Dan Wilson just wrote one of the most insightful blogs on what it takes to successfully collaborate with someone (Regarding Ground Rules For Collaboration). As a singer/songwriter and major collaborator in writing music (he has co-written songs with Adele including “Someone Like You” (number 1 in Britain for 6 weeks), Josh Grobin, Keith Urban and the Dixie Chicks (for which he won a Grammy) Dan probably knows a thing or two about collaboration.
It is evident in this article.
He wrote this with creative people in mind (artists, writers, etc.) but it applies to all of us – in business, social, charity, government, etc…
Some of my favorite highlights:
“Audition every idea.”
“Don’t worry whether it’s been done before … Originality will take care of itself.”
“Three very powerful words in a collaboration: “How about this?” Four words to use after them: “Or, how about this?”
“‘No’ is a last resort”
I think Dan could make a career as a business consultant if he ever decided to quit the music business (NOTE: Dan if you’re reading this, please don’t quit the music business!! You have too many fans out there who would miss you – me being one of them).
A few weeks ago a number of factors all convened so that I spent 5 days playing 99 holes of golf (see here). It was fun, but I’m ok if I don’t hold a golf club in my hands for a little while.
Let’s preface by stating that I’m not an avid golfer nor am I a very good golfer. I’m average. I usually get out 3 to 4 times a year. I can talk the talk, I do some things well, and others not so well. One of the things that I was doing well during those five days was hitting my 9-iron.
And I was hitting it well.
On a pretty consistent basis I was hitting the ball between 140 and 170 yards with my 9-iron – and they were mostly straight (which is a big deal for me). And once* I put one out there about 185 yards (*it was downhill and the wind was behind me). Put this in perspective, according to Brent Kelly at About.com the average men’s 9-iron distance is between 95 and 135 yards. You would need to move up to a 5-iron to reach the average distance I was getting with my nine.
Of course I was hitting most of my other clubs poorly. I’d top my driver and it would bounce out 30 yards. I’d slice my 3-iron into the trees. I’d hit my five iron, but it would fade left and only go about 100 yards. I’d totally duff my 3-wood.
So what did I do?
I ended up just playing with my 9-iron and putter. Honestly. It didn’t matter if it was a par 3 140 yard hole or if it was a monster 540 par 5 – I’d pull out my 9-iron and shoot.
And you know what…I played better than I usually do. We used many of my shots in the scramble competition. I won my head to head match. Overall, I did pretty well using just my 9-iron.
Therein lies the problem…
I did pretty well for me – but I definitely wasn’t one of the top golfers playing. Sure I did better than I usually do, but I know that using my 9-iron on a long par 5 is not the optimum solution. Yes it improved my game – but I wasn’t going to be able to match the top golfers I was playing with if I only used two clubs.
I often see companies that use incentives like I use my 9-iron. It becomes the only club in their bag.
Therein lies the problem.
We find that we have some success with an incentive program/reward program/new initiative and we think, “hey, we’re doing pretty good here.” Then we use the same thing again and again – regardless of the issue we are trying to address. The problem is that using that approach, we will never be at the top of our game. We will never be able to fully motivate and engage our employees. We will get to the equivalent of a 540 yard hole, which requires a creative new approach – and we pull out the “9-iron incentive” instead because, hey, “I can hit it 170 yards.” But that probably won’t ever get you a par. And it certainly won’t get you an eagle.
There are a number of clubs that we have to use to help drive motivation. We need to engage people with challenging jobs, build great interpersonal connections, create a culture that people are proud of, make sure that people have opportunities to grow and excel. But these are all harder to master, take longer to build, and have a higher probability of a major slice or hook – so we too often just fall back on the old faithful 9-iron incentive plan.
The Driving Range
So I need to go out to the driving range and start working on my other clubs – maybe starting with the 8-iron and moving down the line**. That is the only way that I will ever improve my game and become a “good” golfer.
The only way a company will ever become really good at motivating its employees is to start developing their skills with other methods of engagement besides incentives.
We can look at the 4-Drive Model of Employee Motivation and know that we have to engage people in bonding, learning and defending as well as in acquiring.
Get out on the proverbial driving range and see what works for you. Add a little more job rotation. Change the goal setting system. Maybe some more team building. How about a more open and communicative culture. It takes practice. It takes time. There will be a few shots that go in the water…but in the end, its what is required to become a scratch golfer or a great company!
(**Of course, I think I’ll take a few more weeks off from golf to fully recover…I mean 99 holes in 5 days is a lot!)
Let us know what your favorite club is – leave a comment!
I just got back from a presentation by Al Switzler, one of the authors of “Crucial Conversations”, “Crucial Confrontations”, and “Influencer” and now “Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success.” I have to say, I was impressed (and that usually doesn’t happen with presentations).
While I have not yet read the book, the information presented today was very thought provoking and more importantly, actionable. This is not always the case with business or personal help books. The concepts and ideas that Switzler discussed were real and I could see how they applied.
A few key ideas from the presentation:
“Lots of people do research about people, but almost nobody does research about you. You need to be come both the scientist and the subject.” Think about it, you are rarely the subject of a research experiment and even then you would probably be one of many. This idea is simple – look at your life with the eye of a researcher – what works for you, how do you behave in these situations, what motivates you? Then be the subject of your own experiments – try different things to see what makes a difference for you.
“Do you pass the commitment test. You need to be able to vividly and passionately articulate why you want to change. If you can’t do that, change will most likely not happen.” In other words, we need to make it real to ourselves both cognitively and emotionally. The words we use to explain why we need to change need to be “vivid” and we need to talk about them “passionately.”
“We often think of failure to change as a lack of willpower. It really has many more facets than that.” Switzler explains that they found six sources of influence that impact the likelihood that change will occur. These are:
Personal Motivation (i.e., our will – what we want and how badly we want it),
Personal Ability (i.e., the tools and skills we have to acheive our desires),
Social Motivation (i.e., the influence that those close around us have on our behavior),
Social Ability (i.e., do those people close to us act as enablers of good or bad behavior),
Structural Motivation (i.e., the influence that structural factors play on our behavior),
Structural Ability (i.e., how well you control your environment to help you achieve your goals).
I am looking forward to reading the book and giving you an update when I’m done….
I lived through the old expression “When it rains, it pours” over the past five days. I have played 18 holes of golf each day (Thursday – Monday) with an extra 9 holes thrown in on Saturday for good measure. It was one of those convergences that happens occasionally: golf on Thursday with some business partners, golf Friday through Sunday with 23 other guys up North at their annual golf outing, and golf on Monday at the annual Knicker Open charity event for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the TC..
Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t all bad…actually it was a lot of fun
However, my back and neck are very grateful that today (and for the foreseeable future) I am not going to be hitting any balls out on a golf course in this heat and humidity that we have.
FYI – you would think that my game would improve after so much golf…but that was definitely not the case. Also, I will tell you about my amazing use of a nine-iron in an upcoming post…
My five year old son has been with his grandparents at the cabin since last Thursday. He has been gone longer than expected since he was supposed to come home with us on Monday, but literally begged to stay up there and help Grandpa and Grandma do “projects” such as planting trees, painting, etc… (now if he only stays excited about doing these things when he gets to be a teenager – I can dream can’t I?). They were going to come home late tonight, but Q had t-ball at 6:15 PM – thus they are coming home early.
I am grateful that he is coming home early…only been a couple days, but I’ve missed him.
This is from a blog for men call All-Swagga (don’t let the name fool you – it really isn’t about swagga at all but about being true and honest). This is from an author Taylor Mali – by far one of the most powerful responses to this question I’ve ever seen.
You want to know what I make? I make kids wonder, I make them question. I make them criticize. I make them apologize and mean it. I make them write, write, write. And then I make them read. I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful over and over and over again until they will never misspell either one of those words again. I make them show all their work in math. And hide it on their final drafts in English. I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional medal of honor and an A- feel like a slap in the face. How dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best. I make them understand that if you got this (brains) then you follow this (heart) and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you give them this (the finger). Let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true: I make a goddamn difference! What about you? – Taylor Mali
So what do you make?
Do you make a difference? Is your job something that you feel so proud about that it transcends dollars and makes an impact on the world? For me, right now, no. But for me the question isn’t about today – it is about what I can do tomorrow. And the day after that and so on… And the answer to that question is yes – a big, hell yes!
So ask yourself this: can you answer this question with as much conviction and force as Taylor Mali? Do you have the passion for what you do to be able to make a response to this question like this?
I found this to be beautiful – a reminder of all the little things in this world (the good, bad and ugly) that make it so very wonderful. Hope you like it too.
According to the Four-Drive Model the drives to acquire, bond, comprehend, and defend motivate every human being and should all be addressed in the workplace. However, it is critical for managers and leaders to recognize that employees are motivated by the four drives at differing levels. My recent study, which is discussed in the post “New Research on The Four-Drive Theory of Employee Motivation”, revealed that a person’s demographic background effects which of the drives he or she values the most.
