Successful Employee Motivation

Can We Really Engage People Who'd Rather Not Be In Their Job?

Are you looking for a successful employee motivation programme? Well this article may or may not help. Successful employee motivation (for the long-term) isn't contained within a programme....

Ask people at your work "If you could have any job you wanted, what would it be?" Probably at least half of them would reply that they would rather be doing something different to that which they currently do today.

Many people find themselves trapped in careers and jobs that don't enable them to be free-flowing, natural, effortless. They feel hemmed in by their responsibilities (mortgage payments, children's schooling etc). Whilst their work may not be creating great joy and delight in their lives it is better than nothing, and better than the consequences of having no work. So they drag themselves out of bed and off to work, not with a heart filled with lightness and energy, but often times a heart filled with resignation and heaviness; no heart singing or anticipation of a day filled with satisfaction.

This type of response begs two questions:

1. How did we manage to do this to ourselves, and

2. How difficult does this make it for you, the Leader, to engage people who would rather be doing something/(anything)else? (In other words is successful employee motivation beyond your control?)

So to the first question:

A quick exercise. Grab a pen and sign your name. Now put the pen in the other hand and sign your name again. You probably found it frustrating, difficult, tiring, slower and it required more energy and focus.

Imagine that I now asked you to use your non-natural hand to sign your name for the rest of your life. Yes, you will get used to it, however, it will never be as free-flowing, natural and effortless as using your natural hand, and of course your workmanship will possibly never be quite as high.

Successful Employee Motivation begins with an individual's career choice

When you made your, all important, career choice you were probably highly susceptible to the influences of family, friends and teachers. Like most, you were probably filled with optimism about your future and you anticipated much success. You were quite possibly willing to take on any type of job, whether it was something you wanted to do - or your parents wanted you to do - it would do for the moment. It would do to fill in the time between your social commitments! You probably thought to yourself, "Some day soon, I'll find something better - something that really excites me, but this will be okay for now." Has some day arrived for you?

During this period of starting out, you may well have been told by a career counsellor to find a career that suits your values, interests and capabilities. Which is true, you must consider each of these, however, you must also consider your personality.

As you gain life experience your values, interests and capabilities will change, but not so your personality. Your behaviour can and will change dependent upon the situation, but your core personality does not go away.

For example, you were born either an extrovert or an introvert. Certainly your environment may have dictated how your extroversion or introversion developed. But if you are an extrovert by nature, even in an environment that discourages extroversion, you will find ways to express it.

For example, if an extrovert is in a job that requires much time spent alone in relatively quiet solitude, analysing data, they will go nuts! S/he will find themselves spending time at the coffee bar/lunch room or at the photocopier looking for excuses to interact with others, to talk through their ideas. The core requirements of their job being lost in the need to interact with people and consequently the person not being as successful or as engaged in their work as they could be.

Successful Employee Motivation Begins On The Inside!

For Successful Employee Motivation you need to use Self-Awareness! Both for yourself and your people.

Using the example above, say this extrovert realises that his/her work was causing him/her great frustration and had started to think about the sort of work which will bring great joy and delight. S/he may well start to list on a of paper: "I like to be stimulated by other people, I love the urgency of deadlines, I prefer to make group decisions, I like things to be busy and with lots of variety"

From this awareness activity you may well identify that maybe you (or a person who is reporting to you) are in the right company, the right industry, the right profession, just the wrong job. Maybe instead of being the Data Analyst in your company you could move in to a Sales role, helping others to make use of the data that has been generated by someone more suited to the role.

Here's A Tip: If you find that the work you are doing is just that ... hard work, then it is time to re-evaluate what it is that you would like to do. What it is that you can do with ease, that is effortless, that causes you to look forward to waking in the morning, that creates the sense that work is play, which fills you with energy. (And of course, if you have a person reporting to you who feels the same then, as a breakthrough leader, you will help them to create a role that fits their talents, strengths and interests).

It can be exceptionally difficult to truly engage people who are not using their 'natural hand'. Yet, successful employee motivation is not impossible.

Successful Employee Motivation Could Begin WITHOUT Job Descriptions

Have you ever thought of getting rid of Job Descriptions? Blasphemy, total anarchy you may be thinking! Yet this isn't how it needs to be. Successful employee motivation can come when you design the workplace to people's strengths.

1. Write up on a board all the Outcomes that need to be achieved by your team.

2. Within those Outcomes there will be a number of tasks/roles that need to be performed.


3. Ask people to identify those tasks/roles that they feel drawn to, that they feel will get and keep them inspired to use their skills, talents, capabilities, and personality.


4. There may very well be tasks left over that no-one wants to do. You could divide the tasks up between the group and/or have the tasks rotated around the group, or you could ask the group to find creative ways of having that work done in some other way or eliminated - this creates innovation in the workplace.

Read more about designing jobs around individual strengths

Successful Employee Motivation Happens When People Are Engaged in Work They Love

When I was a leader at Colgate-Palmolive there were many times when team members nominated themselves to take on additional duties. These were generally projects or tasks that they felt they would really enjoy doing, that they wanted to do. The key question I always asked them was, "What in your work is going to suffer if you take this on, and how can you make sure that our Outcomes aren't going to suffer". (Read more on successful delegation)

There are numerous examples of how people found ways to become very very innovative in eliminating the repetitive, non-value adding work, so they could free up the time to become involved in the tasks and projects that absolutely engaged their heart and soul. It was successful employee motivation at its best - the individual's were winning and the business was winning

If you are in a 'traditional' work place it may take you some time, persistence and a heck of a lot of commitment, in order to do this. You will need to be a barrier-buster and diligent in your focus on creating a workplace that engages your people.

Successful Employee Motivation Leads To Greater Productivity

A leader, I coach, recently said "I'm now getting much more productivity and better quality from my team, because they are doing things that they love to do. We aren't focused on whose job it is, but more on who has the natural skill, talent and desire to do this task."

To lead an orchestra you have to turn your back on the audience. So maybe, just maybe, it is time for you to turn your back on convention and work with your team members to find ways to structure your business so that they come to work with their minds and souls engaged - not just their bodies. Best of luck in bringing successful employee motivation to your workplace.

Awareness Raising Activity:

1. How does it feel when you are getting ready for work in the morning? Lightness and eager anticipation, or heaviness and resignation?

2. Think back to times in your life when you felt totally engaged, what were you doing?

3. What were the sorts of things you loved to do as a child? (This is often a great clue to your passion)

4. Strike up conversations with people you work with and ask them "If you could do any job, what would it be?". What are the implications for your business?

5. Explore getting your team to design the work around people's personalities, capabilities, values, desires rather than job descriptions

Go to Leadership Articles Directory from Successful Employee Motivation


Employee Motivation For The Long Term

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