The Coaching Role: Inspiring and Motivating3
For instance, realizing that money is not always the best
performance motivator, listen carefully and observe your people to
know what they consider worthy and important. Every serious
study of team behavior over the last 30 years shows that numerous
short-term and long-term career incentives are more important
than income increases when it comes to energizing employee
performance, morale and loyalty.
Demonstrating that you care for employees as unique
individuals inspires today’s workforce.
Based on those studies, the following exercise is designed to
help you find motivators of special relevance to your own people.
Remember: Think of answers you believe would be especially
significant as motivators in your own special team environment.
- Shared Goals
In the blanks on the left, list three goals you and your associates would
consider desirable ... unanimously. Product quality might be a common goal.
Manageable deadlines might be another. What others would be uniquely true
for you and the people on your team? In the blanks at the right, write one step
that could be taken to achieve each goal. A step for product quality might be to
pay more attention to the specs or have a team member check another’s work.
Unanimous Goal Step to Achieve
- Self-Esteem
List three ways you might increase the self-esteem of your associates,
individually. Be specific and realistic. Don’t say, “Compliment them more
often.” Instead say, “Compliment Patrick on his performance twice a week
starting at lunch next Tuesday.” What other ways can you help maintain the
self-esteem of the people on your team?