Free Article By Paul Glen of C2
Consulting
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To Motivate, Don't Demotivate
(This article originally appeared in
Computerworld USA and Computerworld Australia.)
Recently, a couple of intended compliments
threw me for a loop. Two people called me in the same week and wanted me to
present keynote speeches at their conferences. Of course, that was the
flattering part, but what got to me was that they both referred to me as a
"motivational speaker."
Since I'm a typical geek, the phrase
motivational speaker immediately sets off alarm bells in my mind. It conjures up
an image of some tall, tanned, large-toothed, smiling charisma machine expertly
manipulating the emotions of a crowd, whipping up a frenzy at one moment and
bringing forth tears of sadness and joy the next.
"Well, I suppose that many people find what I
have to say motivating," I suggested, "but I don't try to make people cry or
tell stories about overcoming cancer."
"Oh, that's fine," they both said.
Whew!
But the invitations got me thinking about all
the things managers do to try to motivate their staffs: giving inspirational
speeches, handing out bonuses, making up awards, inviting everyone out for
drinks, hosting family picnics or sending staffers to training on cool new
technology that they may never get to use.
I admire the sentiment of those active
managers, trying to motivate their teams. But when I reflect on the most engaged
groups I have worked with, it's not clear that managers who explicitly try to
light a fire under their teams are any more successful than those who are less
attentive.
True motivation in technical teams tends to
grow organically. Individuals find their own motivation in many sources. For
some, it's the opportunity for learning and advancement. For others, the broad
and perhaps even global results of their work are very engaging. Some are just
excited to work with the group of peers they are currently engaged with.
But the one thing that most of the managers
with motivated groups do have in common is that they all avoid demotivating
their teams.
Although the motivation of teams grows
organically, often out of the control of managers, demotivation and dejection
usually start at the top. Internally generated motivation tends to be a
relatively fragile state. While a manager may not be able to create a motivated
team, he often has the power to kill whatever motivation grows.
So, what sorts of things do managers do that
demotivate their teams?
Excluding technicians from decision-making.
Technical people's distress at being left out of major decisions is about more
than just feeling out of the loop. They often sense that their talents have been
disregarded. They have been insulted. And, since many decisions are influenced
by technical considerations, they also feel that the decisions themselves could
be suspect, since managers' technical knowledge is rarely respected. Any of
these interpretations would qualify as demotivating.
Inconsistency. People who are drawn to careers
in technology typically have a strong need for consistency and predictability.
Early interactions with computers are quite comforting for them. As youngsters,
they draw conclusions about computers, their parents and themselves. "If I type
in this command, the computer always does the same thing. That's cool. I wish my
mom was that predictable."
Next thing you know, they're programmers. When
managers are inconsistent, at best they create distractions, and at worst they
encourage their people to feel insecure. Neither result is particularly
motivating.
Excessive monitoring. Among technical groups,
there are few bigger insults than to call someone a micromanager. The feeling of
being micromanaged is profoundly demotivating. Monitoring someone excessively,
intentionally or not, communicates distrust for the person being overseen. And
in many kinds of technical work, it can also serve as an impediment to progress.
In intellectually demanding, creative work, interruptions can disrupt thinking
for long periods of time. A manager's one-minute drop-by can result in hours of
lost productivity regaining the concentration lost.
So if you want a truly motivated team, one of
the best things you can do is to make sure that you're not a demotivational
leader. As it turns out, not having a negative effect on your team can be a huge
positive.
