We all have an inner dialogue that helps us make sense of our day. We witness the world around us and apply meaning to those events based on our own beliefs. This happens in our personal life and in our work life. This is referred to as an ABC Feedback Loop by Albert Ellis. That loop can either be negative or positive. Take the following example of Jane:
Negative Feedback Loop.
Jane has been working on a project for several months now, but she has had trouble getting her boss to take the required steps to put her project into motion (A= an activating event or fact).
Jane has an internal dialogue with herself (B= beliefs/ negative self talk/ irrational ideas):
He could care less about the effort I put in--nothing would please him
and
Why am I always put in these situations?
and
I should have learned by now how to get my efforts at work noticed
and, finally
I must really be unworthy of attention and not much of a employee.
There are, of course, outcomes of those beliefs (C= the consequences of emotions, sensations and behavior). She feels anger and resentment toward her boss and feels a sense of worthlessness toward herself. These internalized feelings result in a headache and she is short tempered with her coworkers the rest of the day. While she might say to herself, "My boss infuriates me!", Jane's self talk and interpretation of the facts has more to do with her anger.
Refuting Irrationality
It is possible to refute the irrational ideas. Once those irrational ideas are released then there is more room to address the realities of the issue. If Jane is feeling she is unworthy, I would ask her what evidence exists for the falseness of this idea. She might say that now that she had a moment to consider it, her boss praised her on her work with another project and prior to that, had chosen her to attend a conference to represent the company. She decides that the worst thing that could rationally occur from her boss's lack of response is that he will not allow himself the time to make changes to the project. The best thing that could rationally occur is that Jane would realize that her boss trusts her to put a project in motion without his micro-managment.
There are, of course, a million different scenarios that might be more applicable to your situation. The key is to slow down, consider what the facts are, what assumptions you might be making based on your beliefs and how those assumptions are impacting your next steps. By slowing down and pulling apart the threads can increase your chance of responding to your situation based on rational fact and not irrational or unhealthy emotions.
Transforming Awareness into Action
Monday, March 29, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
How to Maximize Employee Motivation
Boss. Team leader. The Management. Supervisor. Whatever the title and for however many employees, leaders fall into one of two primary motivational categories: there are ones who apply only external motivation and there are ones who instill internal motivation. Of course, we know that external motivation is always necessary in the work world...ask a room full of your employees who might be willing to give up their paycheck for one week and in return, be "paid" with the self-satisfaction of a job well done. You won't get many hands in the air (except maybe Bob in the corner who thinks this might his golden opportunity to prove he's ready to "take one for the team").
But before you think I've undercut my point before I've even begun, stay with me for a moment. I like to think of motivation in terms of fuel. External motivation is a quick burning fuel. It's what gets people to sign the contract and show up to the office each morning. Internal motivation is a slower burning fuel. It's what helps a person go a bit further than what was expected of him or her.
I read a story the other day that provided the perfect example of this point. A non-profit organization asked lawyers in a firm if they would be willing to provide services for the their clients for $30 an hour. Not one attorney stepped forward. A few months later, the same organization came back and asked if there were attorneys who would be willing to provide services to their clients pro bono. The organization had several volunteers by the end of the day. What was the difference? In the first situation, the attorneys asked themselves the question, "Am I somebody who would work for $30 an hour?" The answer was clearly "No"; the external motivation was simply not enough. In the second situation, the attorneys had to ask themselves, "Am I someone who would provide my services pro bono?" and the answer was "Yes." In this case, the internal motivation was the opportunity for those lawyers to live their personal values.
As a leader in your business, how are you providing opportunities for your team to tap into their internal motivation?
Do you:
Provide a sense of choice and competence?
Google is famous for allowing their employees to spend up to 20% of their time working on a project of their own choosing, something they feel engaged and passionate about. We all know Google's success story and this 20% "free time" has resulted in some of their most successful ventures and applications. True...we all can't be Google because be can't all afford to be Google, but there are ways to encourage choice. One way to do this also provides a sense of competence. I was just reminded of a quote from General Patton, "Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." In short, stop micro-managing and you will build a sense of choice and competence in your team members. It might seem more efficient on the front end to tell your team how a project should be done versus asking them for their suggestions and expertise. However, if they are invested in the process, they will be more invested in the product.
Provide a sense of progress?
I am a distance runner; I run for myself and no one else. It's one of the few things I can truly say that about. Still, when I run a race, I need to see those mile markers! A few years ago I was running a half marathon and had passed the 11 mile marker. After 10 minutes had past, I started looking for mile 12. It never came. My logical self told me that I somehow missed it...had turned to look the other way or zoned out. Furthermore, my logical brain reminded me that I had run this course before and I was certainly beyond the 12 mile mark. This is where the brain gets tricky, however. For all its ability to be "logical", in times of stress and strain, it is anything but! I began to convince myself that mile 12 was never going to come...and therefore the race would never be complete. I would simply continue to slog ahead, muscles burning, disheartened for all of eternity. My body began to actually feel heavier and my pace dropped off. About that time, I came upon the 13 mile marker that confirmed what my logical brain already knew...that the race was almost over. The emotional part of my brain, however, needed the reminder and encouragement that I was nearing my goal. I instantly felt lighter, faster and stronger to push through the finish line.
Yes, you might provide your team members with a definitive finish line, but are you providing them with mile markers?
Provide a sense of meaningfulness?
