Your project lead sits at his desk doodling while the other employees are eagerly completing their work assignments. The day is almost over, and it is clear the employee will have nothing to show for their eight hours of work. As their manager, you want to light a fire under the employee and get them motivated. Apathetic employees can be the ultimate frustration for a manager, but you cannot magically transform an unmotivated employee into the office superstar. It takes effort.
The usual tendency for managers to react to disengaged, lackluster performance with threats, pressures and pushes. After all, you are paying for performance and not inactivity. However, research has shown that more pressure in the form of rewards or write ups, yelling, or threatening, typically causes more problems than it solves. While those actions might get your short-term compliance in the long-term this behavior is likely to continue and possibly become worse.
So, is there another way to motivate the unmotivated?
You must find something that is a motive, something that fulfills them. Or you have got to move them to a place or position where they can do something where they are fulfilled.
By definition, unmotivated employees have the capability of doing their jobs, but simply are not producing results. As a manager, it is your job to do whatever it takes to get them involved and wanting to do their very best, but how? There are no surefire ways to inspire motivation in the unmotivated, but there are steps you can take to improve your odds:
Accept that you cannot force motivation.
Reject the concept that motivation is something you do to others. As a manager you can equip, coach, train, and inspire your employees, but you cannot force them to be motivated. Motivation is internal, an employee who does not want to change will not.
Hire right.
The easiest way to have motivated employees is to hire the right people for the right job. Look for self-motivated employees, employees who fit into your company culture, employees who are equipped and well qualified to do the job. When you hire right, motivation typically takes care of itself.
Demonstrate the behavior.
A leader can only inspire motivation if they model motivated behavior themselves. A leader always sets the tone for their team. If you want a successful and productive team, then you cannot demonstrate lazy behavior.
Manage by walking around.
Managers should spend time walking around the office, watching each person's reactions to events, listening, and taking notes about what everyone is drawn to and what their employees struggle with. Walking around and talking to your employees and inquiring about their work shows you care about their work, that you are engaged and knowledgeable about their work. A manager who is involved inspires motivation easier than the manager who is uninvolved.
Ask what is the problem.
E
ven the best employees can become exhausted, ineffective, or cynical at work. When you notice a performance issue the only way to handle it is to face the issue and have a real conversation.
Asking an employee if they are OK, and if there is anything you can do to help, is often enough to begin resolving issues. As a manager, you have an obligation to your team, and it is your objective to establish a relationship that allows for open and honest conversations about any issues when they arise.
Recognize Growth.
It is disheartening when we feel no progress, when the work we do seems futile. The result of the stagnation is the employee's motivation dies. When progress is being made and victories are being won, there is no better motivator. Progress is powerful. Reflect with your employees on how far they have come, and the good work accomplished.
Knowledge is power. You cannot inspire motivation in an employee who you do not understand.
Question number one should be to find out why they are not working up to their potential. Determining what the gap is between ability and execution is the only way a manager can assist the employee in solving the problem. The more a manager knows the better chance they will have of uncovering what incentives motivate their employee. Is it money, flexibility, prestige, recognition, workplace relationships? What aspects of the current working environment do they find challenging and discouraging? Once the motivators are known by the manager then they can go about solving the problem.
Paint the big picture.
To garner the most results, you must be able to explain the big picture. It is easy for an employee to get lost in the tactical details of work, but not understand how all of the details tie together to create the panoramic picture of the organization's mission. Tying the details together demonstrates the value of each small step and how it works to hold the ultimate vision together.
Set goals. When
an employee understands the goal they are working towards, then it is easier for them to plan and manage their time in order to realize that goal. Not being given clear milestones and timelines is confusing and can make tasks feel useless and a waste of time.
Completing projects ahead of time, or achieving over-and-beyond the original target, can be a great boost to motivation, especially when the manager takes the time to acknowledge the accomplishment.
Set clear expectations.
It is very difficult for an employee to meet expectations when they do not know what the expectations are. A critical success factor is to make your performance expectations very clear. Tell an employee what is acceptable and what is not. An unmotivated, sub-standard performance is never an acceptable goal. Clear communication is always needed when strong performance is desired.
Tap their interests.
You do not have to pressure people to do what interests them. This option is not always readily available and as a manager you may have to think outside of the box to discover how to make this happen, but when you can the results can be amazing.
Allow employees to move on.
Sometimes an employee is just in the wrong position. When the employee does not have the skills and motivation needed to perform their role, then the management solution is straightforward: They should not be in the job. It is the role of the manager to either transfer them to a new position or release them to find and fulfill their potential in another organization.
All effective leaders want their organizations to be filled with motivated employees, but inspiring real motivation is not a quick task. Bribery
and temper tantrums may produce quick results, but those results will come at a cost and they will not last. Long-term motivation comes from within the employee themselves, and the major function of a successful leader is to work on inspiring motivation by focusing on the growth of their team.