How do I motivate my employees?

How do I motivate my employees?

This is the number one leadership question I am asked by managers and talent leaders. It doesn’t matter how much experience one might have as a leader, motivating employees and keeping them motivated seems to be the most sought after leadership secret.

Here’s the thing: there is no secret behind employee motivation. Like most (if not all) other leadership activities, motivating employees requires thoughtful planning, execution and commitment. You’ve probably heard the mantras “Motivation is not a one-time activity” and “Motivation is not a one-size-fits-all solution.” But, what does this actually mean, and how difficult is it to really motivate employees?

If you’re in a talent leadership role and are reading this blog, then today is your lucky day! You get exclusive insight to Kris Tierney’s Employee Motivation theory. Stick with my theory and be amazed at the results. Or, if you are adventurous, modify the theory to make it your own.

Whatever you decide to do, just do it!

Kris Tierney’s Employee Motivation Theory

(Disclaimer: my theory is based entirely on my own leadership experiences and opinions)

I believe that motivation can be achieved, and sustained, relatively easily when leaders use a variety of motivating techniques.

At the heart of my theory is that we can’t really motivate employees. (You: Now, just wait a minute. What kind of cockamamie advice is this? Me: Let me explain!) What we do have the power to do, however, is influence motivational levels in our employees.

According to my theory, motivational levels are determined by the employee herself. But, we can take specific actions that will influence the degree of motivation an employee is feeling at a particular time. These actions are: (1) Personalize, (2) Recognize and (3) Humanize. In other words, in order for us to be successful at influencing motivation, we need to:

1. Make it personal. Motivation is inherently and permanently individual. What motivates one person is not going to motivate another. Therefore, the rewards, incentives, and activities we choose to influence motivation in our employees must be meaningful to each of them individually.
2. Recognize hard work. We feel pretty good when our hard work gets noticed, so why would our employees be any different? Influence motivational levels in particular by recognizing and commenting on hard work in progress, not just results.
3. Be human. Hey, guess what? Employees are people too. You know the old “onion” analogy where someone is described as being like an onion – with many layers? Well this is true, I think, of all of us. Their work persona is only one layer of an employee as a human. We need to get to know our employees beyond just what they are at work.

Employee motivation is equally dependent on the employees themselves as it is on us as their leaders. There is a delicate balance that we need to strike when influencing employee motivation.

So, while we as the leaders are on one side of the scale, our employees are on the other side with the motivational drivers that derive from them themselves: Happiness and Achievement.

Studies have shown that happy employees are generally more intrinsically motivated than unhappy employees. Even more insightful is that feeling like they are progressing toward their goals is what makes employees feel the happiest. So, from where I sit, since it is our job as leaders to achieve results through our employees, we have a vested interest in ensuring they make good progress in their work and are, therefore, happy.

To summarize, remember these quick tips about employee motivation:

1. Motivation is so dependent on the employee that our power as leaders rests in how we influence employee motivational levels.
2. To improve the likelihood of success, our influential activities need to focus on:
   • Personalizing – the needs and preferences of each employee individually
   • Recognizing – hard work in progress, not only results
   • Humanizing – getting to know our employees as the “onions” they are
3. Remove barriers our employees face in their jobs to help them make progress toward their goals.
4. Have fun and keep employees happy!

 

(There is so much more to say about employee motivation, I can’t fit everything into one article. Watch for upcoming posts where I will elaborate more on each element of my theory. )

Narcissistic or just self-aware? Regardless, I simply want to do the right thing

I’ve long been fascinated by how our lives intersect with others’, even for the briefest of moments.

When I think about it, during a typical day hundreds – maybe thousands – of people cross my path, most only for an insignificant second or two and then they’re gone. They are driving by me on the highway or walking past me in the food court at work.  Some of these life intersections may last for a few moments longer – they make eye contact and wave as they let me merge into traffic or they are serving me my coffee at the local drive through.

My fascination with these relatively inconsequential events comes when I start to think about each intersection from the other person’s perspective. What kind of a day were they having before crossing into my world? Did I say or do something to influence them or cause them to talk about the intersection later, hopefully in a positive way, but perhaps negatively? Some may say that in thinking this way I am being too self involved, perhaps even narcissistic. “To even think that you might have an impact on a complete stranger’s life like this? Puh-lease.”

