"I spent a fortune on a trampoline
A stationary bike and a rowing machine
Complete with gadgets to read my pulse,
And gadgets to prove my progress results,
And others to show the miles I've charted--
But they left off the gadget to get me started!"
--Dennis Waitley, Being The Best
Motivation is one of the most misunderstood functions of a leader. As the quotation above points out, it's common to feel you have everything in place except the "gadget" to get people started. Many leaders fail as motivators because they don't grasp how to motivate effectively. "Rah Rah" sessions in sales meetings to get everyone "pumped up" are like a warm bath; they make you feel good for a few moments, but produce no lasting benefits. The following points offer insights on motivational myths and facts leaders can use to get better results:
1. Get People Better or Get Better People. One of the best ways to make sure your team stays motivated is to create an environment where people have the tools and incentives to grow personally and professionally. People in a learning environment that trains them to improve their skills feel challenged and alive. When people who are learning and growing fall into a rut they don't stay there long. Many leaders focus too much on motivation and little on skill and habit development- ultimately causing loss of self-worth and de-motivation. Skills, habits and attitudes must develop as an ensemble. Remember, if you have "idiots" who have bad habits and no skills and you continually motivate them, you end up with "motivated idiots."
If you've made an earnest effort to make people better and you're still not getting results, it's time to get better people. However, you'll never be able to attract top performers in today's marketplace if you have an uninspired, non-growing, non-learning operation. On a scale from 1 to 10, if a "9" comes to apply, and your workplace is a "5," they'll figure it out quickly. If you manage to trick them into signing on, they won't stay long.
2. Promote Motivated People...Instead of Motivating Promoted People. If you find yourself spending too much time having to motivate and inspire top people in your operation, somewhere along the line, you promoted the wrong people. A leader should spend more time inspiring than having to be inspired. Start promoting motivated people who have the capacity to develop leadership skills and you'll be better off. Opt for having to hose people down than continually fire them up. (Ultimately, you'll gain better results by calming down geysers than working with mud holes.)
3. Stop Trying to Lead "Horses to Water." Oftentimes leaders make the mistake of "leading their horses to water," hoping they can convince them to drink. Your job is not to lead horses to water or to try and sweet-talk them into drinking. Your job is to find out what makes your people thirsty. There are three questions every leader should ask his or her people to determine what makes them thirsty: 1) What do you get down about? 2) What do you get high about? and 3) What do you dream about? You cannot effectively put motivation inside of anyone. Whatever motivation they have is already inside. Your real challenge is to tap and channel that motivation, and you can't do this until you find out what makes them "thirsty."
Stop trying to motivate everyone the same way. Generic motivation is a failure. Take the time to discover the motivation within each of your people and customize your approach.
4. Realize That People's Motivations Change. I suspect my range of motivations over the years may be similar to yours. When I began in business, my motivation was recognition. I wanted pats on the back and the plaque on the wall. Soon, I became motivated by the idea of promotion and after I got it, money became a motivator. I was then motivated by the idea of balanced success: on the job, at home, with relationships, financially--the whole package. My motivation today is significance, by helping as many people reach their fullest potential as I possibly can.
Your people's motivations change just as yours and mine did. What worked for them yesterday won't work today. Stay in touch with what makes them "thirsty" and you'll go much further in helping them take your organization to new levels.
5. You, as an Example. As leader, the example you set in the following areas goes a long way in determining the motivational level of your team: 1) Persistence. When you're relentless in pursuit of goals, when you go the second mile and your people notice, it motivates. 2) Character. When you are fair and deliver on promises, deal with customers and vendors with integrity, are loyal to those not present, it motivates. 3) Personal growth and willingness to change. When your team sees you stretching out of your comfort zone, open to new ideas, and learning and developing your own skills, it motivates. 4) Your attitude and disposition. If your team has long faces, low energy, and exudes mediocrity, take a look in the mirror: the speed of the leader is the speed of the pack.
In all the training sessions I've held over the years I've never met a truly successful person who was unmotivated. (If they were in the crowd, they didn't have the energy to come up and tell me.) Take the time to evaluate your and your top leaders' performance as motivators. Motivation won't come along and strike you or your team like lightning. It takes work. Separate motivational myths from facts and get busy getting more out of your people today. You can't inspire million-dollar efforts with ten-dollar motivation.
Dave Anderson has been a car salesman, GSM, GM, and Director of Training for Joe Verde Sales and Management Training. He currently works as Director of Training and Group General Sales Manager for the Anderson Dealership Group in Palo Alto, CA. He is the author of Selling Above The Crowd: 365 Strategies for Sales Excellence and Leading Above The Crowd: 365 Strategies for Leadership Excellence, set for publication in the spring of 1999 and late 1999, respectively. danderson@dealeronline.com