Stuff on Management and Leadership

Motivating People is Not a Mystery

·??????Q: What really motivates people?

·???????A: What people want is what motivates them. Most top managers and personnel departments act as if they had the inside track on sprinkling “motivation dust” from on high. A salesman with a major corporation was sprinkled thus. One year he ranked in the top 20 salespeople for his company. He got a letter from headquarters: “Congratulations. Because of your outstanding record, we are taking you and your wife to Bermuda for the week with the other top salespeople.”

·???????He called his boss. “How much is it going to cost the company to fly my wife and me to Bermuda and wine and dine us for a week?” His boss said, “Between $8,000 and $10,000.” The fellow said, “Good! Send me a check.” His boss and everyone in the company got very upset. They thought he was disloyal, unappreciative, and a money-grubber. Concerned about these impressions, he finally called his boss and said, “I’m a little confused. Is going to Bermuda with my wife part of my job? If it is, we would love to go. But if Bermuda is a reward for my accomplishments, send me the money. I’d like to take my wife and four kids to Hawaii.”

·???????This story points out a reality that most managers don’t understand: What motivates people is what motivates people. If you recognize the truth in that statement, you will quickly understand both the good news and the bad news about motivation. The bad news is that you can’t motivate people. The good news is that if you can find out what motivates some of your employees and provide them with the opportunity to satisfy their needs, they will do good work for you.

·???????How do you tell what motivates people? First, ask them! Our salesman would have been much happier if his boss had simply asked him what he wanted as a reward for his outstanding sales record. If you would rather not ask people, then observe them. Watch what they do with their free time. For example, suppose one of your staff loves to play golf. The motivator for that person might be a chance to play on an outstanding golf course in another area.

·???????If you understand what motivates people, you can avoid a lot of performance problems. Suppose you have a person who’s done terrific work. You say, “Ed, I’ve gotten you a really good raise.” But maybe money is not an issue for Ed. His wife works, they both have good incomes. What Ed wants is more responsibility and opportunity for growth. You say to another employee, “Alice, you’ve done such a wonderful job, I’m giving you more responsibility.” But maybe Alice is hurting for money and likes her job. What she wants is a raise. So you’ve “missed the boat” with both people, and it will show up in future performance or turnover.

·???????Once you know what motivates a person, how can you improve performance? You have to make a deal: If they do well, they will get such and such. The power of matching organizational to individual needs was illustrated by a manager of a small company. At the beginning of every fiscal year, he set goals with each of his people. Then he said, “If you accomplish these objectives and the company does well, this is what I will pay you. Rather than money, is there anything you would prefer?” One of his employees who was a divorcee with two children dreaded Saturdays because of all she had to accomplish. What she wanted was Wednesday afternoons off. The person who kept the books asked to have his master’s degree in accounting paid for by the company. Another woman, married to a macho truck driver who didn’t believe in stylish cars, requested the use of a company car.

·???????The point I am trying to make is: You can’t motivate people. But if you can discover what does motivate individuals in your company, and find a way to reward them with what they want, they will do better work for you. That sounds like a win-win situation to me.

An excerpt from our upcoming book, "The Field Guide for Managers and Supervisors". Late fall 2021 from SDW Publications. [email protected]