Most people see someone who is highly motivated as the superstar achiever, the one getting all the awards and trophies. Sometimes this is accurate. Sometimes it’s not.
Motivation isn’t directly related to performance – it’s the reason behind the performance. Have you ever been highly motivated to tackle a project and it didn’t turn out nearly how you expected or hoped it would? Pinterest fail, anyone?
Conversely, someone who is talented within a certain field or type of task could see great results without actually being motivated by the work. Although they’re capable of top notch performance, they don’t get a heightened sense of satisfaction from this particular work. Their motivation likely lies somewhere else.
So it’s tempting for leaders to look at motivation through a lens of “motivated” vs. “unmotivated” employees and how you work with each of them. But don’t mistake performance as an indicator of someone’s level of motivation. Poor performance doesn’t mean they aren’t motivated to do a good job on a task or project – it just means they aren’t motivated to do a good job on that particular task or project.
Improving employee engagement in your team has a direct impact on productivity levels and motivation. But first, let’s start with the “why.”
“Why” Conversations
Everyone has a reason to be motivated to do something, but our career ambitions differ drastically. As a leader looking at the performance of your “unmotivated employees,” your job is to pay attention, have conversations, and tap into what really motivates them. What’s their reason behind doing anything productive?
The list is endless, but it could be something like…
- Providing for a family
- Improving a particular skill
- Helping their team see results
- Having better relationships
- Being able to buy nicer things
- New experiences
- Becoming an expert
- Becoming more well-rounded
Having those conversations centered around their WHY will help both you and them better understand how they can be a motivated AND high-performing member of the team. That’s the reason we love taking personality tests, whether it’s been thoroughly researched and built out over years, or that 3 question Buzzfeed quiz that tells you how to be more like your spirit animal. We’re always trying to understand ourselves better, and these tests (the legitimate ones at least) can help us do that.
Effectance Motivation theory says there are six basic personal motivators: money, time, effort, ego, fun and risk. If you’re talking with your unmotivated employees about what really motivates them and ideas aren’t coming, start by looking at how any of these six motivators could be a push in the right direction.
Avoiding Impedership
Dale Dauten coined the term “impedership,” which is the art of demotivating people. It’s helpful to be more aware of some things you may unconsciously do to demotivate your employees, even if your intention is the opposite.
You may also keep an eye out for some of these traits in others – and with tact, suggest how it may be affecting the productivity and motivation of the rest of the team. Just don’t be quick to point out the flaws in others before first addressing your own.
To be a leader rather than an impeder, here are a few characteristics to watch out for:
- Micromanaging
- Making others feel unimportant
- Ignoring problems
- Avoiding tough conversations
- Abusing power
- Taking people for granted
- Never admitting mistakes
- Taking credit for others’ work
- Keeping people in the dark
- Being disinterested in others’ development
If you find yourself surrounded by unmotivated employees, it may be time for some difficult conversations about how the environment and/or leadership is demotivating. Don’t let pride keep you from having a breakthrough with your team on the motivation front.
If you’re truly interested in building a team that’s highly motivated to be top performing, having those tough conversations is the fastest way to build the trust it takes to get there.
You can learn more about how to be a motivating leader with our video training course from BizLibrary Productions – “Leadership and Motivation” comprises three micro video lessons that define the concept of motivation and provide guidance for improving it in your team.
Watch a preview of “Leadership and Motivation” from The BizLibrary Collection here:
