THE PROBLEM WITH MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES

Written and submitted by Small Business Advisory Council member:

Hal Wood

Advisory Management Services, Inc.

advismgmt@earthlink.net

Countless are the times when managers say to themselves, “We need to motivate our staff to be more productive”.  Seldom are efforts successful.  That’s the problem:  YOU CAN’T DO IT!

Motivation is “a reason for action”, which most managers believe they can provide, and it’s usually fear-based.  Unfortunately, that’s not all of the definition.  The whole definition is:  “a reason for action generated from within”.  That means that it’s not some external force that swoops down on a worker and inspires them to better attitudes and new heights of productivity.  It has to come from inside the worker.

Inside everyone is an “I will” switch.  You’ve got one, and nobody can switch it but you.  Therefore, no one motivates someone else.  Said another way, you can’t change other people.  Anyone married can verify that.  For example, a little child can be forced to behave against their will, but you didn’t change the “no” response that’s still in their head.  Parents need to remember that children grow up and will someday force the parent to do things against their will.  Conclusion:  The only real motivation is SELF-MOTIVATION.

So, what’s a manager to do?  The key word here is “Enable”.  The manager has to provide a working environment or culture that enables the workers to motivate themselves.  What does that look like?  First, the organization needs to have a vision and mission and values with which the workers can agree and support.  Then, they need to see leadership by example that promotes honesty, truthfulness, learning, innovation, creativity, listening, trust, fairness, flexibility, and unselfishness.  In that environment, fear is removed, and they’ll want to do well because it’s in their best interest as well as the organization’s.  They also will have to think twice about leaving, because that kind of job satisfaction is hard to find.

Now, get some input from your workforce, and go out and change yourself and environmental factors that will enable self-motivation.