But, hear me out.

Daily, there are also lives that intersect with our own on a more significant level. For example, the people at work. Some of us work in smaller organizations where everyone knows everyone else, are friends even. In my case, I work for a mid-size firm (and growing) where it has become increasingly difficult to know each individual on a personal level. But, that’s not to say that for those briefest of moments when our paths cross that I can’t have a positive influence or impact on the other person and their day.

Working in the human resources profession I pay attention to workplace and “people” trends. I read the research, popular opinion and advice. Recently, I have noticed a lot of talk and opinions about how to “deal with” Millennials; how engagement requires leaders to express gratitude and appreciation to their teams; how to interact with job candidates so you, and they, don’t trash your brand. The topics go on, but the more I read, the more I recognize the same underlying message – don’t be a jerk.

 

Treat others as you would want to be treated.

 

I’m reminded of the golden rule. Treat others as you would want to be treated. It’s so simple and should probably go without saying. Still, there seems to be a certain conflict in how the golden rule is actually being practiced. Generally, we have a minimum expectation of others whose paths cross ours, in terms of how they behave toward and interact with us. We expect respect and courtesy, maybe even a bit of empathy – essentially we don’t want people to be jerks to us. Yet, we are seemingly much less self-aware when it comes to our own behaviour and, more importantly, the impact that our behaviour has on the people around us. But, shouldn’t how we ourselves act be a reflection of what we expect in return? I say, emphatically, yes!

Not only at the supermarket or during those other brief intersections that occur in daily life. Also at work with our employees, peers and colleagues; regardless of job, seniority or demographic category. And, when interacting with customers, candidates, and all people for that matter.

Warren Buffett is credited for saying “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and only 5 minutes to ruin it.” Our organizations have reputations, a.k.a. the brand, and we all have reputations as individuals; our personal brands.

Whether we are crossing paths briefly with a person on the street or a colleague in the break room. It’s how we behave when our lives intersect that builds our character and feeds our reputation. Are we behaving how we expect others to behave? Are we building a positive reputation and brand?

And, probably because of my fascination with how our disparate, yet intersecting, selves co-exist, I always aim to not be a jerk. In every situation, circumstance and with every person. But, beyond worrying what others think about me (although I admit, I do care) I simply want to do the right thing. Let that be my reputation.

Dreaming about going to the moon is not how Neil Armstrong got there

Welcome to my first blog post! My mission is to share my thoughts, ideas and opinions (all of which are entirely my own) about work, HR, leadership, family…pretty much everything in my life! I am hoping to find the blogging experience cathartic and enriching, and if I can inform, educate, entertain, and maybe even inspire a person or two along the way, all the better.

In this inaugural blog, I am rehashing an old speech I made at a Questrade company networking event. The audience was mostly new hires, all with about 3-12 months of experience, and the goal was to motivate them to spend some time and energy planning their next career move. If you know a recent grad or someone who is looking for a bit of motivation to move beyond their current role, maybe this will help? If not, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

BE A DOER: CHART YOUR CAREER COURSE.

So, over the years, in the likely thousands of interviews I have conducted, I know that I’m guilty of asking some of the tried (tired?) and true interview questions, like “What are your top 3 strengths?” or “Where do you see yourself in 2 years?” Now, that’s a pretty common question, and I’m sure one that many, if not all, of us have been asked when we’ve been interviewed for jobs in the past.

But, how many of us have given that question another thought since our last interview?

Do we even remember how we answered the question?

MY VACATION

Awhile ago, I started researching and planning my next vacation. I had three criteria to meet:

1. To go someplace warm.
2. To relax.
3. To go to a new destination that I have never been to before.

So, with my vacation requirements in mind, I started my research. I spent about an hour or so a night, 2-3 nights a week for a couple of weeks researching on the Internet. I talked to my husband, our friends and our family about places they had been. Finally, we decided on the destination, then started to plan the dates. Over a series of phone calls, parents and siblings were contacted to coordinate schedules, and babysitting arrangements were finalized. Next, flights and accommodations were researched until the best values were found and reservations were made. Looking back, I probably spent 10- 15 hours over a month-long period to plan this one vacation that will last 5 days and 4 nights.

