It seems the job sector cannot win. There are millions across the United States that are currently unemployed and of those that are employed many are not satisfied in their current job. What gives?
Those individuals who are employed but experiencing low job satisfaction rate can turn around and point fingers at their employers but I suggest that they also take a look within themselves. Granted there are many reasons to point fingers elsewhere. The fact is many workers have been asked to take on extra work from their colleagues whose positions were eliminated, to expand into areas outside of their skill set and comfort level, and to work endless hours and days without any merit or incentive payouts at the end of the year. So if your employees are not as motivated as they used to be these items above may start to paint a picture for you.
But there are also numerous individuals who have created opportunities for themselves despite their current circumstances. There have been recent stories in the news of individuals taking on new careers by going back to school, opening up their own business, and branching out from their current job to other opportunities in their company. So how did they get over their motivation roadblocks? I surmise they asked some tough questions of themselves and did some soul searching.
This is the time to dig in and go within and find the answers. It takes a lot of energy to accuse and blame the economy, your employer, the President of the United States, etc. I suggest taking that energy and using it to discover your own motivation roadblocks and create a plan to unblock them and move forward.
Susan
If this does not sound like your current situation but you know someone that might benefit from this article pay it forward and pass it along.Thank you!
I admit it, I watched the season premiere of The Bachelor and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I know by admitting this I may become a cast off in society but it is an honest statement. I was completely enthralled by the 30 second elevator speeches the women were giving to their possible future husband. In the early days of The Bachelor show there was a simple, “Hello, my name is…” introduction, short and sweet. The latest episode had anything but simple introductions the women introduced themselves with a very clear intention of making a memorable impression. The introductions were a great study to watch in the art of a 30 second creative sales pitch.
Regardless of the gimmick or lack thereof each woman appeared to be motivated by a single focus, to marry The Bachelor. This clear focus drove them to be out spoken, manipulative, create drama, and be vulnerable. It is amazing that one motivating factor can produce such an array of emotions and behaviors.
As a fresh new year begins, it is a great time to tap into the hope, excitement, and energy that can be felt. If 25 women can demonstrate on television their motivating drive to find a husband, anything is possible if you have a clear focus and motivation. So get out there, get creative, get focused, and make 2010 a memorable year!
Let us know what you think will be your biggest motivator in 2010?
For me I think it will be the Drive to Achieve. We’ve been working at this motivation thing at The Lantern Group for a number of years but I have a sense that this needs to be the big break out year. I am motivated to see the ideas, the concepts, the results raised up to that next level.
The first drive in the Four Drive Model of Employee Motivation is the drive to Acquire & Achieve. This is typically the drive that most organizations focus on when they are trying to find a lever to influence employee motivation.
However, companies often get too caught up in the financial aspects of this drive (i.e., how much of a raise can we give, what is our targeted incentive/bonus payout, etc…).
The following are three quick tips to help you think about how to impact this drive and increase employee motivation.
1.It’s not just about the money. It is so much more…This drive also includes the drive to achieve. Achievement takes on a number of different forms. Think about this in terms of grades – there is no monetary component to this, yet we are driven to try to get an A. In organizations, recognition is a very powerful motivator because it recognizes individuals or group achievement (kind of like a report card). Organizations can tap into the drive to achieve by focusing on ensuring that recognition is done correctly (e.g., timely, relevant, and appropriate to the effort/result).
Achievement is also about setting realistic goals that can be achieved. Short-term milestones are elements to use to help keep this drive up. One way to think about this is to think about the need to reinforce achievement on at minimum every 5 weeks. If you don’t have a milestones set up that fall within that time frame, you will tend to lose people. Make sure that you celebrate those milestones as well. One thing that we are trying to get better at The Lantern Group is celebrating when a project or milestone is done. We get so caught up in the next project or next event that we don’t take the time to stop and congratulate ourselves on a job well done.
2. Add Some Perks. While we tend to focus on the big items like pay and bonuses with this drive, some of the more powerful levers that we get to pull are smaller “perks” such as office space, titles, parking spots, flexibility to work from home and other things that help satisfy the Achieve drive.
In addition, there are a number of small perks that also tie into the Acquire side of the equation, such as pizza Fridays, movie days, lunch seminars, discounts on classes, days off, foosball or pool in the office, employee of the month/quarter/year… You will notice that a number of these also contribute to the other three drives of Bond & Belong, Challenge & Comprehend, and Define & Defendsee also Four Drive Model
3. Improve your Total Rewards Communication. Too many times we’ve worked with companies that offer fantastic total rewards – not just their base salary, but their benefits, bonus programs, culture and recognition opportunities; however, no one at the company knows about these programs! This is because they are outlined in a legal terms in a five different 50 page HR documents. It is vital that you market what you are providing to people in a way that will capture their attention and convey the big picture.That means that you have to overcome silos within the organization and market your Total Rewards as a comprehensive program that highlights the offerings from across the organization.
