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From years of working with clients on both sides
of this story, we’ve found that the cause for this
perplexing change in performance frequently boils
down
to an incompatability between the values of the
individual and the values of their leadership. For
example, all salespeople
are motivated by money - right? And everyone loves
to be recognized in front of an audience - right?
Tell that to the employee who would rather under-
perform than risk having to endure public
recognition again. Recognition that doesn't match
the
values of the person being recognized can backfire or
have little to no effect at all.
Leaders often overlook the importance
of identifying the unique motivational needs of each
employee in order to assess if their organization, as
well as their personal leadership style, has what it
takes to fulfill them – a process we call motivation
matching.
How does one motivate someone else? In
order to answer that question, you need to
consider all of the factors that influence someone’s
drive to achieve. Exceptional performance is the
alignment of skills, passion, feedback, management
style, measurement, rewards and culture. We each
have a
unique passcode that unlocks our inspiration,
potential, and desire to achieve. Before assuming
your employee “just isn’t motivated”,
consider these questions to determine if it may
instead be a result of a motivation mis-match:
What skills do they possess that give THEM the most
satisfaction?
How is their job drawing upon their
strengths AND interests?
What rewards do they
respond to
best?
What kind of feedback (written, oral,
public, private, broad, detailed) and at what
frequency do they need?
What management style brings out the best in
them?
What message does our company’s culture
send
about performance?
Start by making an
educated guess and then test your knowledge
by sitting down with your employees to ask them
these questions. True motivation matching
must
include both observation and validation. Without it,
it's merely assumption and leaves you with the
burden of trying to hit a target you can't see. Let
them tell you how to bring out the best in them.
Motivation matching
requires a realistic assessment of the strengths and
limitations of your organization and yourself, the
insight to better understand your employee, the
willingness to make adjustments that bring out the
best in them, and the courage to admit when you
can't offer what they need and releasing them to find
it. As involved as that may sound, it is
painless compared to the hours wasted struggling to
solve performance problems or wondering who went
wrong – you or them?
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