Sections of this topic
There is a lot of information written about motivation. New manager/leader training found in organizations and books everywhere has at least one course or chapter devoted to the topic of employee motivation. Located within the material, one will find lists of tips and tricks for keeping employees happy and motivated to meet performance objectives. There is another school of thought that believes it is not the manager’s responsibility to motivate employees or create motivation for employees. Instead, it is the responsibility of the manager to hire motivated employees and then act in such a way as to keep them motivated and stay away from things that would de-motivate them.
After many years of teaching motivation techniques to managers, I have come to the realization that the latter is actually the way to go. In reality, everyone is motivated by something different. People seek jobs that are a match for their needs. For some, that might be a job that provides training or skills in an area of interest; for others, the perfect job will allow them to work flexible hours to meet the needs of their family while utilizing already-developed skills. Regardless of the motivation to seek a job or the factors that keep one motivated on the job, the first step for a manager/leader who wants to maximize the discretionary effort of employees is to figure it out.
What do you do that de-motivates your team? Have you ever said, “Oh, he loves it when I do that?” assuming your actions are inspiring or motivating? Keep in mind, that if you are the manager/leader you have control of the situation and the employee is well aware of this fact. He might not actually love it.
What things do you leaders do that de-motivate you?
Your thoughts are welcomed and encouraged!
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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.
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