attention, and that’s exactly what your pitch needs.  Whatever it is you do, make it relatable to what you’re speaking about.  It could be a quote or a statistic, something dramatic to really pull them in.  It could be a question or an ask for a raise of hands, something to get the audience involved.  It could even be something as simple as wearing a funny accessory or holding a funny prop, something to make people look at you. You need to clearly communicate what it is you’re pitching within the first 10-15 seconds.

Step 2: The Essence

Now that you’ve introduced yourself in an interesting way, it’s time to move on to the bulk of your speech: what exactly your company is.  The trick here is to do it in the least amount of words as you possibly can.  There is no real correlation between the innovation of your company and the time it takes to talk about its core essence.  Your audience just needs to understand the importance of what you’re trying to say.  After another 15-20 seconds, you should have communicated the space your venture is in (i.e. transportation, technology, etc.), the value this idea brings, and the innovation.

Step 3: The Traction

30 seconds have gone by and you’ve already captured your audience’s attention and fully explained the core of your company.  Now is the time to tell your audience about the progress you’ve made.  They will need facts, not just ideas, to prove that you can actually further your company.  Talk about the money you’ve made so far, the advisors you’ve recruited, partnerships you’ve formed, anything to show that you’re serious about the future.  Talk about the team you’ve put together, where you want to improve upon or advance in the short- and long-term.  In these 15-20 seconds, you should prove to potential investors that you have a solid foundation and know how to take your company to the next level.

Step 4: The Conclusion

At the end of your pitch, you must clearly communicate what it is you want from your audience.  If it’s money for the company, potential partnerships, or something else, your audience must be made fully aware.  Thank the audience for their time, and your 5-10 seconds will have been worthwhile.

The goal here is to get face time with potential investors, so you need to be able to stand out. To learn more about how to give a great pitch and make it count, listen to this podcast created by one of our founders, Ariel Halevi!

“How to Build a Winning 60-Second Pitch”

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Are employees snoozing through your meetings? Here's the solution

In most organizations, team meetings are perceived as useless and boring.  No matter how hard you may try to make it interesting, your employees still seem restless.  How can we make these meetings effective AND engaging?  Before we try to understand how to do that, let’s ask ourselves the following question: what are the classic problems managers run into during staff meetings?

  • Employees show lack of interest and are busy chatting.
  • Employees arrive late.
  • Employees walk out to take phone calls.
  • There is no internalization and implementation of the points raised in the meeting.

However, this is not a one-way street.  If we were to ask your employees the exact same question, they would probably say that:

  • Meetings start late.
  • Meetings don’t end on time.
  • They are boring.
  • They are ineffective.
  • The message isn’t clear.
  • There’s information overload.
  • The topic doesn’t pertain to everyone present but only to some departments.

The following model attempts to tackle some of these problems:

A Model for Constructing Staff Meetings to Motivate Employees

  1. Present the meeting objectives in a precise and concise manner.  A clear objective and vision instill commitment among employees.
  2. Present the rationale behind the objectives (for example: other ruled-out alternatives, examples of past experiences, your position in relation to competitors, case studies that led to developing such a procedure, simulations, roll switching, etc.) – the “what” isn’t enough; it’s also important to understand the “why.”  The more an employee takes part in making decisions, the more committed he is to perform his tasks in the best way possible.
  3. The implications (value, benefit) of meeting objectives on any level (individual/group/school) – what do we gain by achieving our goals? It is important for employees to see the end result of their hard work and effort.
  4. Predicting and presenting possible resistance – when a manager knows how to detect and bring to the surface possible backlash before his employees do, he’s able to minimize the degree of resistance and show that he knows the situation up close.
  5. Holding a discussion about the working methods to achieve the goals – a good manager should encourage creative thinking and teamwork.

When a manager builds his staff meetings based on this model, the message he is sending is a positive one.  It shows he’s truly invested in his employees, that meeting them is important to him, that he doesn’t want to waste their time, that he understands their motives, and that he knows how to appreciate their hard work.  Above all, a manager should serve as a role model and set a personal example for his employees (a factor that has been found to be key in motivating employees in the long run).