Uncategorized | Behavior Matters!

Category: Uncategorized Page 33 of 34

My first management experience was back in college and back then email was not the main communication tool you used with your team and cell phones were only used in the movies. As an Assistant Director of the Residence Halls, I managed a small team of Resident Advisors. It was old school communication; you met with your team in person and set expectations, reviewed the policies and procedures of the hall, asked questions, and even enjoyed moments of pure fun without the distracting email or texting clickety clack noise in the background.

Technology has helped communicating with teams in many ways, especially when many teams have virtual or remote locations. But some days I long for the good old days when communication took place first and foremost in person and without cell phones, emails, or texting capabilities.

I miss…

The Unspoken Language: I miss the non-verbal cues that are present in an in person meeting. Something is missed when a team meets on a conference call. You can hear the voice inflections but you can’t see if they are rolling their eyes, read their facial and body language, or even know if they are actually paying attention during the call.
Free Flow Conversation: Meeting with a team in person can be beneficial not only for getting things done but for also connecting and bonding with your team. The one off conversations before and after a meeting seem to flow easier than if the meeting was on Skype or a web conference. Technology burps happen, those unexpected hang ups, disconnects, or heaven forbid user error events disrupt the flow of a meeting and it takes people 10 minutes or more to get back on track and refocused.
Cloud Distractions: Before the days of cell phones, email, and texting the biggest distraction during an in person meeting might have been the big puffy clouds floating outside. And if you were in a brainstorming meeting those big puffy clouds could have inspired the next breakthrough product idea. Today it seems as if we are in a constant holding pattern, like trained dogs that come when their owner whistles we hear the incoming email or text noise and our immediate reaction is to look. Despite our greatest efforts not to look we still do! The number and magnitude of distractions have increased along with the expansion of technology.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy utilizing technology and harnessing the amazing benefits that it has to offer but I also like to harness the amazing power of bonding with a team in person. Managing and inspiring a team is more of an art than a science. The next time you schedule a conference call and you are all in the same building why not meet in person, I double dog dare you!

S. Stone

Do you really know what makes you tick? OR You think you know what motivates you – but you really don’t

On August 6, 2009

In Employee Motivation, Incentive Compensation, Incentive Plans and Sales Awards, Uncategorized

We believe we know what gets us up in the morning and rearing to go – don’t we? If someone asked you what motivates you, you would be able to tell them – right? Our ability to reflect on our own motivations is a belief that we all think we do well. I would argue that we are fooling ourselves and we really aren’t as good at it as we think.

Case in point, research has continually shown that when asked what type of reward employees think would be most motivating or that they would most want, they choose “cash.” Our own research shows that when asked, 70% to 80% of employees typically listed cash as the top reward. However, when you actually look at studies that show performance lift, non-cash awards have a greater impact. Dr. Dan Ariely, the author of Predictably Irrational recently blogged about this (See http://www.predictablyirrational.com). He cites an experiment done with Goodyear Tire company in which non-cash rewards improved performance more than double what the cash rewards did. In fact, there are numerous studies that support this idea.

So how can it be that if asked most people would state they prefer cash incentives but perform better when offered non-cash incentives? Part of the reason is because we don’t really understand what drives us? Cash is easy. We understand it. Economists point out that cash has “utility” – in other words it can be used to purchase any number of items that we desire. Non-cash is not so simple. We might not like the choices we have or feel limited by the selection. So what gives?

Dr. Scott Jeffrey’s has done much work on understanding this phenomena (see http://www.incentivecentral.org/awards/whitepapers/benefits_of_tangible_non_monetary_incentives.1830.html). Much of it comes down to how we evaluate, separate, justify and are socially reinforced by each incentive. In other words, we evaluate the value of cash and non-cash differently resulting in a higher value placed on non-cash elements do to affective factors (we can visualize ourselves with a new 56” TV and that gives us a good feeling – this is one step removed with cash). We also tend to lump cash bonuses in with our paycheck and it isn’t seen a separate, special reward. We have to justify spending our cash awards on luxury items such as the above mentioned TV instead of paying down the mortgage – not so when we are only offered luxury items. And finally we tend to not talk about the cash we earn to our peers and friends – but we do tend to talk about that new TV (or trip to Hawaii, or new Golf Clubs, etc…) and are socially reinforced by the bragging rights of those conversations.

So back to the initial question of understanding our motivations – we can see that there is much more to the story than asking people what motivates them. The fact is we don’t always consciously know what motivates us (think Freud). So while asking your employees what they want is a good first step, make sure it isn’t your only step. You need to dig a little deeper to get at their underlying drives.

