Questions that help leaders discover the roots of motivation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Find out what your people really value and then work with them on a plan that fits both your needs. You can try ordering your employees to work harder and be more motivated, but any success you have with that approach will probably be limited.

A better strategy is to find out what your people really value and then work with them on a plan that fits both your needs. Start by asking these questions: 

+ “What’s going well for you here?” You may discover that the employee sees success and satisfaction differently from the way you do. This can help you develop incentives that address employees’ needs better.

+ “What have you accomplished that you’re really proud of?” Try to assign similar tasks and projects so your employees will be strongly motivated to do their best.

+ “What would make you feel more successful?” Take money out of the equation, but explore what kinds of rewards, internal and external, the employee would really respond to—more flexibility, development opportunities, greater autonomy, and so forth. 

+ “What do you want to accomplish in your career?” Examine employees’ short-term and long-range goals. Can you help them get started or make better progress?

+ “What would you like to do more of, and less of?” Look for ways to expand tasks that employees really like to perform and minimize those they don’t. You may not be able to completely eliminate the unpleasant tasks, but paying attention to your employees’ welfare and happiness at least shows that you’ve got their best interests in mind.

+ “How do you define success?” The answer to this question will tell you a lot about what the employee is really looking for in his or her career.

 

 

To your greater success!

 

Peter Mclees, LMFT

Principal

P. S. Smart Development Inc. has an exceptional track record helping restaurants, stores, branches, distribution centers, food production facilities, and other businesses create a strong culture, leadership bench strength and the teamwork necessary for growth. Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.

http://smartdevelopmentinc.com/