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Benjamin Ball

Why employee rewards won’tdrive your sales up –but this ebook will

Why employee rewards won’t drive your sales up - but this ebook will 1/39

Table of contents

Introduction ........................................................................................... 3

Part 1 Why financial incentives don’t work .................................................... 7

1. Money motivates people to work ......................................................................... 7

2. Rewards motivate people to work even harder .................................................... 9

A. Even in a situation where financial incentives do offer an additional drive, it impedes today’s worker’s creative faculties, becoming counterproductive.. 9

B. Giving financial bonuses may actually stifle intrinsic motivation .................. 9

C. Financial incentives become institutionalized too quickly ...........................10

D. Rewards are not necessarily an indicator of praise ...................................11

E. Giving bonuses can ruin the workplace atmosphere .................................11

Wrap-up .............................................................................................................12

Part 2 Creating intrinsic motivation at work ................................................ 14

1. Don’t DE-motivate your workers .........................................................................14

A. Policy ........................................................................................................14

B. Relationship with supervisor ......................................................................15

C. Working conditions ....................................................................................15

D. Salary ........................................................................................................15

E. Bonuses ....................................................................................................15

F. Status ........................................................................................................15

G. Security .....................................................................................................15

Conclusion .........................................................................................................16

2. Building an intrinsically motivating culture ..........................................................16

A. Allowing your people to grow ....................................................................17

1. Draw up a job description .................................................................17

2. Delegate responsibility, not work ......................................................18

3. Create measures for success ...........................................................18

4. Make a plan .....................................................................................19

5. Provide resources ............................................................................19

6. Provide knowledge of results ...........................................................20


7. Celebrate success ...........................................................................21

B. Making the job meaningful ........................................................................21

1. Share the company vision with them ................................................21

2. Create a company-wide vision .........................................................22

3. Share a bit of yourself ......................................................................22

4. Cultivate a culture of helpfulness ......................................................22

5. Listen to your people ........................................................................23

Conclusion .......................................................................................... 24

Motivation check sheet ....................................................................... 25

Workbook ............................................................................................ 26

1. Active listening ...................................................................................................26

A. What is active listening ..............................................................................26

B. Focus your attention ..................................................................................26

C. Acknowledge without interrupting ..............................................................27

2. Giving feedback .................................................................................................27

A. Make sure you understand correctly what’s being said .............................27

B. Respond in style .......................................................................................28

C. How to give negative feedback..................................................................28

D. How to give positive feedback ...................................................................31

3. Mission statement ..............................................................................................32

A. What is a mission statement?....................................................................32

B. Creating a mission statement ....................................................................33

C. Where should you keep it? ........................................................................34

D. Examples of mission statements ...............................................................34

4. Servant leadership .............................................................................................34

A. What is servant leadership ........................................................................34

B. Aspects of being a servant leader .............................................................35

5. SMART goal setting ...........................................................................................36

A. What are SMART goals.............................................................................37

B. The SMART criteria ...................................................................................37

C. SMART+ goals ..........................................................................................38

6. Behavioural assessment - Thomas International ................................................38


Introduction You’ve picked up this ebook because you want your employees to be motivated. You’re looking for the right way to do this; should you pay them more, install incentive schemes like many companies do? Or is it just a waste of money? And what can you do if you decide not to reward people with money or other things – how can you make sure people love their jobs, and give their all? All this and more you can find here.

This ebook consists of three parts: first, an insight into motivation and why financial incentives don’t work to motivate people. Second, a hands-on guide with practical advice and field-tested steps that will make your people more motivated than ever. And it won’t take you years to do it; you can start making a change as soon as you put down this ebook using the practical techniques outlined in part three, the workbook.

Stop throwing money away on incentives that don’t work – instead, take the time to read this ebook and transform the way your people work!

This e-book is short and snappy – that’s because I know your time is limited and that you want answers now. Remember while you read that this is just the tip of the iceberg – you should see the amount of information I went through to distill it down to these few pages! This is the executive summary of motivation theory, of coaching principles, of management techniques and the personal insights of dozens of people. I’ve locked myself up and done all this work for you, so you could enjoy it and reap the benefits of it. If you paid for this ebook, thanks! If you didn’t, please respect my work and buy a copy – it’s good value!

Why I wrote this ebook

After my law studies, I was at a loss what to do with my life. After wandering around a bit, I got a temp job at an American corporation. That’s where I got noticed by the e-commerce manager and hired as a copywriter. This quickly evolved into my becoming a full-fledged member of the e-commerce team. The two of us ended up running the European e-commerce department for four years, over-achieving on our quota every single year.

During this time, we had about four different managers. Our department kept shifting from sales to marketing, from the European sales manager to the worldwide manager. We experienced the close-up style of management from the next office as well as the distant voice on a conf call. We worked in complete freedom, as well as with constant checkups. During this time, I was very aware of how the management style affected us. It came through in getting wider support for certain projects, even getting things done with other departments or in the higher echelons. My relationship with my managers also played a big role: some didn’t trust us, others got involved and worked with us instead of against us. Some made an effort to improve cooperation with the other teams that were working alongside us, others let things deteriorate resulting in friction between teams.

