Management: Expectations = Motivation

Last month I talked about expectation setting and I touched on how motivation is based on proper and realistic expectations.  I want to talk a bit more about motivation, and how important setting those proper and realistic expectations are to an employee’s motivation.  Before I continue though, what are the two primary forms of motivation that you employ, or have been used with you?  I’m willing to bet your answers were:

1. Money
2. Losing your job

While these two things can be motivational, they are only going to work to a point.  When it comes to money people will only work hard enough to make what they want or need, and when it comes to the threat of losing their job they will only work hard enough to not lose that job.  With that said, I want to look at real motivation, and how expectations can affect those motivations.

Money
When it comes to money, what about it motivates you?  Is it just having money that’s the motivation for your work, making more sales or pushing your team to sell and close more business?  Before you answer, think about that for a moment.  It isn’t money that motivates you, it’s what you can buy and do with that money that motivates you.  I’ve talked about this in the past, but it bears repeating because most managers don’t get down to the core of what motivates people.  We also delude ourselves into believing that we’re just working hard to make money.  It just isn’t true.

When I think about why I want to make money there are a couple of primary motivations.  I want to be able to max out my 401k each year and invest some more money because when I retire I want to do it comfortably.  I also want a nice home, and the ability to travel when I want to do so.  Of course there are little things here and there that money can help me get, but the primary motivation is my comfort and being able to retire comfortably.  Do you want to take a guess as to how many managers (sales or otherwise) have asked me about what motivates me?  Zero!  That’s right.  I’ve never had a manager ask me why I want to make good money.  How are you supposed to set expectations and help me set goals if you don’t know what motivates me?

Losing Your Job

Have you ever had your job threatened, or had to threaten an employee with their job?  My bet is that you’ve been in at least one of these situations.  What was the response?  I’ve been in both and I can tell you that a person will do the minimum to not lose their job, including me.  The problem isn’t the job, or lack thereof, that is causing the lack of motivation.  It’s that the manager has not set proper expectations for a person to achieve, and they haven’t helped the employee set SMART goals to achieve the expectations and personal goals.

Expectations = Motivation
If you’re in a situation where you find your people lacking motivation, or they aren’t meeting your expectations I have a challenge for you.  Take a step back and ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I have clear expectations set for my people as a team, and as individuals?
• Do these expectations make my people feel like they are a part of something more than just a company that sells a good or service?
• Have I made these expectations clear?
• Have I asked them individually what motivates them at a core level?  When they answered, “Making money,” did I challenge that and ask, “What do you want to buy/do with that money?”
• Have I helped them set SMART goals to meet the expectations and their personal goals?

If the answer to any of those questions is “No” then you haven’t done your job as their manager and leader.  Don’t fall into the trap that many managers fall into because they are strapped for time, or frustrated with results.  When you are too busy to manage your people, you need to reassess your priorities.  Your job is setting expectations and goals, and helping people meet them by holding them accountable.  If you’re frustrated with results, you can’t simply fall back to the “Fix it now or it’s your job” line.  You need to talk seriously about their future, but set forth clear expectations and help them set SMART goals to meet those expectations.  Failure to do so is failure as a manager and leader.

What types of questions do you ask your people to understand their core motivations?  How do you set expectations, and help your people set SMART goals to meet those expectations?

Ryan Lucia
recruitment@voyagemtg.com