"I will make you an offer, you cannot refuse”: 3 classic mistakes in motivation

“I am gonna make him an offer, he can’t refuse.”

This is an iconic dialogue from The Godfather, said by the Godfather himself.

Alas, what works in the world of Godfather may not be true in an organizational context. Yet, just so many managers go about their teams with the same Godfatherly spirit, that their “irresistible” offer of a challenge, money, growth, international assignment is what moves employees.

Hundreds of motivational frameworks, tons of motivational experts.

Yet, we are Neptune-away from solving the what-motivates-employees puzzle.

Here are 3 classic mistakes that managers make in understanding the science of motivation.

Mistake #1: You can motivate someone with “motivational talks”

Motivation is a billion dollar industry, perhaps even more. There are books, authors, talks, videos, coaching, etc, etc.

And ofcourse there is an almost equivalent amount of motivation evangelists doing it pro-bono on social media.

Many managers also suffer from the same misgiving…

That motivation is apparently something you provide to an employee from the outside. Worse, through motivational talks. Worst, through posting quotation (kill me!)

Motivation comes from the word “motive”.

It is very simply, WHY we do what we do.

And in that sense, motivation comes from within.

Even where motivational frameworks talk of intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external) motivators — someone will get attracted to an extrinsic motivator like money, status — only if there is an inner desire for it. Without that desire, the so-called “extrinsic” motivator has no power.

So motivation clearly lies inside. What someone else did (motivational stories), may move us — but honestly how many of us really take any action basis what we read in the morning social media feed?

We come across so many powerful anecdotes, but most of us do nothing different in our lives, unless something coincides with what we were feeling inside, anyways.

I often get many comments on my articles as ..”I am going through this in my life now..”, “I was thinking about this today…”.. etc

People may appear to be moved by your story — but that is ONLY because it mirrors their personal life situation and motive at that point in time.

So go ahead and pay a bomb to get a “motivational speaker” to pep up your employees.

Just know, that the actual effect will be… zilch.

(P.S: I love listening to these talks. But no, they do not motivate employees in the manner of getting them to work better the next morning)

Mistake #2: Thinking - The employee is UNGRATEFUL or FOOLISH to not feel motivated by your IRRESISTIBLE perks and promotions

The other classic mistake is to have value judgement about what motivates someone.

“People will give anything to be in your shoes”

…we are often told.

“He is an ungrateful employee. We sent him abroad, gave him a prime project and he resigned.”

..such a typical situation in organizations.

This is where so many managers fail to understand motivation. And this is the case of that irresistible offer by The Godfather. Managers feel puzzled and cheated when their irresistible offer fails to move their team member.

Example: Say a team member has a deep need to be acknowledged and recognized, and the manager is not good at expressing acknowledgement on a daily basis. But the manager does appreciate the work, and shows that through extra 10% increment he gives this employee over and above what he has given others, especially during “budget cuts”.

The manager, in his mind, thinks that is “acknowledgement”. The employee feels, “you don’t care about my work, and think with this 10% extra, I should jump with joy!”

This is how disconnects happen.

We know so many cases where people leave jobs despite unbelievably good perks (to the shock of others who say — “why on earth are you leaving??).

People also leave very challenging jobs, because the organization did not reward their efforts enough — or soon enough, with perks.

There are also people, who have an overwhelming need to maintain work life balance, and will give up growth for it. That does not mean they lack ambition. It just means they have a different priority at this point in life.

To be able to motivate another person, we need to understand the other person’s context.

Understand, not judge.

Mistake #3: Thinking - this employee enjoys his job, so he does not care for growth. Let me give him MORE work and promote the OTHER guy.

This is another pitfall managers often stumble into. There are motivators, and then there are things that everyone expects — fairness, justice, transparency, etc.

Employees avoid saying too often how much they enjoy their work. This is for two reasons:

1. They fear more work will be dumped on them
2. They fear they may be short-charged when it came to pay and perks, simply because they “love their work”

Neither of these two scenarios are too far from the truth.

Just because an employee loves his job, does not mean that he can be taken for granted. But it happens often.

“Sam is happy with his job, so why have a how-are-you-feeling-at-work conversation with him”

(HR thinks. So ignores Sam.)

“Sam enjoys this work, so he will enjoy it more if I dump more of it over the weekend; Tom may have a problem, he does not enjoy it as much as Sam. So Sam it is.”

(Team lead thinks. So assumes things about Sam.)

“I only have a quota of 3 promotions from this Business Unit. Sam loves his job, he may feel bad for a while, but he will not quit. Tom does not love his job as much, and he will surely quit if he is not promoted. Let me promote Tom.”

(Unit manager thinks. So takes Sam for granted.)

And here is the problem.

