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.
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