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Summary: Results don't happen unless people take action. But there are right and wrong ways to take action. Here are eight ways of right action that every leader must challenge people they lead to take.

In Leadership, The Eight Ways Of Right Action. (Part 2) by Brent Filson

In Part 1, I said that leaders who can't have people take right action are ineffective, and I listed four of eight ways of right action. In Part 2, I'll describe remaining four ways.

Action must be: (5) LINKED TO NEED. The people's needs are their reality. If you are an order leader, you clearly do not have to know their needs. You simply exhibit a my-way-or-the-highway attitude. But if you want to motivate them to take action, you need to understand that reality. Because their motivation is not your choice, it's their choice. Your role is to communicate, their role is to motivate, to motivate themselves. It's their choice. It's not yours. So their needs are not only their reality, in leadership equation, their needs are only reality. They don't care about your needs. They don't care about your reality. They only care about their reality. Tie action you want them to take to THEIR NEEDS, not yours. Which means of course that you have to clearly identify their needs.

Ever work for someone who preferred a 'bullying and intimidation' managerial style? This type of bullying doesn't involve spitballs and shiners in schoolyard, but it might as well because it produces same feelings of inferiority, worthlessness and mistrust among peers. It turns workers disloyal, dishonest, and downright disgusted. The bullying managerial style is way out of fashion, and for a reason: it doesn't work! What DOES work? Positive reinforcement. Why? When you reward your workers, they perform better.

Ever notice how every big company works in 'teams' these days? The notion of corporate team model was dreamed up by someone who realized that all folks really want is to be appreciated for their talent and ability. If you team up four or five well-selected people, each with a unique, highly-developed skill; cheer them on and reward them for all their accomplishments... what you're going to get is some jacked-up productivity and a stellar team that will follow you to ends of earth.

What are some ways to let your team members know how much they're valued; and in doing so, spur them on to success?

Accentuate positive. Is there a way that you can put a positive spin on a negative criticism? As a manager, this is such an important skill. Let's say writer you recently brought on board isn't 'catching on' to company's prescribed way of creating headlines. You may feel frustrated and tempted to chastise this person, but what will a thoughtless reprimand do for her productivity in long run? Instead, soften your critique and infuse it with a positive message, maybe something like, "You did a great job catching all of those typos but I'd love for you to give me a couple more headline options before we hand this in." Tread lightly on those fragile young egos; pride is such a delicate thing!

Open lines of communication. As a manager, you're busy dealing with people on outside, which means you may not always be aware of what goes on behind scenes. Encourage group discussions where your workers can air their grievances. When there's a conflict, let your employees hash it out while you act as calm and rational mediator. Sometimes all it takes is a few words hitting air to clear up a misunderstanding. If you give your people a little more control and benefit of doubt, they'll feel appreciated, depended on, and willing to go that extra mile.