I have been watching the electronic media as of late and one of the hot topics seems to be how to motivate employees.
If you Google the words employee motivation you get 12,600,000 results…WOW…that’s a lot to choose from. We tend to stop at the “Five Ways to Motivate Your Employees” or “The 12 Amazing Things You Have to Do in 2013 for Your Team.”
So how do we possibly find out what really motivates others anyway? I used to think that it was easy – just ask them! But then I found out that there is a large group of people who genuinely do not know how to answer that question. Plus it depends on who is actually asking the question. I would tend to see people answer the question differently if asked by the president of their company as opposed to their best friend.
With that in mind, I can’t help but wonder how far we have strayed from the individualistic approach to motivation. If there are more than 12 million websites to choose from, then there must be close to that many ideas on the subject or there are millions of websites saying the same thing. In any event, it is safe to say that there is no one way to motivate every member on your team. Providing a raise is no longer the top motivator for most in the U.S. workforce and providing recognition has now taken over the number one spot in the U.S. workforce as the top motivator. The problem here is, what does that mean and what about those who do not agree?
This is where a customized solution, that is much less expensive than you think, might be just what you and your team need. If you have ever heard of a personality profile called the DiSC Assessment, then you are half way to solving the mystery. If you have taken one, then you have solved the riddle. If you have not taken one, or have never heard of one, then read on.
If you take it, you will be asked a series of online questions that produce a detailed report about your personality and behavior. Then, once you receive the results, you will see for yourself. It will tell you what motivates you. I will share with you a couple of mine so you can see examples of motivators (in no particular order):
Developing new relationships;
Persuading others;
Achieving immediate results;
Inspiring others to do their best; and
Creating enthusiasm and momentum.
So, as you can see, this is much more specific than money and recognition. And I found this out for under $200. There are more, but this gives you a clue about me. So, if you were my team leader, you would have a great start on how to motivate me. And a motivated team member accomplishes more than one that is not motivated.
Want to know the opposite about yourself? What stresses you? Although you might think that this is easier to answer, you may be surprised on how off you are. Mine include:
Having to moderate your pace;
Partnering with over cautious people;
Following strict rules or protocols;
Analyzing options in depth; and
Slowing down to ensure accuracy and quality.
Just typing these gets me tensed up and makes me want to go back and focus on my motivators!
There is so much to this, so if you want to learn more, please e-mail me and I can help you take the assessment and also help you understand how to maximize this tools effectiveness.
So, why not DiSCover yourself today?