Also, make sure that your Total Reward communications are not just a one-time effort at the beginning of the year, but instead a campaign that highlights various aspects of your offering throughout the year and keeps people engaged and charged up.
While the concept behind these ideas is simple, the implementation of them isn’t always as easy. If you need help, please give us a call. We can help you work through the issues and improve your employee’s motivation!
It is 2:00pm and you are stumped, lethargic, and deer in the headlights frozen in place. What has happened? It is the time of the day when productivity slumps and your brain seems to be frozen because the motivation magic seems to have dissipated into thin air.
Each of us has a certain time of the day when we are the least productive, for me it typically shows up from 2 – 4pm. I get work done but some days it feels like I am sloshing through wet, sticky mud instead of gliding down the river with ease. The loss of motivation magic prompted me to do a little study. I started to notice what time of day I was the most creative, when I was able to create, produce, and feel even a bit giddy. This time usually occurs in the early morning 7 – 10am. I know now that if I have any creative writing to do, detail work, or product development on my schedule that my best time to work on it is early in the morning vs. the afternoon. But sometimes I do not have the luxury of picking when I get to work on things so I have come up with a few things that I know kick up the motivation magic.
My Motivation Magic Emergency Kit:
MUSIC: The top contender for kicking up the motivation during the drag times is definitely music and not quiet lullabies but hard kicking alternative rock or dance music. I tap into my music library on my computer or go out and visit Pandora a great online music site.
ENVIRONMENT CHANGE: If the music is not making a dent in my energy level then I pack up my computer and head towards one of my favorite coffee shops with WiFi access. I have found that sometimes I work best surrounded by noise and people. The afternoon lull is a great time for me to change-up my environment and mingle with the world around me. Many times being in a different environment provides inspiration to my work.
COFFEE: Ok this one may seem obvious but caffeinated beverages are a great pick me up and there is nothing like a great coffee on a cool fall day. The benefit of the caffeine jolt and getting out of the office to get to the coffee treat are a great pair. Caffeine and fresh air a perfect match to bring on some motivation magic.
MOVEMENT: Sometimes getting up from my desk and moving helps wake up my senses. If I have the luxury of 15 minutes I may even go outside and go for a quick walk or if not just taking in some fresh air can help. Many of us spend a crazy amount of time sitting down and our bodies seem to fall asleep the longer we sit. So I try and step away from my desk throughout the day to either stretch or take a quick walk which helps wake up my brain and my body.
These are a few examples of what I use for my motivation magic emergency kit.
What do you do when you feel the productivity dip during your day?
We would love to hear your tips, leave a comment or send us a tweet @WhatMotivates.
This is a great video that highlights some key things that companies can do to engage their employees. Love its fun presentation. I would add in there are some other aspects beyond the three that this video talks about that can help engage participants (look to enhance bonding, building challenge and comprehension into the work environment, and creating an organizational culture that you would want to defend) – but these suggestions are a great start!
So how do you perceive the world? Attitude has a lot to do with motivation – or is it that motivation has a lot to do with attitude?
Half Full Perception
We have officially hit our high season at The Lantern Group. The media may be talking about gloom and doom in the economy but our high season has returned like summer turning into fall. We are busy. Our funnel is full. We are grateful and appreciative for the work that we are engaged in and the clients we are working with during a time of uncertainty in our world.
Half Empty Perception
We have officially hit our high season at The Lantern Group. We are busy. Time is too short and our clients want things faster and cheaper than ever before. It is going to mean late nights and long hours to get everything done. Plus we have more projects in the pipeline. How are we ever going to get through this and stay sane?
When opportunities arrive at your doorstep, which lens do you look through, the lens of half full or half empty?
Some factors that might influence your perspective include:
how do you set goals and drive toward achievement
do you work as a team to reach the goal line
do you try to learn new skills and add new products to fulfill customer needs
do you focus on the big picture and look towards the future
have you spent time upfront looking at how to streamline your work and focus in on what you do better than anybody else and get rid of the fluff
have you asked your employees what would they do if they were running the company and then listen
How do you perceive the world today half full or half empty?
We would love to hear from you, let us know how you perceive the world by adding a comment below.
Ariely talks about the difference between a social and economic contract. Very important to understand when we are thinking about motivation and how we drive this at work.