Kurt Nelson

Unclear Motivators Impact the Bottom Line

On August 3, 2009

In Employee Motivation, Uncategorized

Knowing where you are going is critical in today’s topsy turvy economy. Does the organization you are working for have a clear direction? If they do not, there is no telling if what you are doing on a day to day basis is the right path and you might feel like you are fumbling along the many detours along the way.

Take a moment this week and get clear on your personal motivators as well as your organization’s motivators. Sometimes employees are frustrated by the fact that they are going along day after day doing things that they have no idea how they impact the business or how important their contributions are to the organization. If 100 people are working within the organization and 10 know exactly how their daily contributions impact the organization and the other 90 do not have any idea, everyone is missing out on a huge opportunity not just the 90 who are off course.

Start with asking yourself, “Do I know how my daily work activities contribute to the organization’s success?” and alternatively, “Are there any of my daily work activities that are detracting away from the organization’s success?”

Check in and make sure you are clear on how your work activities are impacting the organization. Also, get clear on what your personal motivators are for your current employment. Sometimes we shy away from the tough and confusing questions because we are afraid of the answers. Shying away from what is hiding in the shadows will only add more clouds and confusion to your world not increase the clarity of your world. If you are unable to answer the questions above then seek out the answers, it is up to you.

“If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up someplace else”
– Yogi Berra

Teambuilding: More Than just Teamwork

On July 30, 2009

In Teambuilding, Uncategorized

Yesterday was a whirlwind as our team facilitated a commercial challenge teambuilding event. Cameras were rolling and competition was in the air as 12 teams created a customized 60 second commercial answering a specific question on how their customer viewed a particular product. I could see a determined focus in the teams as they set out to write their script, choose roles, scout locations, and obtain the perfect props to enhance their film. It always amazes me what group and individual dynamics appear during a teambuilding event. Some of the behaviors are new while others are tried and true stand bys that seem to creep up to the service anytime stress or tension is in the air.

As I observed and worked with the teams, four things stood out:

Leaders Emerged Quickly: This particular group of 100 people was not shy and the leaders emerged quickly. The gauntlet had been thrown and the teams were on a mission to win one of the awards along with the bragging rights of having the coolest commercial.
Inspired Creativity: Sometimes a creative spark is easy to generate to get the ball rolling while other times it can feel like the idea bank is nothing but a dry well. Yesterday, the creative energy was alive and flowing as teams summoned their imaginations that may have been dormant for years and turned common everyday items into magnificent commercial props. Sometimes a hotel towel can turn into a life saving vest!
Shared Experience: It seems that the more technology influences our daily lives the more disconnected and removed we become from face to face contact. The teambuilding event brought back the ability for people to hang out, bond, work outside of their comfort zones, and share laughter. This shared experience is now a part of their memories and technology is not able to delete this from their memory database.
The Customers’ Shoes: One of the objectives of the event was to create a compelling commercial from the perspective of the customer. What a great opportunity to take a test drive and walk in the customers’ shoes. The insights that were gained by shifting perspectives were very enlightening for the participants.

Teambuilding when done effectively with a purpose and clear objectives in mind can be a powerful motivator for groups large and small. The group of 100 participants yesterday experienced learning the old fashioned way by igniting the power of creativity and imagination.

An Inside Look at Employee Motivation

On July 27, 2009

In Employee Motivation, Uncategorized

Celebrate! Another goal has been reached we have entered the Twitteruniverse – @WhatMotivates.

This is an exciting time at the Lantern Group as we embark on several new adventures. Adventures that will hopefully position us to be more effective in helping companies engage their workforce; in expanding our knowledge and understanding of motivation; and in creating a workplace where we can grow and prosper.

Our process of transformation began back in March 2009. Despite the down turn in the economy our rock star leader decided it was the perfect time to retool, check in on our dreams, and decide on what is next for The Lantern Group as an organization. The company has enjoyed success and we have worked with great clients, but what was next?

Our team of three (along with their wonderful spouses) met in sunny Mexico, what a great place to dream, vision, and tap into what motivates and drives us as an organization. We determined that it was time to make a pretty dramatic shift to really tap into what drives and motivates us – employee motivation.

Employee motivation is not a new concept, it has been around a long time but what has excited us is incorporating and enhancing what we already know with a new motivational theory – the four drive theory. This theory is practical, provides a language around employee motivation, and it integrates well with other great theories. We discussed, set goals, including those stretch goals, and created a plan.

We left Mexico excited and ready to embark on a new journey. Four months have passed and we have been rocking our goals, oh and continuing with our client work of course!

