People worry about their jobs and their abilities to complete new tasks and assignments. They need someone (you) to rally them back to believing in themselves. It's a major part of your job to motivate and excite your employees. Leading the cheering section demonstrates that you believe in your team and its ability to succeed.

But you have to have those pom-poms always at the ready. It's not acceptable to sit in your office all week, and then pop out when a productivity report tells you your department is in jeopardy of missing its deadlines. Cheering on the troops is only effective when the troops know that you truly care — not just about their projects and assignments and meeting your department's goals, but also about them as people and individuals. And they won't know you truly care unless you're involved in what's going on every day.

Do you watch sporting events? Do you watch the cheerleaders? (It's okay, you can admit it.) They're always interacting with the crowd, no matter what's happening on the field or the court. They're chanting and dancing and smiling, working to stay engaged with the spectators. Their mission is to create a roar of support beyond what they themselves can generate, support that motivates the players to give the proverbial 110 percent. But the players know that the cheerleaders are always there. And they know that even when the crowd boos, the cheerleaders are still there, cheering.

This is your role, too. Even when your superiors — or your clients or customers — are unhappy with your team's work and productivity, you need to stay right there on the sidelines, cheering your team on. If you've been there all along, they will respond.