At a recent leadership workshop for managers, the participants were asked to reflect on a time in their career when they felt the most energized, excited and motivated. You can think of this yourself and see if your answers are similar. The circumstances were different for each person and yet the answers were remarkably similar.

What managers said made them the most energized and motivated:

• Were challenged – faced a difficult assignment and were uncertain of their ability to succeed
• Learned something new
• Received encouragement from a boss or mentor
• Received acknowledgement for a job well done
• Were made to feel part of a group/team
• Were able to master a part of the job

Interestingly, the answers from several groups of managers, employees, supervisors and senior executives were all the same.

In our training module Understanding People, Motivation and Performance, participants are asked to rate what they perceive to be the top motivators of employees.

What managers perceive as most important to employees:

1. High Wages

2. Job Security

3. Promotion

4. Good working conditions

5. Interesting work

What employees say is most important to them:

1. Full appreciation of work done

2. Feeling of being in on things

3. Help on personal problems

4. Job security

5. High wages

Key questions senior leaders need to ask themselves:

How do we create a climate where employees feel challenged, get full appreciation, are able to master their jobs, feel part of the workgroup and get encouragement?

Solutions to Create a Motivational Climate

1. Job rotation – give employees the challenge of mastering many different jobs. Even if they initially are apprehensive to move out of a position they have mastered, encourage them. Even if it’s easier in the short term for the manager to keep the best employees in the same jobs, rotation will create more motivation across the whole workgroup.

2. Provide high quality training – give employees a chance to learn new skills from a person who knows how to train effectively.

3. Practice inclusion, avoid exclusion – help all employees understand the important role they play in the success of the team and operation as a whole. This includes temporary and contract workers, co-op students, summer students. Treat everyone as a first-class citizen and no-one as a second class citizen.

4. See success, recognize it and offer praise – if you want to see greater performance, you need to build on the good performance and avoid focusing primarily on mistakes.

5. Communication – while most managers feel that they communicate enough already, most employees do not agree. Managers need to recognize that very few people get things the first time they hear it (including the managers themselves) and so messages need to be repeated often.

Need help making this happen? Call or email and let’s talk. (866)700-9043 or info@uniquedevelopment.com

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