How to Motivate Your Employees the Right Way

The following is adapted from F*ck Me Running (a Business)!

It seems like everyone has their own ideas about how to motivate their employees to work hard. When I first started out as a CEO, for example, I thought I’d hire my friends, confident I’d be able to motivate them to work hard for me because of our friendship.

That didn’t work out. It never works out. Relying on friendships to inject motivation gets really messy really fast. Even if it works, you’re limited to motivating only your friends, which limits your ability to scale.?

I had to pivot or risk losing my business. That’s when I started getting really intentional about how to motivate people. I read everything I could about it, I studied what experts had to say, and I slowly figured out how to motivate my employees the right way.?

The key, it turns out, is to promote healthy, professional relationships by putting a candid communication process in place. This in turn promotes healthy forms of motivation. If you’ve never done it before, it can seem daunting, but it really isn’t. It all comes down to creating the right culture.

#1: Create a Culture of Honesty

One of my executives, Randy, had a very candid—although initially disappointing—conversation with me. He told me that even though he had agreed to run his department for a year, at six months in he was losing interest and wanted to leave the position. His departure would cost the company money and we both knew it.

I could have said, “Fine, Randy. Your happiness is more important than the business” and just let him leave. I could have said, “You’re going to cost me a lot of money” and tried to guilt him into staying. I didn’t say either of those things.?

Instead, we discussed the consequences of his decision. The company would suffer a dip in profits. His leaving would affect the bonus compensation plans of our controller and VP of operations, who are incentivized on profitability. Randy had just hired a guy who had a lot of promise and with some mentoring, could in time become a manager—maybe even take over Randy’s position someday. That wouldn’t happen if he left.

By painting an honest picture of what would happen if he followed through with his decision, I changed Randy’s perspective. He didn’t just think, “Nolan wants me to stay because he’s a selfish, greedy jerk.”?

He understood the situation he was putting me and the company in, and the effect that his leaving would have on his colleagues and his team. He agreed to stay for another six months, but it was his decision. I didn’t browbeat him—I showed him the facts and let him make up his own mind.

#2: Maintain Respect, Accountability, and Distance

Work itself can be emotional. As a leader, you have to connect with people and let them know they can talk to you, but you are not their therapist. Create boundaries and maintain them. If a staff member is involved in a fender bender on the way to work that’s going to make them late for a meeting with you, they should call and tell you. If their girlfriend just dumped them and they need a shoulder to cry on, they should not call you for that shoulder.

There’s a line between connection and attachment. Some people will try to cross that line to gain favor. Typically, these are people who are struggling at work and hoping that creating a personal bond will protect their job. Don’t play that game. Whether you’re in the office, at a work-related event, or out for beers with your people, maintain your professionalism and don’t give people a reason to lose respect for you or an opportunity to take advantage of you.

I didn’t get this at all as a young CEO. In fact, I didn’t have an HR person because I didn’t think I needed one. I was everyone’s friend and therapist. I didn’t even set boundaries for people who weren’t my friends. In hindsight, when I realized people were trying to turn our relationship from professional to personal, I should have had a respectfully candid conversation with them about my responsibilities as the CEO. Namely, that it was my job to run the business, and that was my number one job.

This does not mean you can’t have any friends at all at work. You will likely form close bonds with your executive team. Still, be professional about it. You’re still the leader. Treat them equally, don’t play favorites, and never forget your role in the company and your responsibility to the people who work there.

#3: Connect the Right Way

A big part of motivating people is connecting with them. Create boundaries, but don’t be distant. Be a human being who’s running a business with the best intentions for the success of the company and its staff. Be warm, engaging, and genuinely interested in your people.?

You can be friendly without being everyone’s friend. Get to know your staff and spend work time with each team and with each person individually. I still connect with every person at my company on a one-to-one basis to learn about their professional goals and where they see themselves in the future with my company, or somewhere else.?

Set the tone from the start with each new hire. During a person’s first week, take them out to lunch or coffee, but not to chat about sports. Remember, you’re not there to make friends but to have a meaningful conversation about what you and the company are trying to accomplish. Ask about the skills they want to develop and what they want to achieve in their career. Discuss how their goals and the company’s might align.

Several times a year, schedule a thirty-minute conversation with the person to reinforce the tone you set at the beginning. Check in on how their goals and the company’s might have changed, and whether they are still aligned. Also ask, “How are things going? Are you getting what you need from us? Are you building technical skills you wanted to get when you started here?” Be friendly but keep the focus on business.

With more than fifty people, it becomes difficult for one leader to find the time to do regular one-on-ones with everybody. You might have to delegate them to your executive leadership team and train them to conduct those conversations effectively. Despite how big your company gets, or how busy you get, continue to stay visible and connected to your people.?

Create the Right Culture

The relationships you have with the people at work—business partners, executives, and staff—affect the entire company. For better or worse, they create a culture, and that culture determines how motivated people are to do their jobs.

Culture is the heart of the business, and just like a real heart, it pumps the fuel that keeps a company alive, moving it forward. It dictates who you are as a company, and as the leader, you determine the culture. If you want to motivate people the right way, make sure you have a culture of honesty, respect, accountability, distance, and connection.

For more advice on how to create a great culture at your company, you can find F*ck Me Running (a Business)! on Amazon.

Nolan Garrett is the Founder and CEO of Intrinium, a firm dedicated to providing clients with comprehensive consulting and managed services in security solutions and information technology. Voted Best Place to Work Inland Northwest for three consecutive years, Intrinium has distinguished itself as a leader in IT solutions and workplace culture. Nolan is a member of the Forbes Technology Council and the Information Systems Security Association, among other organizations. With CIO and CISO experience and a background that includes multimillion-dollar cybersecurity transformations, Nolan provides specialized insight for businesses large and small in a variety of industries.