At a sporting event, cheerleaders are present for the single purpose of providing support for their team. The same applies to the manager in the workplace. Once plans and programs are in place, it becomes the manager’s responsibility to provide the support his employees need to achieve maximum results.

The nature of most positions assumes that employees are self-managing and self-directing in the majority of their activities. The manager’s traditional role was to control and direct employees she supervised. Effective managers now support and motivate their employees by streamlining policies and procedures and by removing internal barriers to their productivity.

Managers must understand that by removing internal barriers and streamlining procedures, they make the employees job easier, allowing people to focus on more productive tasks rather than diverting their energy elsewhere. In this manner, the manager’s role is to keep his employees on track and motivated to reach their peak performance.

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