Want real motivation in your team? How about people with a real sense of personal responsibility? And loyalty, would you like a team that shows real loyalty?
Yes?
OK, then try this: be more honest, and less motivational.
Many managers use motivational strategies as an excuse to avoid having to look in the mirror and deal with shortcomings in their own styles. When you do that, your employees can tell. As an employee yourself, you can tell! You might respond to your own boss’ motivational tactics in the following ways:
- You may see it as a diversion tactic: “My boss is trying to ‘motivate’ me so I won’t mind being bossed around so much.”
- You may see it as projection: “My boss thinks we’re a team of unmotivated, disengaged bunch of lazybones, and is making us sit through a presentation on work ethic, all because she doesn’t know how to give clear direction.”
- You may see it as unnecessary: “My boss and I have an arrangement: I do my job, I get my salary. I hit certain performance benchmarks, I get a bonus. I get it. What do I need this motivation stuff for?”
- You may see it as a ham-fisted attempted to play the part of manager: “My boss is a doer at heart. She has no real interest in management, and doesn’t really get it. Every once in awhile, she does this motivational thing because she thinks she’s supposed to.”
- You may see it as genuine: “My manager gets me. I respect him. He knows I’m feeling off right now, and I appreciate the attempt to help me through.”
- You may see it as a boondoggle: “My manager is taking us to the mountains for our off-site? Awesome! Get the skis!”
The trick is to remember this set of responses start to apply to your efforts to motivate when you are the boss… and use that as motivation yourself to stop lighting fires under other people’s butts and just take care of the fire in your own belly.
Which starts by being honest with yourself.
Jason Seiden is Co-founder and CEO of Ajax Social Media, a training company that shows professionals how use social media to work more effectively.
I'm the CEO of Ajax Social Media. We're helping 1 million people shine by making their online stories better. 
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