This information could have three potentially significant effects on the way managers implement the Four-Drive Model of motivation.
First, managers can use the results from the study to fine-tune motivation techniques in order to best fit the strongest drives of each employee. Workers should be tested to determine which of the drives is most motivating on down to which provides the least motivation. This will allow managers to not only implement all four drives, but to build custom motivation plans based on what drives the employee the most.
Second, managers can find ways to fulfill each of the drives in order to increase motivation. For example, employees who had sought higher education valued the drive to comprehend more than those who had not obtained a college degree. Managers can make note of employees with higher educational levels and ensure that they are given ample opportunity to express ideas, problem-solve, and engage in challenging and meaningful work. Those with a strong drive to acquire should be given recognition and opportunity for advancement. Employees with a strong drive to bond need opportunities to work in teams and collaborate with coworkers, while those with a strong drive to defend need to see fairness and just processes in the workplace. Research has shown that increasing fulfillment in all four drives leads to much higher motivation in the workplace, but if that is focused specifically to what drives the employee the most without disregarding the other three drives, I believe this would have additional positive impacts on motivation.
Finally, managers should have some way to assess employees in relation to how they perceive that each drive is being fulfilled and they are being given enough opportunities to excel in those areas that most strongly motivate them to go the extra mile. Whether through employee questionnaires or informal meetings, it is a critical step to get feedback from employees so that any necessary changes can be made to further increase motivation in the workplace.
Feel free to comment with any questions or feedback.
Author info:
Ms. Swadley recently completed her thesis titled: Managing Motivation in the Workplace: A Demographic Dissection of the Four Drive Theory. She is currently at Missouri Southern State University. This article is based on the research that she completed in her thesis.
My wife is in Chile for 10 days for work…we got to Skype tonight for the first time since she left. 35 minutes of free talk (she doesn’t have a video camera on her computer). Nice to be able to connect and not worry about hundreds of dollars of phone bills!
Our knowledge of the Four-Drive Model of Employee Motivation is constantly being expanded as researchers study it and organizations work with it. This is exciting because it allows us to use this theory more effectively to drive performance and increase employees motivation.
Recently I have been in contact with Kristen Swadley, a student at Missouri Southern State University. Ms. Swadley has added to our understanding of Four-Drive Model by conducting research to see if demographic differences such as age, gender, marital status, tenure, income, job role, or education level impact any of the four drives. Analyzing data from 315 surveys, Ms. Swadley found some interesting findings that point to both the robustness of the Four-Drive Model as well as how specific demographics correlate to some of the drives.
The following information is from the thesis she completed around this study:
Regarding gender the analysis showed that there was no difference between males and females in their tendency towards a particular drive. Thus the four-drive model does not have a gender bias.
However, there was a relationship between the age of respondents and the drive to defend – older participants (over age 41) showed a higher correlation with the drive than the younger age (under 25).
The drive to defend was also found to be higher in married and divorced participants compared to those who listed their status as single.
Tenure showed a correlation only with the drive to bond where unemployed individuals rated that drive significantly less than those who were employed (specifically, those employed for 0-3 years and over 12 years – which is an interesting fact in itself).
Income levels showed a correlation between both the drive to bond and the drive to comprehend. Those individuals who earned under $19,999 placed a significantly lower value on both these drives than those in the higher earning brackets.
There was a difference in the drive to comprehend between various work roles. Specifically, there was a difference in how both middle management and trained and professionals viewed that drive compared to skilled labor (with middle management and trained professionals placing a much higher significance on it).
Unsurprisingly, educational level also showed a correlation with the drive to comprehend, with those participants who had achieved a graduate degree valuing this drive much more than those with just a high-school degree or some college.
This information helps us as leaders start to understand how we can better use the levers we have to motivate our employees. Ms. Swadley puts it best when she says, “While it is true by the tenets of the Four Drive Theory that all humans are motivated in some way by the four basic drives, it is important to take into account that all employees are motivated by the four drives at differing levels. A manager with the intention of implementing the Four Drive Theory in the workplace should have employees tested to find out which of the drives are most important to the individual on down to which of the drives provides the least amount of motivation.”
We hope to have Ms. Swadley right a guest post in the upcoming weeks to explore a little deeper what her findings mean for managers and leaders – until then, please let us know what you think by leaving a comment. Thanks!
