If you want to get the best out of your organisation, set expected high standards performance. But also remember that what you do, what you say, and how you act yourself will have a major bearing on whether you're able to get the maximum effort from your staff. If you give only the minimum effort yourself, you have no right to expect the maximum from them, no matter how much you did give in the past. For instance, if you straggle into work late and leave early, if you're careless about the quality of their work, if you're not interested in the amount of production or its quality, your staff will of course apply the same attitude about their work. But if you set the right example by always giving the maximum effort yourself, others will do the same.
Enthusiasm is contagious.
If you're positive, enthusiastic and excited about your work, chances are great that your staff will feel the same way too. All managers who are successful at managing their staff are highly motivated as well. Managers who are themselves hard workers to the point of maximum commitment to their jobs are the best motivators. And employees like to feel they're living up to the high standards the boss sets, especially when they see their boss give the maximum towards making the department or company highly successful. Many people are victims of status-quo thinking.