Just because an employee is “motivated”, does not mean he will take kindly to being ignored or treated unfairly.

Finally, one may ask — if all of these are mistakes, what exactly is the right way of motivating someone?

I went to B-School, and studied all motivational frameworks. Often frameworks are rubbished as bookish, but that is often a result of not having paid enough attention to studying them. One thing I have realized over years, is that you get amazing insights when you actually super-impose frameworks, and study them in linkage to each other. Maybe another article on that.

But, outside frameworks, my experience says, there is really only one true way of motivating any human being.

That motivating someone is 95% observation.

And only 5% implementation of that observation

If you know what makes a person click, tick, move and groove — then using that understanding to create conducive environments that keep employees charged up, is an easier task.

The other important thing is, that when you observe well, you also know which employees the organization may never be able to motivate. And it is not anybody’s fault, but it helps everyone be realistic.

Therefore…

Motivation is not trying to MESS with the wiring an employee with your "irresistible offers".

It is FIRST trying to understand the actual wiring of an employee.

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(Disclaimer: No part of this blog maybe copied or reproduced or reused or republished in any way, except to share either using the share feature of LinkedIn or posting a direct link to this blog — An excerpt from the blog may be quoted while sharing it in the above mentioned manner. Any other form of reuse, must be only after explicit written consent of the author)

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Swati Jena is a writer and entrepreneur. While she writes on a wide variety of subjects, her favorite topics are leadership, culture, artificial intelligence, education and ‘self’.

She is the author of a unique book on entrepreneurship, called:

The Entrepreneur’s Soulbook — Is it your cup of tea? Link to the book

Swati is the founder of GhostWritersWorld (LinkedIn Page)/(website)

Her other articles include:

Technology & product

1. “If Robots will do everything, what will humans do”: Why AI Rhetoric deeply worries me
2. “Justice delayed is justice denied”: Could AI and Data Science be the answer to India’s judicial backlog?
3. Flirt with your product ideas, don’t fall in love
4. LOL … driverless cars for India??: When AI meets Cows, Rajinikanth and Ganpati
5. Love in the time of Artificial Intelligence: Valentine’s Day 2030
6. “Who pays the price?”: Why PRODUCT INNOVATION without SERVICE EXCELLENCE hurts customers — the ETHICS of product innovation

Leadership and Organization

1. “If you are nothing without the suit, you don’t deserve it”: 3 cardinal tests for anyone who calls himself leader
2. 3 unforgettable lessons I learnt from an Indian Ed Tech Leader
3. “Oh! You are sensitive”: Why sensitive is a TABOO word — and LEADERS should consciously HIRE such people in teams
4. “I love solving problems”: The BIG problem with problem solving
5. “So why are you leaving?”: Don’t treat retention discussions like a ONE TIME date
6. Sophisticated-fear-based-management: 3 unmistakable signs
7. Interns or cheap labor? Making internship count
8. “Travis may be Uber, but Uber cannot be Travis: The curious case of Charismatic leaders”

Diversity and Inclusion

1. “Women can’t code because of Biology: 3 reasons it was a BIG MISTAKE for google to fire James Damore (perspectives of a feminist)
2. 3 taboo questions Millennials are asking, leaving hiring managers shocked
3. Why the ‘Corporate-style Women’s Day Celebrations’ gives me the creeps
4. The OOUCH of maternity leaves: Why managers secretly dread it
5. Man or Woman? Who should lead gender diversity? Why we are simply asking the WRONG question.
6. “She has good figure”: Why creating a safe place to work takes much more than just sexual harrassment policy

Self-help

1.”But I have bills to pay..”: Why the PREMISE we build our life on, DECIDES how far we will go..

2. “How is life? Well, going on.”: Why you should NOT quit your job, but GRADUATE from it

3.The Monkey Catcher’s Lesson: Why we get stuck in our jobs, situations, emotions..

4. “Anger is remembered pain”: 3 steps to healing from difficult experiences at workplace

5. “How is life? Well, going on..”: Why you should NOT quit your job, but GRADUATE from it

6. A “50-over-50” list: Pressures of adults “growing up” in a world of over-achieving youngsters

7. The (difficult) art of doing nothing and why it matters in a world proud of “busy”

8. 500 Uber rides without driver talking on the phone: My personal starfish story

9. “Here is a muffin that will make you successful”: The unspoken truth about success

10. 5 reasons we should “stop fighting” for a cause

11. “You are hiding something”: 4 reasons we find it difficult to trust those we love

12. “Pick your battles”: Fine, but how?

Education

1. The Yin and Yang of Ed-Tech: Will schools even survive the next 10 years?
2. Why we “grown-ups” are the biggest reason the education system must change urgently
3. “No chair for teacher”: Is it time we do away with this regressive and myopic policies