Leaders can often feel distant from their frontline employees and have difficulty motivating them, but these leaders can institute cultural changes that help bridge the gap between the two groups, according to the Harvard Business Review.
Here are four ways leaders can motivate their frontline employees:
1. Reduce the economic and emotional pressure. Leaders should ensure their frontline staff is focused on learning by eliminating high-pressure motivation tactics and public shaming. Leadership isn't about pressuring people to do their work; it's about inspiring people to want to do their work.
2. Incorporate a spirit of playing by encouraging experimentation. Experimentation helps foster curiosity, which allows employees to take a sense of ownership over their daily work through new ideas.
3. Create a sense of purpose around the customer. Employees must be able to connect their actions to a consumer outcome or they will not be able to find meaning in their daily work.
4. Systematically manage apprenticeship. It is vital for leaders to manage the pace of employee learning through a carefully thought out apprenticeship program, which not only helps employees improve their skills but learn ones that will allow them to grow into new roles.