Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label motivation. Show all posts

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Morale and Motivation

What is the source of motivation?

Can motivation be instilled, or is it something that individually control?

In workplaces today, you may hear comments that morale is down, what is the leadership going to do improve morale?  I don't see this is a leadership issue, but more as an individual issue.  The part of morale that can be improved through leadership is when it comes to influencing a positive culture where team members are self motivated and feel valued.

As a leader, the right question that should be asked of your team is what motivates people individually in the workplace?  Why do people come to work everyday, and what drives them to continue to give 100% each day?  If, as a leader you are having those types of one on one conversations with your team, regardless of the level, you are well on your way to having positive and engaged morale within the workplace. 

In my environment, I feel very disconnected from what is going on when I have those days that I am behind closed doors.  It's as important for me to be out with team seeing what is working, or not working for them; coaching them when the opportunity presents itself; and if nothing else just having informal conversations about what is going on with people individually. 

It is important that individuals feel connected with all levels of leadership, maybe not on a personal level, but at least on a genuine, interpersonal level.  It is important to remember where we came from in the workplace, and how we can use our experiences to mentor others for future success.  I have found that these connections are key to keeping morale positive, and individuals motivated to do their very best.

By nature, I am huge introvert, although, most that interact with me will wholeheartedly disagree.  If you invest connecting with people where they want you to connect with them, trusting relationships occur.  It is incumbent on us as leaders to develop and maintain those trusting relationships on a daily basis to ensure a positive culture exists.  When the culture is positive, morale is high and self motivation is increased.  People want to contribute more as a result.

The best environments are where team members feel that they "get" to come work and "want" to be part of something larger than themselves.  I love the fact that I "get" to go to work everyday, because I am motivated to have a positive impact on others everyday!

Have a great week!!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Progress, not perfection

Progress, not perfection.

This is a statement that I have learned over the last few years when in coaching and development situations.  I first heard this statement from a good friend that is in an AA program, and it is one that I have been able to transfer to coaching and development.

In my contact center, I have several front line representatives that are very hard on themselves for making an error.  They expressed to me that in other positions, errors were not acceptable and that they could lose their jobs for making mistakes.  My immediate question back to them was, what did you learn from that previous negative experience.  Typically their response was that they needed to slow down and make sure their work was correct the first time.  Interesting.  Slow down and make sure that you don't make the same mistake again. 

What I didn't hear from that interaction was that representative was never coached and developed.  How much effort would it have taken for the supervisor to spend an extra couple of minutes and have a conversation with that employee about their thought process, or what they were looking at when the error occurred.  Getting employee feedback as to the why an error occurred is more important than the error itself.  By doing so, it can lead to identification of process improvements, training gaps, or system enhancements.  At the human level, it can demonstrate to the employee that leadership really does care about them as individuals, not just numbers.

Whenever coaching a manager, supervisor, or front line agent, focus on root cause of the error.  The thought process leading up to the error is more important than the error itself.  Progress, not perfection means to me that errors and mistakes are going to occur.  What is more important though is what an individual learns from the error, and how the individual and organization can develop from the mistake.

Baseball is the best analogy for not being perfect.  What other profession can you be successful 30% of the time and have a 20+ year career and reach your professions Hall of Fame. 

Next time you find yourself with a teachable moment, take the time to remind the person that your expectation is that they are progressing forward, not backward as a trend.  Force them to critically think about what they are doing.  If you do so, you will have a much more engaged organization.

Have a great weekend!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Be the Difference!

What if?

In Garth Brooks song, "If Tomorrow Never Comes" he says, "Tell that someone that you love, just what your thinking of, if tomorrow never comes."

This is something that I have been thinking about a lot recently, both personally and professionally.

What if your business plans had to take an unexpected turn?
What if people that you expected to see each day, were no longer there?
What if skills you took for granted today, did not exist tomorrow?

Is the future of those around you secure?  Have you made sure that those that need to have the answers, actually have them?

I know I have asked a lot of questions, however, are you setting your legacy up properly?

I had the privilege of having a phenomenal leader work with me several years ago who made sure her legacy was a positive one.  She worked hard for her team on a daily basis.  I asked her one time why she put so much effort into what she did.  She replied that at the end of the day, it did not matter what she personally accomplished, but rather that when someone uttered her name many years in the future, that there would be positive thoughts associated with her name.  I can say that all who came in contact with her had both personal and professional respect for her.

