Motivation

Today we are going to talk about motivation. Most people in business will agree that motivated employees are the best ones. They display a passion for their roles, take the initiative, and want to achieve great results. They are also the most likely to want to develop themselves and achieve success.

Hot Buttons: Motivating Factors

Leaders who know how to motivate their people may not be trained psychologists, although they do have an excellent understanding of human behavior.

Don’t assume that money is your people’s key motivator. Find their “hot buttons”—their individual key motivators—by asking open questions and listening attentively to find the motivators of each and every employee.

It’s a fact that people are motivated by different needs. As a leader it is important to know what specifically motivates each individual employee.

All things being equal, you can attract, retain and motivate the best and brightest by recognizing that what motivates me might not motivate you.

—John Putzier, author of Get Weird

One or more of the following nine needs will be the motivator for 99 percent of people:

1. Achievement and Growth: These employees want to use their talents for success. They desire to grow through learning new roles or educating themselves. Provide challenging projects suited to their skills and they will constantly achieve.

2. Money: These employees desire to earn substantial income. Give them remuneration systems that reward achievement, bonuses that reward exceeding expectations, or open-ended commission structure based on performance.

3. Teamwork: These employees enjoy being part of a successful team. They enjoy interacting with people; group projects motivate them as does the social aspect of the workplace.

4. Power: These employees are motivated by controlling and influencing others. They enjoy making decisions and being in a position to lead and direct others. Beware, as wanting power will not necessarily make them good leaders.

5. Approval: These employees need recognition and praise. Give them positive feedback and public recognition of their achievements and contributions. Ensure that this feedback is genuine; they will pick up on insincere approval, which can be a lethal de-motivator.

6. Security: These employees want a steady income, fringe benefits, and a stable workplace. Give them attractive base salaries and a comfortable work environment with low risk. Do not place these people in positions where income is primarily performance-based or in commission-only roles.

7. Independence: These employees want autonomy and freedom to choose their own work hours. They love to work alone. These people will enjoy roles like being on a mobile team and they will also look at opportunities to work from home.

8. Stability: These employees want to work in a position where there is minimal disruption and change. Do not place them in roles where change is rapid or day-to-day duties are radically different. Their ideal is a stable role with set schedules and minimum disruption.

9. Equality: These employees desire fair treatment. They will analyze and compare their duties, work hours, salary, and benefits in comparison to other employees. They may become disenchanted if they regard themselves as disadvantaged.

After you’ve analyzed your employees and found their motivating hot buttons, it’s time to become innovative. You need to structure their roles and rewards to match their needs; this will give them the feeling that you really care about them as individuals.

And remember what Zig Ziglar said: “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily.”

To me, Attitude and Motivation of line leaders is the number one ingredient of successful businesses, contact me for a no obligation chat to discuss.

Ken Wright +61 414 157657

Ken@Engage4Results.com