A motive to motivate
I WAS asked this week if I could talk to a group of senior managers on how to get them to motivate a jaded, tired and change-proof bunch of subordinates. Tall order when it was pointed out that firing any member was not and could not be an option!
Well, the way I set about it was to see if they were pulling their weight at all and if they were, how best to get them to pull just a little better!
I began...
By talking about motivation, what it was, and what it couldn't do! It isn't, for instance a switch that you can throw to change people in a puff of smoke.
Every one could see the difference between self-generated motivation and motivation from the outside.
What they hadn't realised that the one from inside was the one that made the earth move, the ones from outside merely were the `bells and whistles'!
To get people to do something you want them to is to get people to want to! The correct conditions must be created for them to desire the same outcome as you do.
Is it the moolah mate?
Apparently not. It does, it is true apply the first jab of the spur, but research has revealed that it isn't the number one thing. Once the four squares, the TV, the fridge and the scooter/bike has been taken care of; money fades into the also-ran category. What it does do thereafter though is to encourage people to be just about good enough to keep earning it. At best, I told them, it engenders competence, not excellence! Sometimes though, an incentive in money terms has been known to help, but that's really only when people are strapped for cash. A windfall is always welcome.
Rodent racing
Getting people to compete mutually is something that people say works. Nope, says I! It may appear to do so at first, but once someone has begun to get the incentive or the lead more than once, the reverse happens and they begin to feel that they can't reach the goal.
This is especially true in places where there are people who are rather more accomplished than others. When the winners see the lack of competition, their levels drop, and hel-lo, the productivity drops too! In the beginning, there is a desire to perform, after a while the ennui sets in. People might work for the incentive, not for the joy of the job itself, and once they see they can't aspire to incentive, they lose interest!
Praise be unto them!
Pats on the back and such unobjectionable places are all very well and actually do work at the start. Its nice to be told that one has done a good job, but how often and for what? If it's for a job that is reasonably simple and uncomplicated by deadlines and mind-bending callisthenics, then the `quality' and `quantity' effect kicks in. Why, one wonders, is the praise for a simple job so incredibly effusive? What, one wonders, does the person want? In short, such recognition becomes suspect. It is like being congratulated for breathing! Such motivation should be sparing to have the motivating effect!
Checking account
Just as laying it on thick with a trowel is counter-productive, constantly checking people for wrong doing or providing feedback that is not entirely palatable is similarly de-motivating. When people are made to feel inadequate, they resent it. The answer is to make them introspect a little and get then to see the error of their ways by themselves. Hey, you hired them anyway, so they can't possibly be as dumb as you make them out to be! They will catch on; so don't rub it in! Remember its not the person that is to blame, it's the issue that needs to be sorted out and that can be done without undermining the confidence of the employee. An employee without his convictions intact, is a seriously de-motivated one!
So what does one do?
With all the traditional motivators debunked above, what can anyone do? Get `em on the inside, said I! First, when you ask for a spreadsheet, make sure the employee has Excel or some such programme loaded! In short provide him with the equipment he needs!
Just as you wouldn't ask your gardener to dig a hole without giving him a spade, provide your man with the wherewithal to do the job you have entrusted to him.
Otherwise he'll spend most of his time trying to get hold of the time, leaving very little time to get the work done! See that the environment is right. If its too hot or too cold or if you think it's a good plan to feed them right, do what is necessary to keep them happy with the workplace! Walk a mile in their shoes. You can only solve their problems if you know what they are and how they view them. Grouse hunts are good.
These are meetings like chats where there is only one bigwig and he listens to the problems - and keeps it confidential! That way the employee externalises his grouses and a solution can be worked out. This should be informal and in the redressal, no higher up knows the name of the proposer!
Allow people to brain out a problem. This is also a think-tank strategy. Let people into the projects you have and suggest ways they feel they can make it happen. Allow them to allocate responsibility and own up to their domain areas. Once they do, the motivation is high to get the work done as planned! Only, of course set the time limits yourself so that they do deliver on time!
Fill `em full!
One of the reasons why people feel de-motivated is because they feel as if they haven't achieved what they envisaged when they joined. They expected an opportunity for growth, yes, money perhaps and its not come out that way. It's when their personal value system is at variance with those of the organisation that dissonance sets in. The answer here is simple, spend some energy aligning the mission and objectives of the individual with those of the company.
Action stations
The best way to motivate new employees is to have old employees talk positively about the company. To do this, old employees need to feel needed!
Every employee needs to know his usefulness to the organisation, and its good to be able to tell them too. Remind them every now and again! Instil in them the idea that the company wants to help them realise their aspirations, ask them how they want to do it and align that with the company's mission! Once they see how they contribute, you're home and free!
Its important that they don't expect a twist in the tail! Be upfront and when you come up against a brick wall, tell them! They'd like to know.
As in everything, honesty is always the best policy. When things don't go as planned, appropriate communication will keep shoulders to the wheel.
Otherwise, once they find out that prevarication is the management's response, ennui will follow! Now if that wasn't a motive to motivate, I have no idea what it is!
ABHIMANYU ACHARYA
abhi.hyd@cnkonline.com
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