Sometimes the best way to motivate, is to not

In my experience, I have found that most people want to do a good job.  They go to work and they want to do their best.  There are some who are just floating by, but they seem to be the exception and not the norm.  In general, we have a decently motivated workforce going about their business and doing their jobs.  So, what goes wrong?

Leadership.

It's not that the workers aren't motivated, it's that they are de-motivated.  I've seen this, a lot.  There are leaders and managers out there that like to check up on their teams, to see how they are doing, even when there is no new information to give or to receive.  Sometimes that is just how people lead, and sometimes they feel like they aren't making enough of a contribution, so they go and push the team a bit, trying to "motivate" them, or get that 110%.

There's the problem.  If you don't have anything to offer, and there is nothing you need, think twice about trying to motivate your team.  Remember, in general, we have an already motivated workforce.  If they are already at 100%, pushing them to 110% is really like pushing them to 70%, and if you have nothing to offer, and don't need anything, well, not many people like to be micromanaged.

As leaders, sometimes a few well-placed words or a little information can drive a team to succeed, but our words can also do just the opposite if we aren't careful.

-Alexander C. Cook MEng, MBA, PEng, PMP

Image Souce: https://despair.com/products/leaders

Improving Team Performance Through Connection

Leading others is not without risk, nor is it for the faint of heart. As important as it is for you as a Leader to set the goal to be achieved, it is more important to sense how things change as your Followers begin to align their efforts to support you. In some cases, this alignment among Team Members generates a momentum towards successful achievement of the goal that is unstoppable. Other times, factors of mis-alignment, significant changes in the environment, and unforeseen constraints pop up that are signals for you to review your approach. The key to any such review is to connect with your Followers.

Staying closely and personally connected to those who follow your lead will provide the early warning signs of emerging problem areas. Taking a moment to embrace the points of view expressed by your Followers will arm you, as their leader, with rich and immediate understanding of root causes for mis-alignments in the Team, surprises in the surrounding situation and shortages in resources or other constraints that will affect goal achievement. Not only will this close connection to your Followers enable you to act early but, also, to act in a manner informed by the collective experience and expertise of your Team.

Experience has taught me that my best and most immediate source of validation for any Leadership approach I take, is my Team. When I have embraced them, sought their feedback about what is working and what is not working, I have been able to accelerate performance. When I have relied on my own counsel, without a close personal connection to my Team, I have floundered and lost my way. A Team needs a good Leader. Leaders need to embrace their Team to be good.

-Lieutenant Colonel (ret'd) Ron Guidinger BEng, MBA, PEng, PMP