So what have we accomplished in the past four months, here is a sampling:

Expanded Research: We studied the 4-Drive Model, extended how it can be used inside companies, conducted a number of employee interviews, and found our niche.
Brand New Website: Currently in development – to be released to the world very soon!
The Lantern Group Blog: What Motivates You was created and is live! Check out the great posts: http://thelanterngroup.wordpress.com/
Twitter: Officially became members of the Twitteruniverse. Come along and follow us @WhatMotivates
Product Development: A lot of great new products are being developed behind the scenes, we may need some ‘testers’ in the future so be on the lookout for announcements!
Cool Merchandise: Yes, we are developing some rocking merchandise working with a graphic designer to help bring our motivation vision to life. Because it is all about helping individuals, teams, and organizations be the best they can be by unleashing their potential. Woohoo!

Not bad for a team of 3 people huh? It is amazing what a team can accomplish when they have a clear vision, hold each other accountable, the goals are aligned to the individual strengths and talents of the team members, and enjoy some celebrating along the way. Work can be fun right? Oh yes it can!

It is an exciting time at The Lantern Group and we are grateful to those that have been with us from the beginning and we look forward to those we will be working with in the future.

Come and join us on the adventure as we are inspired by What Motivates You!

Employee Motivation – 9 simple tips for Managers

On July 23, 2009

In Employee Motivation, Uncategorized

Employee motivation, in my view, is key to creating long term successful companies. While there are no magic bullets out there, here are 9 tips that we’ve gathered over the years that can help any manager improve the motivation of the people working for him or her.

Performance Review Blunders Impact Employee Motivation

On July 20, 2009

In Employee Motivation, Uncategorized

Review

Every year most employees go through a performance review process where the employee and the manager set goals for the upcoming year. In the past 15 years of working in and with organizations, I have experienced a variety of performance reviews. Each of them had the good intention of reviewing past performance and setting performance goals and metrics for the upcoming year. But each performance review process regardless of how well thought out and defined seemed to fall short.

Some of the most common performance review blunders are:

Goals are set for the upcoming year but they are not the right goals
The performance review is a surprise to the employee
The performance review conversation is one way – manager to employee
If this is the first time the employee has heard any feedback on their performance during the year, it results in a lack of buy in and authenticity to the performance review
Lack of performance documentation throughout the year leads to a performance review that covers only the last 2 months of the performance year

There are probably many other blunders that could be listed above, but this list provides a glimpse of how a poorly developed and delivered performance review can turn even the best employee into a disengaged employee.

Now that you are aware of the potential blunders, what will you do to improve your performance review process?

It is never too late to change.

Motivating a team

On July 16, 2009

In Uncategorized

I had an e-mail on Monday from a teacher who wanted to know how to motivate his speech team. While this is out of the realm of things we typically work on, it intrigued me. Below is my response:

“I have been thinking about your question and how you could use some motivational techniques with your speech team. I definitely believe that motivation is something that can be used with high school students in a number of situations such as the classroom, sports, and extracurricular activities such as debate and speech.

Some of the key things that I think would help in motivating the students on your speech team include:

1. Understand that each individual will have a different motivational profile. In other words, individually they are going to be more motivated by different things. For some, it is going to be the challenge of being in a competition or improving themselves (i.e. the Challenge Drive). For others it might be the prestige and recognition that would go along with winning a contest (i.e., the Acquire Drive). And for others it could be the comradery they have from being on the team and furthering those relationships (i.e., the Bond Drive). For others it might be that they don’t want to lose or be bested by another team (i.e., the Defend Drive). That being said, we are currently working on a tool to help people better understand their motivational profile in terms of the 4-drives. The tool is not currently completed (I can send it to you when it is), but in the mean time you can ask questions of your team to try to figure out which of the 4-drives (Acquire, Bond, Challenge/Comprehend, or Defend) is the greatest motivator for them.

I would use open ended questions such as “Tell me what you think it would be like to win XX contest?” “What will make you the proudest about winning?” “What are you looking forward to most after winning the prize?” “What are you going to focus on to motivate you to practice – even when you don’t want to?” “If you put one or two words up on your mirror to motivate you every day, what would those words be?” Use the responses from these to try to figure what drives each students motivation.

2. Customize how you talk to each individual to leverage their individual drives. For instance, if someone is motivated by the prestige of winning, talk about how they are recognized, what type of trophies they earn, or how proud their parents/peers/teachers will be. If the individual is driven by the challenge, talk to them about how they are learning and growing by working through this, how they can demonstrate their knowledge by how well they do, and how they will be able to use their newly acquired skill set in the future.

3. Have the students set individual goals for what they want to accomplish. Have them write these down and share them with the team. The goals should be stretch goals and be as specific as possible. Remind them of their individual goals when you talk with them.