Does that sound familiar? Have you made vacation plans recently? How much time and effort do you typically spend planning these trips?

AUSTRALIA

Imagine if you were going on vacation this Saturday. You’ve known for months that you want to go to Australia. You researched the country’s tourism sites, you talked to friends who have been there and you are convinced that Australia is the place for you.

Now imagine if you haven’t given any foresight or thought as to how you are going to get there. You’ve done zero planning: you haven’t saved money, you haven’t made any travel arrangements, you haven’t found places to sleep…nothing. What kind of vacation is that going to be? How reasonable is it to believe that now, only 4 days before your vacation starts, you will actually make it to Australia this time?

So, why do we understand and accept that it is logical and sensible to plan our vacations, and we spend so much time doing so, but don’t apply the same logic and commit the same amount of time to planning our careers?

There’s a famous quote that goes:

Dreaming about going to the moon is not how Neil Armstrong got there.

Actually, it’s not famous. I just made it up. But, it still makes a good point.

Essentially, it’s not enough to just know where you want to go. You have to know how you’re going to get there. The same is true in your career. Think of your next step in your career path as a destination, and plan your way there with the same rigor you do for your vacation.

CARPE DIEM! BE A DOER!

My advice? Be a doer.

The most successful people achieved their success by working hard, challenging themselves and not just limiting their opportunities to those that they were given. They forged their own path. They learned new skills by experimenting; they broadened their knowledge and capabilities by taking action. Think about the most successful people in any profession: science, technology, business, sports, whatever. They did not achieve their success by waiting for opportunity; they continuously challenged themselves, honing their skills through practice. I’ve heard that Wayne Gretzky practiced for 10,000 hours in his backyard as a kid to refine his skills as a hockey player. (put your calculator away, 10,000 hours = 1,250 eight-hour working days)

Gretzky was a doer. And others like him were doers, too.

Are you a doer? If not, how can you be one? Think UDPA. (Ok, it’s no snappy acronym, but this is my first post – I’ll get better.)

UPDA stands for:

1. Understand
2. Decide
3. Plan
4. Act

Understand – what you enjoy, what you’re good at, what you want to try, and how your future aligns with the future of your organization. If you can, talk to your Supervisor or Manager and share these ideas.

Decide – what you would like to be doing 2-years from now? What will be your next career destination? Know what skills, knowledge and experience you need to either acquire or build in the meantime.

Plan – map your course to your next destination. Create a Personal Development Plan. Your PDP will keep you focused on your destination. In your PDP, you will:

1. Describe your destination.
2. Detail how you will get there.

Balance your PDP with various types of learning & development activities.

We know through research that as adults most of what we learn is done so through doing. In fact, about 70% of what we learn is through our “real life” experiences, versus only 10% from studies.

That’s not to say that studying theory from textbooks isn’t valuable, but it’s not the only, or even the best way, for you to prepare yourself for the next great opportunity.

So, your PDP will include a good mix of hands on learning and learning through studying. You may even want to include some element of learning through the experience of others, such as a mentor.

To acquire more hands on learning, remember: “A&E” or “Ask and Earn”. Ask for more opportunity to learn and develop, and earn more opportunities by getting noticed.

Act – Put your plan in motion. Keep track of your progress.

1. Understand
2. Decide
3. Plan
4. Act

ROUND UP

Going back to your Australia vacation. Consider how much better your vacation will be if you plan for it and you’re prepared when you get there.

Think how much more satisfying your career will be if you plan for it and you’re prepared when you get to your destination.

So, if there is only 1 thing I want you to take away from this today, it’s “Be a doer”.

Do have a destination, do make a plan to get there, do act on it, and do achieve your goals.

To meet Gretzky’s 10,000 hour commitment, you’d have to work at it for more than 4-years! How about just half of his commitment; can you dedicate the next two-years to preparing for your next great opportunity?

(By the way, for my vacation, I went to Vegas, baby!)

All there is ever, is the now.

“It’s being here now that’s important. There’s no past and there’s no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can’t relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don’t know if there is one.” George Harrison