Recently there have been several people who I knew personally and professionally that have passed away.  I regret that I did not get to know them better than what I did, because they truly left a positive legacy associated with their name.

As a leader, how are you going to be remembered?  Are your employees going to remember you as someone you genuinely cared about them, or someone that was more focused on achieving a number?  Make sure you have proper lines of communication in place to so that your organization can continue in your absence, or the absence of others.

Take time tonight, tomorrow, this week, next week, and as often as you can and tell people around you that you truly care about them.  I guarantee that it will have as much an uplifting effect on you, as it will on others.


Sunday, February 5, 2012

Teachable Moments

Everyday has its teachable moments, it is up to each person as an individual as to whether or not they choose to take advantage of those moments.

In education, it is expected that teachers and administrators are always providing those teachable moments for their students.  In the workplace it is expected that supervisors are always providing those teachable moments.  In sports, it is expected that coaches are providing those teachable moments.  Unfortunately, in all of these scenarios, those teachable moments do not always occur.

The question I pose is why are those teachable moments not acted upon.  There are a myriad of reasons as to why they don't, in my opinion, but at the end of the day it comes down to WIIFM (What's In It For Me).

I have had the privilege of being associated with individuals that thought less about the WIIFM, and more about the impact of not taking advantage of a teachable moment.  As a student, in retrospect, I learned the importance of creating a baseline for future learning.  As a youth sports coach, I learned the importance of setting a high bar, and to focus on fundamentals.  As a rising leader, I learned the importance of controlling what I could control, and not put as much effort into negativity in the workplace.  The important aspect of teachable moments is for leaders to be open to these moments, either as a learner or as a teacher.

If you expect excellence from those around you, you need to demonstrate what excellence looks like.  Take the moments, personally and professionally to not expect A+ efforts, but give people insight as to what A+ effort looks like.  What's in it for you?  A stronger organization, a better way forward, buy in to the vision, commitment.

I saw a great teachable moment by a group of law enforcement officers having lunch together.  Two younger officers were giggling and making comments about a very overweight officer from another department.  The older officer that was with them told them to knock it off and presumably that their behavior was inappropriate.  You could tell that the older officer was very direct as the giggling ceased immediately.  This example is where an experienced professional took advantage of a teachable moment, and hopefully the younger officers will remember their experiences.

Take advantage of teachable moments every chance they arise.  You never know when one of these moments will be life changing for you.  I have had several of these and each one of these A-ha moments has been more valuable than the last

Have a great week!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Get Fired Up!

When you get up each day are you Fired Up?  Do you bring that same passion to the workplace?

Jon Gordon wrote in his book "Soup", that the reason that Grandma's soup tasted better than anything purchased or canned is because of the extra ingredient that Grandma always put in, "Love".  Grandma's soup had purpose and she wanted to make sure that each ladle of her soup was just as good as the ladle before.

In organizations large and small, each leader has their own special ingredient to add to the organization, but at the end of the day it is the love, passion, and vision for achieving results which is a leaders special ingredient.  What happens when plans go awry?  Are leaders willing to mix others ideas into their own organizational soup to change for the better?  Are their obstacles to success that the leader is not seeing that are causing performance shortfalls?

There are leaders in every organization who are considered subject matter experts.  Those experts have demonstrated job knowledge and have experiences that others in the organization may not have.  It is important that leaders recognize these SME's.  Also within organizations are individuals with perspectives and experiences that may lend insight to project and organizational growth.  These individuals should never be discounted.  It is the careful mixing of perspectives and experiences with documented expertise (ingredients) that make the organization as a whole special.

It is important for leaders to take time out of each day to learn of these different perspectives within the organization.  In doing so, the organization becomes stronger.  How does the organization become stronger?  Employees at all levels believe they are connected to decision makers.  By having that connection, the individual does not want to disappoint someone that they feel a connection with.  They feel their perspectives are truly being heard.  The caveat here, leaders must be genuine about their connection building and individuals who have shared with you, also should be followed up with.

If the "Soup" within your organization is not how it should be, as a leader at any level take the time over the next week to reconnect with your team, department, organization.  Start small, but be genuine about this and make sure you understand what has made your organization so appealing to others.  Stir in your passion for excellence and your love for what you do and you will see improvements in areas that you had not seen before.

Ignite the passion in others that you have within yourself for success!