Page 12 - Anne Bruce - Building A HIgh Morale Workplace (2002)

x Preface

Never has there been a time so ripe with opportunity or full
of promise for managers to make a significant difference in their
organizations and for their people. And never has there been a

better time for managers to demonstrate to employees their
leadership vitality, creativity, positive energy, and commitment
to a healthier and more enjoyable work environment.
Throughout this book, I emphasize that the key to a manag-

er’s success is in his or her people. The core feeling that comes
from a high morale workplace is simply the reflection of the
quality, one-on-one relationships that individual workers have
with their managers. It’s the trust, respect, and common courte-
sies that managers show toward their employees on a daily

basis that contribute to building exceptional employee perfor-
mance and to sustaining higher employee morale.
Ralph Waldo Emerson writes in The Conduct of Life, “Our
chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we
can.” This quote embodies the critical nature and inherent

responsibility managers just like you are facing when it comes
to developing their people and inspiring employee morale to its
highest levels.

Abracadabra—You’ve Got High Employee Morale

Here’s the deal—right up front. There is no such thing as abra-
cadabra when it comes to creating high morale in the workplace.
And, with the exception of the mythical pixie dust that exists
only at Disney, there is no magic trick or fairy dust to sprinkle on
people in hopes of creating a fun, synergistic, and highly produc-
tive organization. Achieving those things takes a manager’s hard

work and dedication. It is my hope that having this book to help
you along the way will make that work less difficult.
It is also my desire and hope that you will find this book to be
an invaluable resource that you will turn to time and again and

that the next time you are called upon to confront one of the
many issues of workplace morale, this book will serve as a trust-
ed companion and quick-reference guide when you need it most.