4. Have a team goal that is a stretch for them. Have them think about what it would mean to achieve this goal and what they need to do individually to help the team achieve it. Have them make a verbal commitment to doing that. Set key milestones to achieving this goal (steps to the final goal with specific timeline for achieving them) and celebrate when the team achieves them.

5. Have them write down the two or three motivational words that will keep them inspired throughout the process and put them in a prominent place where they will see them every day.

6. If possible, have them pick a topic that aligns with their motivation and interest. Or have them frame the speech with that in mind. If you can tap into their intrinsic motivation around a topic or idea, then you will need less of other types of motivation to keep them going.

These are some simple ideas, but hopefully they might spark an idea or two for you. I would also invite you to join our newsletter mailing list – these come out quarterly and provide some insight into motivation that you might find useful. You can sign up by going out to www.lanterngroup.com and clicking the newsletter icon.

Good luck and let me know if any of this was helpful!”

Kurt

Favorite Quotes

On July 13, 2009

In Uncategorized

I like quotes, but often feel like they get misused. Quotes in and of themselves do not help create a motivational workplace. I’ve been in many offices where they have the “Successories” posters hanging all around, and the motivation level is putrid. I’ve seen managers pull out quotes to describe any situation or provide a witty response to an employee need. Too often, I feel that quotes are a simple way out of thinking too hard oneself.

Quotes are best used, in my opinion, for three purposes: first, when they have an intrinsic connection to the individual and provide them with insight, reflection, or a reminder of something that is important to them; second, when they can say something better than we can to expound on an idea, a concept or an attitude; and third, when the words take on a different significance because of the original author.
That being said, here are just a few of my favorite motivational quotes and why.

“Never think you know” – author unknown.

This was written in a tunnel on the campus of the University of Iowa when I was a freshman there. I copied it down on a ruled sheet of paper and had it posted to my bulletin board for years. To me it was a way of challenging the presumptions that we all have. It touched a part of what drives me – the drive to comprehend, to understand, to know and not just presume. In my head, I typically said, “know you know” after reading it. Go ahead, try it.

“Become the change you want to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi

This quote is one that is often overused but I like it for the story behind it and the simple, clear message it provides. Supposedly, Gandhi was approached by a woman and her son. The son was overweight. The woman pleaded with Gandhi to tell her son to stop eating sweats, to which Gandhi answered, “I cannot. Come back in a month.” The woman brought back her son in a month and this time Gandhi told him to stop eating sweats. He himself had given them up – therefore he had “become the change” that was needed.

“The important thing is to not stop questioning.” – Albert Einstein

This quote has an intrinsic appeal to me, particularly coming from the likes of one of the greatest scientists of all time. It gets at a point that I feel is important. It reminds me to keep pushing the boundaries and never stop asking the question “why?”

Please let me know some of your favorite quotes and more importantly why…

Interviews Show That Compensation Plans Are Not Effective

On July 9, 2009

In Employee Motivation, Incentive Compensation, Uncategorized

Do you know how you are compensated for the work that you do?

You may be surprised that there are many employees who have little understanding of how they are compensated for their work. How can that be possible? Aren’t employees motivated by money? If this is true, then why would they not know how to squeeze every penny out of their compensation plan and maximize it?

Over the last year, I have interviewed approximately 50 individuals soliciting feedback about their incentive compensation plan. Surprisingly, even though the industries and compensation plans were different, the interviewees stated similar concerns about how they were compensated for their work.

Here is a snapshot of some of the responses:

Interviewees did not fully understand how they earned with their compensation plan
The compensation plan was too complex
The compensation plan was not communicated or trained effectively
The compensation plan components did not reflect actual job duties in the field

The above concerns can lead to an unmotivated workforce which can turn into organizational or departmental goals being unmet. There is little room for error in today’s economy because it may determine the success or demise of an organization.

In this new economy, effective and aligned compensation plans can be an effective tool for harnessing individual, team, and organizational success.

Category: Uncategorized Page 33 of 34

Lessons from the Good Old Days…I Double Dog Dare You

Do you really know what makes you tick? OR You think you know what motivates you – but you really don’t

Unclear Motivators Impact the Bottom Line

Teambuilding: More Than just Teamwork

As I observed and worked with the teams, four things stood out:

An Inside Look at Employee Motivation

So what have we accomplished in the past four months, here is a sampling:

Employee Motivation – 9 simple tips for Managers

Performance Review Blunders Impact Employee Motivation

Motivating a team

Favorite Quotes

Interviews Show That Compensation Plans Are Not Effective

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