Beyond Motivation 2

As we said before: most organisations do not buy ‘motivation’ because this is seen largely as a feature of performance, not a benefit. It is only when motivation goes acutely bad and usually either staff starts leaving in droves and there is an operational problem, or customer service becomes so lousy it impacts the bottom line, that the ‘benefit’ of addressing the motivational issue becomes self-evidently a benefit.

Thus we touched last time on the solution that most organisations want: namely, performance management systems that work, and at the core of that is the actual appraisal system. What are, then, the other three major areas where motivation features in the core solution – benefit – for the client? In my view they are: team building, leadership and change management. Let’s briefly look at these one by one.

Team building is one of the essential skills of the leader; the reason for this is obvious, but needs re-stating: T.E.A.M = Together Each Achieves More. This simple fact – the synergy that is created by a team to exponentially increase productivity and performance – is at the heart of efforts to build strong teams. Whereas most team building now is of one of two sorts: the ‘military’ flavour – the external environment, ‘bonding’ approach; or the more cerebral – fit the skills and personality to the correct role by an analytical process often involving various forms of psychometric testing.

What all these methods overlook is the primary motivations of the team members and how these motivations either help or hinder the individual in their role, and – and even more critically – how they help or hinder the internal dynamics of the group. There is an even greater issue too: are the dominant motivators of the team aligned with the mission? These are profound questions because they affect the energy of the team and the individual – whatever may apparently ‘fit’.

Second, motivation is a core aspect of leadership. The world needs more leaders and fewer managers. Leaders, of course, initiate our third area, Change, but this is a topic in its own right. At least 40% of a leaders’ work is about motivation: either on individuals or through developing teams. When people talk about working on the business versus working in the business they are making an important distinction: it is when the leader is working ‘in’ the business that they need to have plan for staff motivation and not just rely on charisma or business as usual.

Finally, motivation is core to change management and for a very simple reason: without energy there is no change – there is instead a superficial, cosmetic attempt to patch an ailing organisation. Real change requires a renewal and re-direction of energies and this can only be done by feeding people’s motivators. Most – even successful – change management programmes do this by assuming start want some basic motivators, and then build this into the programme: eg. Every body wants ‘recognition’. This is far too simple – and inexcusable, now that we have Motivational Maps which can tell us exactly what they do want.

Beyond motivation, then, are solutions and benefits that organisations are crying out to find – and at the heart of these solutions is staff motivation.