Leadership by example is probably the hardest part of managing a group of people, although to date it remains the most effective management strategy. If you want your employees to work for you, then you need to work for them.

A great way to start is to find out what motivates them. Not necessarily in terms of money or rewards, but just what gets them to act in the best interest of the company. Make them want to do the things that will increase the performance level of all aspects of operations. Be sure to create easy ways to accomplish the goals you want them to meet. Surprisingly enough, the best way to find out this information is to… ask!

This may create additional tasks on your to-do list for the short term, but once you are working for your employees, they will start taking up some of the slack. You will spend less time cleaning up messes that could have been avoided or trying to reprimand an underperforming employee. Think of it this way: You might be spending more time creating easy-to-follow plans for your employees, but that will still take less time than trying to hire all new employees, hoping for a different response from new people.

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