Make Your People HAPPY
In a recent survey in the workplace, researchers invited more than 600 managers from dozens of companies to rank the impact on employee motivation and emotions of five workplace factors commonly considered significant:
- Recognition for good work (given publicly or privately)
- Incentives beyond regular pay (“bonuses”)
- Interpersonal support
- Support for making progress in their work
- Clear goals
“Recognition for good work” was ranked as number one.
Unfortunately, those managers are COMPLETELY WRONG.
In Harvard Business Review, Theresa Amabile and Stephen Kramer revealed the results of a multiyear study done in the workplace, tracking the day-to-day activities, emotions, and motivation levels of hundreds of knowledge workers in a wide variety of settings. The findings run counter to the assumptions of managers and leaders everywhere. The study shows that the top motivator of performance for employees is… PROGRESS.
Yes, PROGRESS! They tell us, “On days when workers have the sense they’re making headway in their jobs, or when they receive support that helps them overcome obstacles, their emotions are most positive and their drive to succeed is at its peak. On days when they feel they are spinning their wheels or encountering roadblocks to meaningful accomplishment, their moods and motivation are lowest.”
Remember what I shared in my last post about this connection—keen insight from management guru Ken Blanchard, who tells us, “People who feel good about themselves tend to do great work as a result.” But he also reminds us of the reciprocal connection: “People who do great work tend to feel good about themselves as a result.”
So… what’s an effective leader to do with this information? Amabile and Kramer draw some straightforward conclusions:
1. GOOD NEWS: The key to motivation turns out to be largely within your control. And…
2. It doesn’t depend on elaborate incentive systems. So…
3. Provide your people with meaningful goals, resources, and encouragement. And…
4. Protect them from irrelevant demands and intrusions from other bosses and colleagues. And for YOU…
5. Scrupulously avoid impeding progress by changing goals autocratically, being indecisive, or holding up resources. And this additional key insight from neuroscience:
6. Create a visual way for your people to measure their progress on team goals.
A simple technique you can use with your team…
One of the interesting motivational “hacks” that has recently surfaced in studies is the emotional lift we get when we can actually see the progress we’ve made in any enterprise we pursue. The ability to have a visual reference to mark our progress is a surprisingly inspiring trigger for positive, optimistic emotions.
Remember those Thermometer charts we’ve all seen for fund-raising efforts? It turns out that there is some solid neuroscience behind them.
And don’t forget this: be ready to RECOGNIZE and CELEBRATE your team’s progress, to add even more inspiration to their positive feelings of accomplishment!
Up Close and Personal
One of my coaching clients was disappointed when her team successfully completed a year-long effort that was assigned them by higher-ups, and the only response they got from her boss was a brief “thank-you” in the form of a short e-mail.
I encouraged her, “As your team’s leader, you have the freedom and responsibility to do better than this.” She did some creative thinking and took the initiative to organize an ice cream sundae “celebration” in the office workroom for her team. It was hardly an elaborate affair, but she brought in the gourmet ice cream and all the fixings (at her expense) and invited her boss to join the party. He came; pressed a few palms; gave the team a nice verbal “congratulations”; and stayed to enjoy the ice cream (and much-appreciated non-work-related informal conversations with her team members). It was a nice personal touch her people really appreciated.
This is all about leadership function #4 – enabling others to act! Yes, Kouzes and Posner (authors of The Leadership Challenge) got it right: Great leaders make sure their people have what they need in order to do their jobs. Here’s another way to put it: Your #1 job as a manager is to help your people succeed!
If you need help giving your people the leadership they need to become focused, productive, and MOTIVATED workers, we can help! Our resources, training workshops, and coaching services can help you and your organization’s leaders become more effective in their management and supervisory roles. Give us a call!
Until next time… Yours for better leaders and better organizations,
Dr. Jim Dyke – “The Boss Doctor” ™ helping you to BE a better boss and to HAVE a better boss!
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