This week I had 3 connections on motivation. First, I talked with a client leader who asked me how to motivate her team. Second, I talked with another client leader who was really demotivated and wanted help (see Story of the Day). Third, I watched a talk on motivation by a business consultant (see Resource of the Day). Every time I hear a business talk about this topic, I’m stunned. Usually the ideas have been around the psychology world awhile. I think, “This is not new, where have you been?”. Perhaps the better question might be “Where have we in psychology been?” Clearly, we need to get out more!
One of the things I love about coaching individuals and teaching groups is the opportunity to improve everyday work. We spend more than a third of our life at work. It’s important to make way this huge chunk of time rewarding. This is critical for both individual and organizational success. People frequently assume the best reward is money. Not true! Below is a summary on the truth about money and the way to build outstanding energy and loyalty for FREE!
3 Truths about Money & Motivation:
- People are complicated
- More money does not deliver more motivation.
- More money can actually reduce motivation.
Bottom-line: Money as a motivator is complicated. Here is how it works:
- Money is like drugs. You always need more to feel good. Want to get people hooked for more? Use money as the prime motivator.
- Ignoring money doesn’t work either. Giving too little causes resentment
- Don’t approach money & motivation as a linear equation (2 + 2 = 4)
- Instead handle money like it’s a room thermostat. (See Tip of the Day)
Since money is so complicated, what builds motivation, energy and loyalty better? Below are 3 keys for better results:
3 Strong & Sustainable Motivators (That are also FREE):
- Contribution – Give people an opportunity to contribute real value. Then, acknowledge their contribution. Being a significant contributor builds individual worth and group loyalty.
- Purpose – Make sure that individual’s know how their work contributes to a higher purpose. Working for a worthy purpose is compelling and builds a desire to do more.
- Creative Autonomy – Give people opportunity to be creative and to act on it. Having the freedom to creatively: solve problems, try ideas, make choices, have some control and make an impact is critical to energy and loyalty.
Tip of the Day – Setting the Money Thermostat
The best room temperature is the one you don’t feel at all. You’re not too cold and not too hot. The room thermostat is dialed to make temperature a non-event. The ideal way to work with money is to set it as non-event. Too little and people will notice the lack, too much and it will lull people into dependency.
Adjust the money thermostat to an agreeable level of compensation and then focus on other motivators. When money is a non-event, everyone can focus on the truly rewarding work of contributing creatively to a worthy purpose. This delivers much better results (and much more satisfaction too).
Story of the Day
This leader’s story is a perfect example of how organizations kill motivation and loyalty. Here’s how:
My client, has been promised hefty performance bonuses for several years. Yet, after performing, the organization has delivered less money than expected. There have been organizational reasons for under-delivering, but after years of excuses loyalty is sorely strained. Also, The leader is flooded with busy work and is not able to focus enough time on contributing value. Lastly, he is being led by a directive executive who gives little autonomy to the leadership team.
The organization has accidentally created a perfect storm of demotivation and dissatisfaction. They promised a warm money thermostat but delivered cold. They permitted a flood of initiatives overwhelming people with new processes instead of focusing on delivering value. They set a command and control environment that severely reduces both creativity and autonomy.
It’s no wonder that my client is struggling to stay focused and motivated. We coached on tools to sustain his energy and he is doing much better. I have great respect for his fortitude. This leader is performing in an environment primed to kill energy, engagement and loyalty.
Moral of the Story: Focus on how you can free people to use their creative abilities, contribute recognized value and work toward a worthy purpose. These elements create high motivation and strong loyalty in any group. They can be successful with peers, subordinates and even clients.
Resource of the Day
