What does your team think of you?

Whenever we run a motivation review for team development we get to hear and see what team members think of their leader – with fascinating results.

We know that staff make plenty of assumptions about their leaders.  After all, leaders see all, hear all, know all, do all…….don’t they?  I mean, a leader would never have a problem with confidence, would they?

So it’s no surprise (to us!) that 99% of teams are unable to identify what motivates their boss.  Perhaps they are too busy looking down to look up.  Those that do look up will see ‘management behaviours’, which imply certain motivators.  However the leader is likely to be using their skills to adapt their behaviours, which may cause some internal conflict with their motivators.

That perception by staff could be very limiting when it comes to communication, collaboration, influencing and even career prospects for each individual.

With a little insight, the team can actually make their boss’s life easier, while enjoying their own roles so much more.  That sounds like a win/win to me……

Banning working from home…

Many large corporations are moving away from the ‘working from home’ concept, with companies like Yahoo banning it altogether.  Unfortunately many employyes will leave their positions in reaction to these new policies.  A one-size-fits-all approach to working hours and conditions is likely to backfire.

Knowing how to motivate your team is vital if you are in pursuit of the greatest productivity.  Dynamic, forward-thinking organisations recognise the value of offering flexible working practices.  They reap the rewards from highly engaged staff who feel motivated and perform their roles to the best of their abilities.  This also lowers staff turnover and thus recruitment and training costs.

Others don’t give the flexibility they could, probably due to poor leadership and management practices and lack of trust.  This leads to some staff feeling de-motivated and under-performing.  Or they might even leave.

However, the ones who will leave first are likely to be some of your best people.  They are confident, competent and are likely to be sought after by your competitors.

The key thing is that some individuals love flexibility, others love being in the office and some like a mixture of both.  So your flexible working policy needs to incorporate the needs of each individual, and what makes them tick.

And your leaders need to be able to get the best from every individual, wherever they work.

Do you understand what makes your people tick, so you can make the most of flexible working in your team?

Understanding motivators helps staff out of a rut

We all know that there’s a strong correlation between motivation and performance.  Recently a leader I was coaching had identified issues with a member of their team, and was trying to find them a role within the organisation that they would enjoy.

The employee had probably been in role for a couple of years longer than was healthy, so by now was very demotivated – the results being variable performance, and consistent mistakes.

The root of the problem was identified when we looked at their motivation profile.  They loved doing new things and solving customer problems, but their role just didn’t lend itself to this.  We discussed the risk of them leaving, but they insisted they wanted to stay at the company, in a different role.

New and exciting roles don’t come along every day, so the action plan here was to really focus on getting the mundane things completed quickly and accurately, to free up time to work on more creative areas.  As well as fulfilling the need for innovation, this approach is far more likely to lead to a new role, as the employee will be getting noticed for the right reasons.

So if you think you can’t get your staff out of a rut, think again.

Collaborative Leadership

I find Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, a fascinating character.  As a gradual (and sceptical) convert to Apple products, from an iPod to an iPhone to a Macbook, it is great to hear the insights of how the company, and particularly it’s leader, operates.

In this shortened version of an interview, Jobs explains how he is a ‘facilitator’, not a manager, and how committees are frowned upon.  What I like is the recognition that to attract and retain key people means accepting that they will often know more than the man at the top.

Leaders – Treat Followers As Equals

Enjoy this simple, light-hearted look at how a leader’s natural skills encourage the initial following, which quickly grows into a movement.

There are many qualities required in any such situation – confidence, self-belief, energy, empathy.  Let me know what else you spotted.  The motivation of the leader is clearly Spirit, and their passion for what they believe in.  But is is their ability to let followers lead others which ultimately makes the difference.

In It For Fun, Not Money

Before you read this I have to admit to being a Branson fan.  I found Sir Richard’s blog on fun-not-money very interesting and very relevant to the work I do around what motivates individuals and teams, and how that can drive success.

I disagree that most people start businesses because they “feel that they can create something that is going to make a difference to other people’s lives”.  I think people start businesses for all sorts of reasons.  However I strongly agree that people who DO start a business for this reason are most likely to be successful, as they will put customers first.

So perhaps this gives us an insight into the motivators that will make the most successful entrepreneurs?  Making a difference is the Searcher motivator.  Add some Spirit (autonomy) and Creator (innovation) and that could be the recipe for success!

Let me know if you’d like to find out what motivates you.

How Motivation Drives Performance – Friend Profile

So we’ve seen how Defenders, those who are driven by security, can maintain and increase their motivation levels.  Now let’s take a look at the Friend.

If you have Friend as one of your top motivators, you need to belong to a community – an organisation, a team, a group, etc – with which you share values.  You enjoy building relationships with other people at work and you tend to work more collaboratively.  You may not like a job, but will stick around if you like the people.  You don’t like conflict and will avoid cold-calling at all costs!

Success Is A Continuous Journey

There are some brilliant Ted Talks and this one from Richard St John is a very candid view on success.

What I find interesting is Richard’s view that he became successful doing things that he enjoyed doing, but that success meant he had to do things that he didn’t enjoy – his explanation is very much a task focus.  If you look at this from a motivation perspective, it is clear that Richard is motivated by autonomy rather than money, and certainly not operational management.

I’ve seen a very similar situation working with a local entrepreneur in Dorset.  When I explained their motivators to them (see Motivating Without Money) they suddenly realised why they weren’t enjoying their role like they used to.  Thankfully this happened in time for them to implement changes to the business rather than suffering the same pain that Richard went through.

How Motivation Drives Performance – Defender Profile

So we’ve seen how Stars, those who are driven by public recognition, can maintain and increase their motivation levels. Now let’s take a look at the Defender.

If you have Defender as one of your top motivators, you really don’t like surprises!  You need stability, security and predictability, which means that you demand more communication than the average employee.

Total Reward

I like this article by the Paul Bissell in the CIPD blog, for Total Reward.

The messages are very much in line with this presentation of mine, Motivating Without Money.

Too many employees and managers focus on monetary rewards, when there are so many other reasons why we go to work.  A better understanding of your own motivators and those of your staff will give you a whole new perspective.