Thursday, July 22, 2010

The Myth of Self-Motivation

While facilitating a team of executives recently, one of the leaders talked about how the newer and younger employees were not self-motivated. I asked what that meant. “They are not as committed to the organization and what we are trying to do.” When I asked what they were committed to do, it was hard for him to articulate that.

Try this on — look through a different lens. Work hard to find out what your employees are committed to – use that as a starting point. When we work with teams that are struggling, the first question I ask the group is, “Who in here comes to work each day trying to screw up?” After much laughter, I ask if they believed the same of their people. It really is an “ah ha” moment. I encourage you to look through a different lens. As a manager, what types of environment are you creating that allow your team to commit to doing their best each day? It’s amazing how this simple approach can make a difference in organizations.

With permission, GlobalEDG.com June 2010