Encouraging Motivation:
People who are clueless about what to do generally don’t do well. If people don’t know what’s expected of them, they are unlikely to deliver it. Who orients your workers to their part in the desired execution of the business idea? Who orients new people? Have you ever listened to that orientation process? Is it done, every time, with everyone, the way you’d want it to be done?
Often, poor performance comes from misunderstandings, misperceptions or mis-communications, all of which can be corrected with a concentrated effort. The failure here usually comes from the assumption that it is being done appropriately, because the right behavior should be apparent to all concerned. You’re literally betting the firm that your people “get it.” Do they?
People, who aren’t expected to think, don’t. They wait for instruction. They fail to respond independently to appropriate triggers in the environment. If they are then hollered at (ridiculed, abused, etc.), they still don’t know what to do, or perhaps they don’t know when to do it. Regardless, yelling and venting at others doesn’t achieve anything positive when they lack important information.
If you aren’t getting the performance you expect, make sure that everyone concerned knows what’s expected. People will be more effective if they understand the context of those expectations, the game plan and their part within it. Telling them what to do without the context still leaves them vulnerable to confusion and misconceptions when they encounter anything out of the ordinary.
People Who Don’t Have The Skills To Do What’s Expected, Generally Don’t: If your people know what to do but they aren’t executing well, you have to explore a lack of training or skill. Complex tasks require rehearsal and practice. Improving performance requires feedback that occurs close to the event and is given in digestible doses.
It is also more effective if information is delivered dispassionately, as opposed to receiving it as a personal assault. The boss cannot afford to simply vent his or her spleen if the goal is to teach or instruct. Practice, timely feedback, and the opportunity to talk about what’s being done and how it’s working are the critical ingredients to skill building.
People Who Don’t Understand The Bigger Picture Have A Tough Time Consistently Delivering Positive Results: Clue your people in to your thinking. This is fundamental if they are to act as thought partners with you. If you want them to think from a larger perspective than the view from their own workstations, they have to be included in the thinking. The vehicles for this are performance review discussions and on-going conversations about the work. Yes, it takes more time to reflect on what we’re doing rather than just doing it on automatic pilot.
Are good results worth this extra effort? Few people in today’s companies act in isolation. What they do, how, and when they do it, affects other people in an interdependent system. This is why it’s critical to have the whole organization on the same page if you expect people to execute effectively within your strategic intent.
People Who Don’t Deliver The Results That You Expect Are Often People Who Aren’t Invested In Creating The Outcomes That You Want: Are you set up to enroll the passion of your people in your enterprise? Badly done, it comes off as hokey, but any company that achieves extraordinary results is a company where people take pride in what they’re doing. Part of building that pride comes from being stretched to do more than you thought you could.
Additionally, people who feel that they have mastered their roles:
Know what’s expected
Know why its expected
Are confident in their ability to execute well
See their efforts as producing something valuable
Are recognized as competent performers
Avoid Motivation Killers:
There are conditions that can sap the energy and enthusiasm right out of a workforce. I won’t try to be exhaustive, since I’m amazed at the creative ability of some people to deflate others. Insincerity and a lack of alignment between the words and deeds of upper management are motivation killers. People have a natural antenna attuned to such mixed signals and while it may all play out on a subtle level, it will play out.
A second set of factors cluster around confusion and/or discord among the executive team. Unresolved, lingering organizational defects drain morale. People begin to feel that no matter how hard they work on an individual basis, upper management will find a way to screw things up. You can expect that people will detach emotionally from their work once they draw that conclusion. They quickly learn to protect themselves by simply going through the motions.
Some companies actually train people to be ineffective, although they certainly don’t mean to achieve that result. How do they do that? The executives and/or managers take personal ownership for everyone’s results. If people act stuck or confused long enough, someone else figures things out for them. I’ve seen direct reports who actually delegate work upward and the boss may sigh, but s/he takes the burden. In some situations, it actually becomes punishing to do hard jobs, and rewarding to do only enough to look like you’ve tried, while willingly letting someone else eventually take it off of your hands.
The final motivation killer we’ll mention here is one where favoritism, cronyism and political posturing are stronger determinants of reward and recognition than honest effort. In family businesses, this also includes inept, unpolished or unprepared children or family members holding positions of major responsibility only because they are family. These and other conditions can disrupt the performance of a bright and otherwise competent workforce. Execution falters and the brand promise is only sporadically honored.