Face It… You Can’t Motivate Your People!

By Herbert M. Greenberg, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Caliper

Managers at wholesaler-distributors often ask themselves: “How do you motivate people?” Our answer is: “You don't.” When we delve below the surface, we have found that all effective managers share one thing in common: An ability to understand and focus on the inner motivations of themselves and of those around them.

The key phrase here is “understand and focus on the inner motivations.” In truth, managers can’t “motivate” others.

Bonuses, incentive plans, and contests do not essentially change performance. They all miss the mark because they deal with the external rather than the “internal motivations.”

Of course, people want promotions. They want the highest commissions they can receive. And they do not want to be fired. However, simply dangling these carrots does not create effective and consistently productive work.

The true motivation that causes individuals to excel comes from within. It is this inner motivation that distinguishes the 20% of those who succeed in virtually every profession. Effective managers have to uncover whether someone has the inner motivations needed to succeed in a particular position.

What Motivates Managers and What Motivates Salespeople?

For starters, the most effective managers like to make decisions and take risks. They are consistent and fair, command respect from others, and are good communicators. They are able to gather information and analyze it in reference to the company’s present and future needs. They know how to delegate projects. And they encourage growth in others as well as in themselves.

The most effective salespeople, on the other hand, possess very different qualities. They are able to understand what other people are thinking and feeling. They are motivated to turn others around to their point of view. And they are able to bounce back from rejection and seize the next opportunity.

Salespeople, unlike managers, want to be out there themselves, meeting prospects and clients, negotiating, and closing deals.

Added to this, some people are motivated by security, others want control, some are driven by accomplishment, others seek involvement, some want to belong, and others want to develop.

Embracing and acting on this understanding of what motivates people (new hires or existing employees) is certainly more complicated to deal with than using a broad stroke, a “one-size-fits-all” approach. But how these motivations are responded to (or ignored) sets the tone for the entire organization.

How Do You Identify These Motivating Forces?

There are three approaches to surfacing these factors:

1. Behavioral-Based Interviewing: Perhaps the most difficult, this approach relies on the expertise of the interviewer to elicit feedback from the applicant. Using very specific and probing questions to get to these motivational forces, the most-effective practitioners of this process have received extensive training in this approach and have had years of experience to refine their skills.

2. Personal Observation: When an individual is already on board as a member of the team, astute observers can simply pay attention to what motivation factors have the greatest impact on the individual.

3. Personality Assessment: A valid and legal personality test will routinely uncover this very important information, so that it can be used to focus the new hire or existing employee appropriately.

Tapping into, understanding, and focusing each individual’s inner motivations is the surest way for managers to develop a productive work force.


About this Blog

This blog is created by NAW and its partner Caliper, an international management consulting firm that offers a wide range of personnel services to wholesale distribution companies.