John Eades* says bad leaders often assume that money is the sole motivation for their employees — in fact, it is just one of a number that should be explored.
One of your team members is disengaged at work. What do you do as a leader?
Do you let it slide because of the pandemic? Do you say something immediately, or do you wait a few weeks?
Do you give them time off in hopes they rekindle the fire?
The answer to these questions all relates to truly understanding motivation, but probably not in the way you’re thinking.
Most leaders think of motivation as something people should have all the time.
In reality, motivation is someone’s willingness to do something that fluctuates over time.
Researchers define motivation as a reason for actions, willingness, and goals.
The layers of complexity behind being and staying motivated are more complicated than most people realise.
Organisational leaders need to be aware of this because part of their job is related to helping others be and stay motivated.
Former US President, Dwight D. Eisenhower said it well: “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done, because he wants to do it.”
Even though there are sentiments of coercion in Eisenhower’s definition, the statement holds truth.
Leadership requires getting to someone’s heart, while management only requires leveraging authority.
One of the surprising things about motivation is that each person can be motivated by different things.
Those motivations can also shift as needs are met, or as situations change.
Bad leaders move forward under the assumption that their team is motivated by the same goals, failing to recognise individual members’ differences.
This often manifests itself in the carrot that is money.
Now before you start thinking I will bash financial returns as a lousy motivator, stop yourself.
Finances are one of the common motivators for professionals, and there is nothing wrong with that.
However, money is not the only one. Part of your job as a leader is to understand what I call a ‘prime motivation’ for each team member.
Some of the other prime motivators besides financial rewards include: Praise from others; being challenged or solving tough problems; being heard or known, and helping others have success.
As a leader, you are responsible for energising your team and helping it become motivated to be at its best.
Boosting your employees’ enthusiasm isn’t necessarily as hard — or time-consuming — as you might expect.
Connect them to a deeper cause
What I have found in my work helping leaders from different industries is we are most inspired by our impact on other people.
We will work harder and longer and better — and feel happier about the work we are doing — when we know that someone else is benefiting from our efforts.
So the fastest and most effective path to helping motivate people on a daily basis is by connecting them to the deeper cause behind their work.
Even the most repetitive jobs and tasks, when tied to a deeper cause, can be incredibly motivating and rewarding.
Provide a maximising mantra
Mantras may be only a few words long, but they can have a powerful motivating impact.
A maximising mantra provides energy to the team even before you achieve the results.
With just a few words, you create the inspirational drive that helps inspire future successes.
One of the most recent (and well-known) maximising mantras was football coach P.J. Fleck’s ‘Row the Boat’.
Fleck explained that the mantra referred to three parts: The oar, which provided the energy.
The boat, which represented the sacrifices team members, administration, and fans were willing to make for the program.
Finally, the compass, which symbolised the direction the team wanted to go.
Combining all these ideas into a single phrase served as a powerful motivator for the team.
Encourage them to pursue things outside the workplace
Encourage team members to pursue outside ambitions and goals in alignment with their prime motivator.
We are in a brand new era of work, where in most industries outside of the manufacturing space, work can be completed anywhere and anytime.
Instead of acting like the job someone is doing as a part of your team or organisation is the only thing on the planet, take the opposite mindset.
Encourage them to pursue fitness goals, side hustles, or family passions.
Things like running a marathon, starting an e-commerce business, or coaching a kids’ football team.
Not only will your people appreciate the fact that you are with the times, they will also develop confidence and skills by pursuing passions outside of work that will help them do their job more efficiently and effectively.
The fact you are thinking about and are concerned about adequately motivating yourself and others in ways beyond cracking the whip or just throwing more money at the problem places you far ahead of the competition.
*John Eades is the Chief Executive of LearnLoft a leadership development company. He is also the host of the Follow My Lead podcast. He can be contacted at johneades.com.
This article first appeared on the LearnLoft blog.
