Tag Archives: motivation
How Exceptional People Developers Beat Bad Systems
September 12, 2017 | | 2 Comments
A manager who doesn’t appreciate the value of something or simply doesn’t want to do it will always find an excuse not to. And, when it comes to employee development, one doesn’t have to look far for a legitimate one! Organizations unwittingly create impediments to growing people—something that’s recognized as a competitive advantage and requirement for sustainable success. Which barriers have you witnessed or experienced? A corporate schedule requiring that hours and hours of development planning and conversations be forced into a short window—frequently in the same time frame as budgeting or other mission-critical activities. Unnatural performance management systems and …
Posted in Career Matters, Leadership Matters
Tagged accountability, barriers, commitment, communication, growth, keep talking, meaning, motivation, people developers, progress
Who Knows What Employees Really Want?
For decades, articles, authors and studies have tried to help managers come to terms with how to motivate employees and drive optimal performance by understanding what employees really want and need from work. The list is long (and alphabetized for ease). Achievement and accomplishment Appreciation Autonomy and self-direction Being part of a team Boss they respect and trust Career advancement Challenge Clear goals and objectives Coaching Connections and relationships with each other Decision-making authority Empowerment Fair compensation Fair treatment Freedom to innovate Growth and learning Influence and power Interesting work Job flexibility Obstacle removal Opportunity to make a difference Pride …
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged appreciation, employee engagement, employee expectations, motivation
Feedback: What are your Intentions?
February 2, 2016 | | 7 Comments
Andy (a leader I met last week) was very disappointed. One of his employees had missed another deadline, making him and his whole team look bad with a high-profile client. Andy had learned that feedback was most valuable when shared in a timely manner, and he knew that he needed to start documenting performance. So he stopped what he was doing to have a conversation with the employee. Andy: You missed another deadline today. Just like you did on August 11, 18, 25 and 27. Employee: I know. I’m really sorry. …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged feedback, intentions, motivation, partnership, spirit, support
Finding the “motive” in motivation
For decades, management science has concerned itself with researching and developing sophisticated systems for understanding and unleashing employee motivation. In organizations, we’ve experimented with countless combinations of possible solutions to arrive at that magical motivational mix. We’ve tried: Compensation, bonuses, and different takes on doling out the almighty dollar to inspire employees Recognition in a variety of flavors, including verbal reinforcement, physical tokens and reminders, and exotic trips Team structures that support relationships and greater autonomy Enticing work spaces (because what says ‘motivation’ more than a pool table and hanging out with Fido from 9 to 5?) Flexible schedules and …
Posted in Happiness Matters, Leadership Matters
Tagged altruism, meaning, motivation, service, value
Meaning Matters
Earlier this year, Emily Esfahani Smith wrote an article in The Atlantic titled, “There’s More to Life Than Being Happy.” Now, I’m not ready to throw in the towel on my pursuit of happily ever after… but it’s hard not to take note of the frequent mention of ‘meaning’ in articles, books, and other works of thought leaders. Gary Hamel counsels managers to see themselves as “entrepreneurs of meaning.” In Good Business, Csikszentmihalyi dedicates significant energy to the “making of meaning.” AndMcKinsey Quarterly ran an article last month dedicated to “Increasing the Meaning Quotient of Work.” According to psychiatrist/neurologist/Nazi concentration camp survivor Viktor Frankl, …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged helping, meaning, motivation, positive emotions, purpose, satisfaction
Should the ‘Ship’ Sail on Leadership Development?
February 26, 2015 | | 4 Comments
For decades, leadership development has been a significant focus of businesses worldwide. Billions of dollars and millions of hours have been invested in a wide range of activities to build the capacity and effectiveness of those charged with guiding and directing organizations and the people within them. But today, many organizations are implementing a small change in semantics that could lead to big changes in terms of their leadership development efforts. They’re dropping the ‘ship’ and focusing on leader development instead. What difference can the absence of four letters in a word make? A lot. Leadership development in many organizations …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged business, engagement, leadership, leadership development, motivation, soft skills
To Lead or Not to Lead: Most Employees Say “Not”… but Many Go For It Anyway
December 3, 2014 | | 1 Comment
Most workers don’t aspire to leadership roles. That’s the key finding of a study conducted earlier this year by CareerBuilder and Harris Poll. Based upon the responses of more the 3500 workers across the United States, only about one-third (34%) aspire to leadership positions. This is interesting data for organizations and leaders everywhere. First, it might settle the nerves of managers and supervisors because it confirms that not every employee is looking to rise up through the ranks. My research with Beverly Kaye found that one of the key reasons managers don’t engage in career conversations with their employees is …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged business, career development, CareerBuilder, compensation, engagement, Harris Poll, leadership, motivation, organization
The Simple Connection Between High School English and Accountability
October 29, 2014 | | Leave a comment
My daughter is taking an Advanced Placement English Language course this year. That may be why the November 2014 article in The Atlantic Magazine, “Passive Resistance,” captured my attention. The author, Steven Pinker, explores the role and value of the passive tense. (Or, expressed in the passive tense: The role and value of the passive tense are explored by author, Steven Pinker.) Despite a generation of English teachers imploring us to use the active voice, it’s frequently not our go-to communication strategy in business. And The Atlantic article explains why, describing the ‘passive’s ability to hide the doer.’ That’s right… …
Posted in Leadership Matters
Tagged accountability, active voice, motivation, Passive Resistance, passive tense, passive voice, performance, responsibility, results, Steven Pinkner, The Atlantic Magazine
Stop Driving Employees Nuts
This article originally appeared at SmartBlog on Leadership in November 2012. After dedicating a large portion of my professional life to helping leaders develop new skills to improve workplace performance, I’ve come to a startling (and perhaps career-limiting) conclusion: Employee engagement, motivation, and results are less about introducing new leadership behaviors and more about just stopping the stuff that makes employees crazy. Let me frame this as a little parable. Leaders in a mythical company worked diligently to create a lovely gardened footpath. They design it to honor, inspire and rejuvenate the workforce. But no one used it. Why? Because …
Posted in Career Matters, Happiness Matters, Leadership Matters
Tagged Change, engagement, expectations, motivation, processes, results, rules, systems, underutilization, unproductive
Want to Kill Young Workers’ Motivation and Drive? Utter These 4 Words
Commencement season is in full bloom. And many organizations are looking forward to an influx of freshly-minted graduates within their ranks. Potential and excitement fill the air. The opportunity to develop, inspire, engage, and grow these new workplace entrants is great. So is the potential to kill their motivation and drive… with just four small words. I met a young man in his mid-20’s recently who shared with me his plans to change jobs. He’d been with his current employer for a couple of years, taking on increasing levels of responsibility. He didn’t mind the additional work without a title …
Posted in Career Matters, Leadership Matters
Tagged competitive advantage, development, effort, Employees, growth, leadership, learning, manager, motivation, responsibility, youth
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