What are the key components of a successful and productive workforce? Focus, purpose, skill, equity, reinforcement, completion, and most importantly, motivation. Motivation is a proactive driving force meant to energize, propel, and guide a staff. Successful motivation is a bit of a moving target – with a changing set of obstacles and effective stimuli – but it is one of the most worthwhile endeavors a skilled manager can partake in.
At its starting point, motivation operates on an individual level – but it quickly grows and influences an entire team – with the potential to change the team’s culture. That culture, in turn, folds back and influences the individuals. It’s a continuing cycle that greatly determines whether your organization is heading towards success or failure.
Properly motivated team members have a greater sense of purpose, equity, professional accomplishment, and satisfaction in their jobs. Providing positive reinforcement along the way enforces expectations and acknowledges success – providing the ever-important incremental motivation (and good energy), even during difficult times. Good managers understand this and leverage motivation to get the most out of their employees and create a positive work environment. Simply put, motivated team members are good for an organization. They worker harder, more efficiently, and without as many distractions. Also, managers better serve their employees personally by motivating them.
But what happens when individuals and a team become demotivated? Demotivation is the equivalent of an engine running out of fuel. It robs employees of energy, focus, efficiency, performance, and in the end – an organization doesn’t get to its destination. And just as motivation can positively influence a team culture, demotivation creates a negative culture – and it does so very quickly. Nothing is more infectious than discontent.
Demotivation causes distractions. Distractions alone are extremely detrimental to a workforce and an organization. Productivity and Human Resource return-on-Investment (ROI) plummets. And when distractions are caused by demotivation and a negative work culture, the impact is several-fold. So what are some sources of demotivation?
Changes in a business market, competitive conditions, personal issues, (including stress), and even the weather can demotivate a staff to varying degrees (all puns intentional). And although some sources are not always within a manager’s direct control, their responses are. Skilled managers are sensitive to these environmental factors and can motivate despite them. That said, a careful balancing act goes a long way towards maintaining a professional environment that is not too influenced by those outside factors.
Another source of demotivation is confusing or conflicting job requirements. If your team members lack a clear agenda, they can become demotivated even before approaching tasks. Skilled managers will always communicate clear and reasonable job requirements – and reaffirm them on a regular basis. Clear job requirements should lead to clear and reachable goals. One sure way to demotivate a staff is to set goals that cannot be reached – a common problem. Unreachable goals not only decouples success and accomplishment from a professional experience, it also destroys confidence. Also, unreachable goals are often perceived as corporate disconnect and can harm a management’s (and the organizations) credibility.
What are some other sources of demotivation? For one thing, managers can sometimes attempt to force authority through intimidation and fear tactics. Although it can be easily applied and can also be an intoxicating approach for an unskilled manager, this technique does not work, particularly beyond the moment. It creates animosity, conflict, and leads to a dysfunctional work culture. Indeed de-motivational.
Also, manager and/or corporate policies can be a source of demotivation. Particularly reductions in Human Resources. Measures designed to save money through reductions in HR count and hours are often implemented because they have an immediate accounting impact on expenses. However, they often backfire on an organization’s ability to normally operate and generate profits. Reduced hours, pay cuts, layoffs, and the like, are a major source of demotivation. They further darken the lines between executives, managers, and their staff. In addition, feelings of victimization and distance from the organization are often the result. The perception of being an equity stake-holder is damaged and the effect is certainly demotivating. It also leads to a measurable reduction of on-the-job efficiency for individuals and harms the team culture by negatively influencing otherwise positive-minded team members. And other important side-effect of reduced Human Resources – the loss of professional knowledge, experience, and leadership. Not only does that affect the operational efficiency of an organization – it is demotivating as well. Lastly, the remaining employees are often tasked with producing the same output and efficiency as that observed previously. Unreachable and yes, demotivating.
Sometimes we hire the wrong people. Hiring practices tend to focus on some farm of interpreted skill-level (often a bit overblown during the resume/interview process). Although skill is important, I submit that a candidate’s personality and ability to fit into a team culture are just as important. Skill and technical ability can be learned, a personality profile often cannot. And I’ll say this, it takes much longer to build a positive work culture than it does to destroy one. And all it takes is one person to start that destruction.
Another demotivating factor has to do with what I often refer to as the one-size-fits-all managerial approach. Again a fairly easy approach for unskilled managers to conceptualize and implement – it assumes that one management technique can be applied across all individuals in an organization equally. As “fair” as that may appear on the surface, in practice – it makes assumptions that will prove untrue most of the time. Skilled managers understand what motivates and demotivates their staff individually. They will apply different styles of management where they have the greatest potential for success and will avoid techniques that will likely lead to failure.
Businesses should set out to do many things simultaneously – provide quality products and services, reach and influence their customer base, operate at a profit, and do it all with a set of repeatable and reliable business processes. That last part can be the hardest to achieve. Keeping a team motivated is a constant battle, but will help your organization maintain the consistency and repeatability it needs to deliver its business objectives. The demotivated team is an obstacle that takes time to turn around. And, that resulting team culture almost always outlives the employees that helped create it. . . . influencing new employees who quickly become demotivated as well. And if you think those negative sentiments stay in-house, think again – your customers, and potential customers, pick it up fast . . . and will go elsewhere.
So what else can we do to avoid the pitfalls of demotivation? First, business need to hire skilled managers, preferably those with experience handling personnel issues at the ground-level and know how to manage a staff – that includes motivating them. A skilled manager is NOT someone who simply delivers agenda and orders handed down to them. They would be the best qualified to identify issues and directly apply management techniques for the betterment of their staff and the organization. Smart organizations usually employ smart managers – and those managers typically have a more engaged and efficient staff. They stay longer too – so they are often more experienced and better understand the organization’s mission . . . more sources of efficiency. Corporate executives need to create policy and agenda that enables and motivates managers, so they can enable and motivate their staff. The goal is for all to operate at their highest levels.
Remember, motivation is a moving target, so keep your eyes and ears open at all times. Demotivating factors can appear and catch fire quickly. Do your best to mitigate those risk factors – and be careful not to be the cause of them. Your staff is your company’s life-blood and its most valuable asset. Treat it as such and the rewards will be plenty.
MP