You want to motivate your managers to focus more on business critical items? Such as the development of their team members? Or prospection at new accounts?
Chances are you’ve included these critical items in their objectives, with a performance-linked bonus. Nothing against that if you only want to encourage and co-responsibilise your managers in the short term.
But there’s a catch: if you want to create intrinsic long-time motivation, forget about rewards. They just don’t work. In business they don’t work and at home they don’t work. So what does?
Rewards don’t create intrinsic motivation. It’s simple: people are far more motivated for the things they want to do, than for the things they must do.
Now think about external rewards. With these rewards you give the message that there is no choice. In fact, you even convey the message that the activity in itself is not rewarding enough, and that is why you are giving an extra reward to tilt the balance. In addition, you create future expectations, leading people to think this activity only needs to be done when there’s an external reward.
Rewards tend to create undesired behavior. It’s no surprise: people start considering it’s the reward that is important, not the matter at hand. As such, the external reward becomes the true focus of attention, rather than the critical item you wanted to motivate on.
Did you ever notice how people like to ‘tick the box’, just enough to get the reward – even if there was no true progress on what the reward was truly for? But also, did you ever notice how people completely shift what they consider important when their objectives change?… And how many are reluctant to pursue a mission if it’s not ‘in their objectives’? Something to think about…
Rewards create consequences, sometimes at the expense of motivation. It’s counter-intuitive: while we recognize that rewards are a good method to let team members share in the successes they helped to create, and that rewards are a good method to variabilise compensation, we consider the motivation lasts only as long as the reward lasts.
But even then, the impact is not always so positive. Did you ever watch the ‘motivation’ (or should we say frustration) of those who considered their objectives too ambitious? And of those who didn’t get the full reward?
Try autonomy
Try autonomy. It’s more effective: autonomy creates intrinsic motivation for the long run. Remember, people are far more motivated for the things they want to do, than for the things they must do. Help them reflect themselves on what ought to be done, and why that is so important. Very often they’ll get to the same conclusions as you – but now at least they understand why it is so important.
Then provide just enough support and encouragement so they feel the challenge is achievable. By letting them motivate themselves, you have the best chance of motivating them – truly, and for the long run.
If you would like to know more about this topic, develop your motivation skills during our boost seminars, coaching programs and development trainings, don’t hesitate to contact us!