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The title says it all: "Boost the Troops' Morale After a Round of Layoffs." I can imagine managers all over the county muttering, "Morale boost, check" as they reach for the trusty Morale Boost switch.

Spare me. The problem with this article and articles like it is that it treats leadership as something you do to people. Here are just a few of the things that kicked over my rant bucket.

"Transparency is key." No kidding. But here's a news flash. If you weren't transparent before all this whitewater economy started, no one will believe what you have to say now. You may think you can turn transparency on and off, but you're wrong.

"Recognition counts" sounded pretty good until in degenerated into "even with an absence of extra cash, employees still appreciate being recognized for their efforts." To me that sounds an awful lot like: "if you don't have spare cash, you might as well praise people."

Human nature hasn't changed. People like recognition. If you're just trotting out the recognition as a cash substitute, your people will peg you as the cynical, manipulative bastard you are.

Then there's the part of the article where we're told to "Promote a good work/life balance." The savvy manager quoted in the article tells his people "When you can find the time, take the time."

I'm betting that the person hearing that line also hears the unspoken, "But you'd better make sure everything gets done."

Here's the deal. If you're working late, the message is "work late." Double that if you've never cared about work/life balance before, but have trotted it out as part of your "Boost Morale" program.

Boss's Bottom Line

The downturn is the universe reminding you to do what you should have been doing all along. Transparent communication and recognizing people who do good work should be something you always do.

This is not the time to pull out stupid motivational tricks to boost morale. It is the time, more than ever, to make sure you care for your people while you accomplish the mission together.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.