If you are feeling cynical, you might question whether or not all jobs have meaning. We often reserve the concept of "meaningfulness" for when it is applied to the "greater good." Jim from The Office might chafe at me telling him that he could find meaningfulness in selling paper. So how can we expand this idea of meaningfulness?
Does your team have the ability to connect with the customers/ clients they serve? When we lose sight of who our work affects and how, we have a tendency to become less internally motivated by the work we do.
Do you provide your team with the ability to grow, learn and challenge themselves? Taking the time to ask a team member to reflect on his or her last work experience is inherently intrinsic. It shows that you value you THEIR opinion of the teams' performance or experience. Instead of going straight for "Let me tell you what I saw from your last performance/ project/ report", instead go for, "Tell me about your experience in this last round of client meetings." It shows that you expect that they find meaning in what they do. Furthermore, this should not be saved for the annual evaluation or only after a big event, but weekly and in small ways.
Similarly, when a team member experiences a success, instead of solely providing extrinsic praise ("You've done a great thing for this company!"), include praise that promote intrinsic pride, ("Wow...that was a big win! Tell me what that was like for you!).
The amazing thing about a motivated employee base is not just in the monetary gains for the company, but there are gains in the harder to measure values of employee satisfaction, lower stress levels and lower turnover.
But before you think I've undercut my point before I've even begun, stay with me for a moment. I like to think of motivation in terms of fuel. External motivation is a quick burning fuel. It's what gets people to sign the contract and show up to the office each morning. Internal motivation is a slower burning fuel. It's what helps a person go a bit further than what was expected of him or her.
I read a story the other day that provided the perfect example of this point. A non-profit organization asked lawyers in a firm if they would be willing to provide services for the their clients for $30 an hour. Not one attorney stepped forward. A few months later, the same organization came back and asked if there were attorneys who would be willing to provide services to their clients pro bono. The organization had several volunteers by the end of the day. What was the difference? In the first situation, the attorneys asked themselves the question, "Am I somebody who would work for $30 an hour?" The answer was clearly "No"; the external motivation was simply not enough. In the second situation, the attorneys had to ask themselves, "Am I someone who would provide my services pro bono?" and the answer was "Yes." In this case, the internal motivation was the opportunity for those lawyers to live their personal values.
As a leader in your business, how are you providing opportunities for your team to tap into their internal motivation?
Do you:
Provide a sense of choice and competence?
Google is famous for allowing their employees to spend up to 20% of their time working on a project of their own choosing, something they feel engaged and passionate about. We all know Google's success story and this 20% "free time" has resulted in some of their most successful ventures and applications. True...we all can't be Google because be can't all afford to be Google, but there are ways to encourage choice. One way to do this also provides a sense of competence. I was just reminded of a quote from General Patton, "Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." In short, stop micro-managing and you will build a sense of choice and competence in your team members. It might seem more efficient on the front end to tell your team how a project should be done versus asking them for their suggestions and expertise. However, if they are invested in the process, they will be more invested in the product.
Provide a sense of progress?
I am a distance runner; I run for myself and no one else. It's one of the few things I can truly say that about. Still, when I run a race, I need to see those mile markers! A few years ago I was running a half marathon and had passed the 11 mile marker. After 10 minutes had past, I started looking for mile 12. It never came. My logical self told me that I somehow missed it...had turned to look the other way or zoned out. Furthermore, my logical brain reminded me that I had run this course before and I was certainly beyond the 12 mile mark. This is where the brain gets tricky, however. For all its ability to be "logical", in times of stress and strain, it is anything but! I began to convince myself that mile 12 was never going to come...and therefore the race would never be complete. I would simply continue to slog ahead, muscles burning, disheartened for all of eternity. My body began to actually feel heavier and my pace dropped off. About that time, I came upon the 13 mile marker that confirmed what my logical brain already knew...that the race was almost over. The emotional part of my brain, however, needed the reminder and encouragement that I was nearing my goal. I instantly felt lighter, faster and stronger to push through the finish line.
Yes, you might provide your team members with a definitive finish line, but are you providing them with mile markers?
Provide a sense of meaningfulness?
If you are feeling cynical, you might question whether or not all jobs have meaning. We often reserve the concept of "meaningfulness" for when it is applied to the "greater good." Jim from The Office might chafe at me telling him that he could find meaningfulness in selling paper. So how can we expand this idea of meaningfulness?
Does your team have the ability to connect with the customers/ clients they serve? When we lose sight of who our work affects and how, we have a tendency to become less internally motivated by the work we do.
Do you provide your team with the ability to grow, learn and challenge themselves? Taking the time to ask a team member to reflect on his or her last work experience is inherently intrinsic. It shows that you value you THEIR opinion of the teams' performance or experience. Instead of going straight for "Let me tell you what I saw from your last performance/ project/ report", instead go for, "Tell me about your experience in this last round of client meetings." It shows that you expect that they find meaning in what they do. Furthermore, this should not be saved for the annual evaluation or only after a big event, but weekly and in small ways.
Similarly, when a team member experiences a success, instead of solely providing extrinsic praise ("You've done a great thing for this company!"), include praise that promote intrinsic pride, ("Wow...that was a big win! Tell me what that was like for you!).
The amazing thing about a motivated employee base is not just in the monetary gains for the company, but there are gains in the harder to measure values of employee satisfaction, lower stress levels and lower turnover.
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