FinancialStory
I was coaching a manager who struggled to motivate his team. After observing his management style I quickly came to the conclusion that he treated all of his employees in the same manner. I had another client that wasnt a manager but struggled to get his co-workers to get onboard with his work expectations. He too, treated everyone of them the same. Both men could not figure out why they couldnt get their horse to drink.
Advice
For both my clients I was able to say, I know why this horse wont drink! You should treat everyone fairly, but you should never treat everyone the same. We have all heard of the golden rule Do unto others as you would have them to unto you. Well the platinum rule is Do unto others as they would have you do unto them. You cant treat everyone the way you want to be treated. You should treat people the way they wish to be treated. Every one of us is an individual with different fingerprints, faces, and personalities. Therefore we need to treat everyone differently.
Understanding the different ways to motivate your people comes with understanding the four different motivation styles. Everyone is motivated by one of more of the following four situations: money, power, social, or self pride. Money motivation can be used when employees are inspired through financial compensation. While everyone likes money, it is not the only thing that motivates people. Power motivation can be used when employees are inspired by being in a leadership position that allows them to demand a certain amount of respect from others. Social motivation can be used when employees are inspired by a team environment that promotes camaraderie. Self pride motivation can be employed when someone is inspired by a sense of self-worth and self-achievement.
Steps
1. Understand that there are four different motivation styles: money, power, social, self esteem.
2. Identify which motivator works best for your employee or co-worker.
3. Use either positive reinforcement in the chosen motivation area.
4. Switch to negative reinforcement if the positive reinforcement in the chosen area fails.
Additional Options
Money Ideas: positive = [managers jurisdiction] tie a bonus to what you want them to do [co-workers jurisdiction] offer to give assistance in a way that will affect their money ; negative = [managers jurisdiction] have a financial penalty for non compliance of rules, [co-workers jurisdiction] put a quarter in a jar that goes to charity for infraction
Power Ideas: [managers jurisdiction] offer to make employee a team leader in the area where you need them to perform [co-workers jurisdiction] allow colleague to be the leader of the team as you guide them where you want them to go
Social Ideas: [managers jurisdiction] announce that there will be a team celebration once the task is successfully completed
Self pride Ideas: inquire about their own self-expectations on getting the task accomplished
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