Recently I started a class on influence and motivation for local business leaders this way. ‘If you came here to learn how to motivate your team, I’m sorry to say, you won’t. You can’t motivate people.’ I got some funny looks and confused chuckles. After all, we had 4 more hours to work together and I just told them I couldn’t teach the very thing they came to learn. The thing is, people aren’t motivated by their boss, the company perks, or any dozens of carrots that are offered. So today I’m going to share a snapshot into what I gave those business leaders. Even if you can’t motivate people, you can help them to motivate themselves. If you’d rather see this lesson come to life than read it on the page, head over to YouTube.
What does motivate people?
To dig into what does motivate people we need to better understand it. What does motivation mean? Motivation is the reason (or reasons) one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. What is the most important part of that sentence? It’s, one. The reasons that one person, one individual has for behaving a certain way. Every one of us is motivated by something intricate and unique. Our motives for every behavior are nuanced and rich. Our motivation is personal. That means we need to feel the same level of personal connection to increasing the number of insurance policies we sell to as we do to not only shovel our own sidewalks but also our neighbors.
Intrinsically motivated people
Intrinsically motivated people get their motivation from within themselves. These people are rewarded for a job well done by the warm fuzzies they get from doing the job. They feel personally connected to the mission even if they don’t get anything tangible out of it. This is your neighbor who shovels snow on the whole block and refuses to take payment. If you dangle a reward to push intrinsically motivated people they might earn it and donate it back. Or, they might be offended that you would assume they would work hard for anything but the right reasons.
Extrinsically motivated people
An extrinsically motivated person wants the reward. They are working for the bonus. They are putting in extra time for the corner office. These people do want to get something out of their efforts. You control the carrots that you dangle, and people want them. This is easy. You should be able to motivate them right? Yet, it isn’t nearly that simple. Remember that motivation still comes directly from the specific person. It relies on them knowing how to get there and how it will make their life better. Which means, I can’t teach you to motivate people, but what I can do will be so much more valuable to you.
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Where to put your focus instead
Even if you can’t motivate people, as the leader, it’s your job to make sure work gets done. You influence people to exceed expectations, raise the bar, and achieve more. So what can you do? You can build connection. Today I’m giving you 3 C’s that will allow you to build a stronger connection in less time. If you follow through on these 3 C’s, this motivation is not something you’ll have to worry about.
Get clear
Getting clear means starting with you and what you need or want. Often people start with a problem. Likely you’ll need to start with a problem. The problem just can’t be the only piece of the puzzle before people are motivated to do more. Managers assume the team should be motivated to work harder because one member of the team has given their 2 week notice. The manager feels the problem and is sure everyone else does too. So, they assume that based on the problem people will be motivated to be the solution.
Think of it this way. If you typically grocery shop and your spouse sees you are out of milk, does he automatically make a full list? Probably not. He isn’t clear on the full scope of the need. He’s just frustrated he can’t have that bowl of Cocoa Pebbles he had his eye on. You might both see the problem but your idea of the solution is completely different. He settles for a different bedtime snack while you start planning meals for the next week. As the leader on that task, you see a full solution.
Leadership example of getting clear
As a leader on the team, its your job to help others see the full picture. It’s not enough for you to get it and plan to head to the grocery store. If you aren’t clear on what you ultimately need or want, your team will not be able to motivate themselves to move toward it. You need to be so clear that you could explain it to a child. One client was leading a group of Directors who couldn’t decide what meeting technology issues should be priority. One wanted to focus on break fix, another on virtual meeting technology, and others on inoffice meeting room tools. She used the techniques from the Lead with Confidence Challenge to guide them toward customer service, unifying them on virtual meetings having center stage.
Get curious
Once you’re clear on what the problem is and how you want it solved, it’s time to get curious about what the solution will do for them. How will the team and that specific person you want to go above and beyond benefit from what you’re proposing? When you get curious, you get answers. Remember how motivation is personal? Getting curious means that you’re asking questions to better understand what they want so that you can link your solution to that want. You aren’t assuming that Susan wants to prove her worth for a potential promotion, you’re asking her what it would look like for her to truly feel valued.
Leadership example of getting curious
One leader I worked with assumed that everything came down to money. Need to exceed a goal? Offer gift cards. Need to see who would put in the most effort the longest on the team? Dangle the possibility of a promotion with a nondescript pay bump to motivate them. So when an employee gave notice so that she could be home to care for an aging parent, the leader offered a 20% raise on the spot. The employee was insulted and rather than working her two weeks, she left that day and did not return. Curiosity creates understanding, empathy, and connection. Assumptions will leave you in a worse place than you started.
Get communicating
Armed with your clarity and curiosity, you can start to make connections. You know your husband values having exactly what he’s craving in the evening and you need a complete list to get everything you all need from the store. Imagine coming to him saying, ‘Honey, I know you work hard and like your sweet treat before bed. I want you to have that without one of us having to run to the store at 7pm. Let’s start a running grocery list in the notes app on our phones so we both know when we’re getting low. Do you think that would work?’ You didn’t motivate him make a list, his love of Cocoa Pebbles did that.
Leadership example of communicating
Ok, now let’s be serious. What about the employee who we wish was motivated to stay? If her boss got curious she would learn that this aging parent is willing to move into the employee’s home. It will just take time to get him settled. She’d also learn that the employee is scared to go down to one income but cherishes the time with her dad. That boss could have said, ‘Sue, it is admirable that you are devoted to family and I’m not surprised given the dedication I’ve seen from you here. If you’re willing, I’d like to work with you, and HR, on solutions that could keep your income and give you the time at home you need. Would you be open to exploring that?’ Suddenly, this employee could be much more dedicated to both of her worthy missions and supported by a leader who values her. That is how you want your employees to feel isn’t it?
How do I put this all together for my team?
Treat these 3 C’s like wiping your nose in the winter time. You may not realize you need it all the time but things run smoothest when you do it consistently. Your team needs a consistent cycle of clarity, curiosity, and communication to keep themselves motivated toward the goal. The best way to ensure consistency for yourself is through practice. Practice allows you apply the skills you learned intentionally and make adjustments. That means that you get to purposefully walk through each ‘C’ to better connect with your team. Join me in the Lead with Confidence Challenge and build the practice you need to equip your team to motivate themselves to incredible results.