Asolid business saying: People leave managers, not companies. A Gallup poll backs that up: U.S. firms lose $400 billion annually in productivity due to employee disengagement. So notes Victor Lipman, author of “The Type B Manager: Leading Successfully in a Type A World” and founder of Howling Wolf Management Training.

Since management at its core is the business of accomplishing work through others, “you naturally want employees in a mindset where they want to do their best for you — motivated, not resentful,” he told IBD. Tips on pushing the right buttons:

• Nurture employees. Lipman shares an old business joke.

A CFO asks the CEO, “What happens if we invest in developing our people and they leave us?”

CEO: “What happens if we don’t, and they stay?”

Think of this as an investment, not an expense. The payoff is “more often than not, you’ll be rewarded with loyalty and productivity,” Lipman said.

He notes that people are grateful when superiors take a genuine interest in the course of their careers. Contrast this with studies that show widespread employee dissatisfaction when development support is lacking.

• Clarify expectations. Most managers don’t spend the necessary time on developing employee job objectives, Lipman has found. If these are not evident, “how can management hope to get the results it needs?” he asks. “Objectives should always be clear and measurable. Ambitious, but attainable.”

Karen Kimsey-House, who co-wrote “Co-Active Leadership: Five Ways to Lead” and helped found the leadership training firm CTI,points out that top executives foster connections and share a clear direction and purpose. Result: People are inspired and engaged.

• Provide growth opportunities. Advancement motivates, says Lipman, who likes the old advertising slogan that people want to succeed, not just survive.

• Show appreciation. Most employees are energized by manager plaudits but don’t receive enough of them. “In my 24 years in Fortune 500 company management, I was involved in many employee surveys,” Lipman said. “There was only one category that came up consistently in all of them: employee recognition. Employees never felt they were getting enough of it. It was always a pain point.”

• Take responsibility. Strive to be your best, says Kimsey-House, who suggests following the dictum: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

• Serve. Anticipate what employees must have, then coach them to get there, noted Kimsey-House: “Rather than trying to look good or get ahead, focus on proving whatever is needed” for your people.

Read More At Investor’s Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/management-leaders-and-success/090115-769101-spark-employee-productivity-through-positive-leadership.htm#ixzz3mriQhSSl
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