25 August 2011
Successful Intentions Newsletter
Hi ,
Which one of the following tools is the #1 secret to motivating you (and your employees) at work?
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Tangible incentives (money, gifts)?
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Recognition for good work?
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Interpersonal support?
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Support for making progress?
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Clear goals?
More than 95% of managers who were asked this question didn’t get it!
Research shows that supporting progress is the primary way to motivate your people. Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions at work, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.
So what can you do to ensure that people are motivated and engaged at work? Quite simply you need to do more of the things that support their daily progress and stop doing those things that get in their way!
You can use catalysts and nourishers to support everyday progress.
Catalysts
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Ensure the team has clear short- and long-term goals for meaningful work.
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Give team members sufficient autonomy to solve problems and take ownership of the project.
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Make sure they have all the resources they need to move forward efficiently.
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Give them sufficient time to focus on meaningful work.
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Give help when they need it or request it, and encourage them to help one another.
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Discuss lessons from the daily successes and problems faced by the team.
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Ensure you help ideas to flow freely within the group.
Nourishers
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Show respect to team members by recognizing their contributions to progress, attending to their ideas, and treating them as trusted professionals.
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Encourage team members who face difficult challenges.
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Support team members who have a personal or professional problem.
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Work to create a sense of personal and professional affiliation and camaraderie within the team.
But check that you haven’t unwittingly used inhibitors or toxins that drain work of its meaning!
Inhibitors
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Has there been any confusion about long- or short-term goals?
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Have team members been overly constrained in their ability to solve problems and feel ownership of the project?
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Have they lacked any of the resources they needed to move forward effectively?
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Have they lacked sufficient time to focus on meaningful work?
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Have you or others failed to provide needed or requested help?
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Have you “punished” failure or neglected to find lessons and/or opportunities in problems and successes?
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Have you or others cut off the presentation or debate of ideas prematurely?
Toxins
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Have you disrespected any team member by failing to recognize their contributions to progress, not attending to their ideas, or not treating them as trusted professionals?
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Have you discouraged a member of the team in any way?
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Have you neglected a team member who had a personal or professional problem?
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Has there been any tension or antagonism among team members or between you and members of the team?
It’s pretty straightforward really . If you focus on facilitating the steady progress of your workers in meaningful work by making that progress evident to them and treating them well, they will experience the emotions, motivations, and perceptions necessary for great performance!
Go to the Practice of Wisdom Psychology blog to follow wise conversations, book a session, or download papers and presentations on wisdom.
Keep your intentions clear,
Peter Webb
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