In my last two years at the company, I got involved with coaching and stared noticing the patterns around me, and the different management styles. I noticed how different personalities affected my drive at work. I began to see certain teams spending time with each other after work and how that made their department more effective, and fun. I saw other teams with hardly any communication between its members, much less with their manager. Needless to say this resulted in double work, constant fear for criticism and resentment. More than once, I inadvertedly surprised colleagues while they were browsing the job categories at work. I realised that everyone there had also floated in more or less by accident, just like me.


Being in sales, I was eligible for bonuses and rewards. I got my share! This is where I started noticing that these bonuses, or a raise, only motivated me temporarily. In fact, sometimes I even resented a bonus because it was mainly aimed at keeping us going, while there was no real knowledge or appreciation of what we did and our ideas. We just made the number, and they gave us a bonus for it. I began to see what was missing at work, what I wanted to achieve with my life. Slowly, my own business started taking shape. I left the company and started my own company, YourCoach BVBA, with my e-com colleague - the best decision I ever made.

But as I walked away I wondered: ‘What about those thousands of people out there that will work in companies all their lives?’ What can I give to those teams and departments that could make their working lives more fulfilling? I decided to take my experience and study the motivation theories, to come up with reasons why people weren’t motivated, and what could be done to get them motivated and engaged with the company. What would have made me stay at that company, or at least made me enjoy my work more and stay motivated? What’s the difference between a team or company like Apple where people are actually proud to work there and give their all, where people connect and cooperate, and others where it’s ‘just another job’ that they need to drag themselves to?

After months of studying and thinking, here’s what I came up with. To round of the introduction, I’ll give some more background on the concept of motivation and why it’s important to take a good look at the kinds of motivation your people have, how it works and how to cultivate it.

What is motivation?

Motivation, in its broadest sense, can be defined as forces acting either on or within a person to initiate behaviour1

There are a few different kinds of motivation:

. How do you measure motivation? Only indirectly, by looking at behavioral changes in reaction to internal or external stimuli. Motivation is a temporary thing. The same task or situation can alternately be highly motivating or demotivating.

Positive vs Negative Motivating forces can be positive, as in impelling one to reach a certain goal. They can also be negative, as in driving one away from an unwanted situation.

Internal vs External There is internal motivation, or push. It’s an internal state that impels one to act towards achieving a certain goal. Then there is external motivation, or pull. It’s when an external goal influences one’s behaviour towards them. Behaviour is a complex blend of internal pushes and external pulls.

Basic vs learned Motivation leans on motives. Motives are often categorized into basic motives and learned motives. Basic or primary motives are unlearned and common to both animals and humans. I’m talking about hunger, thirst, sex, avoidance of pain, and perhaps aggression and fear. The learned or secondary motives include achievement, power, recognition, love...

1 From the Encyclopedia Britannica.


Motivation is what gets people going. It strengthens the ambition, increases initiative and gives direction, courage, energy and the persistence to follow one’s goals. And in the context of this book: it’s what makes people come to work every day and perform the tasks that they are assigned in varying degrees of proficiency. It’s the attitude that makes them work harder and achieve more, when needed.

Why is motivation important?

As you’re reading this I’m sure you’re aware and convinced of the value of employee motivation. But why should you really care about motivation? As long as people come into work and do what they have to do, who needs motivation? They have a contract, they don’t need to be motivated, right?

You may be wary of investing in motivation schemes, as they make your profit smaller. And this is true! Any investment in employee motivation must be weighed against the potential profits you stand to gain. So how much could you gain from a workforce that is inspired, motivated and highly productive versus that which you have today?

It’s a great thing to care about the people that work for you and that in itself should be reason enough to want them to be motivated and happy at work. But you know that what you like isn’t always good for business. So the question is: can you make a hard business case about employee motivation? Is there a discernible ROI? I think you are completely allowed to ask this question! Think about the mountains of money that are spent on getting people motivated. Is it any use?

Some of the benefits of motivated employees:

Higher productivity Better quality work with less wastage A greater sense of urgency More employee feedback and suggestions made for improvements More feedback demanded from superiors and management Working at 80 to 95% of their ability

A motivated worker comes in on time. Does what is asked from the job – and even a bit more! They provide high quality work, are consistently productive and overcome obstacles and challenges. Doesn’t steal office supplies, or at least not in an inordinate amount. Plus, a motivated person inspires other people. So if you have a couple of naturally motivated workers, they’ll have an effect on the others.

You also know that trying to reach objectives with people that are resisting any kind of pressure or that are not rising to the challenge when needed, is an impossible task. Motivated people will stop looking at the problems and start offering solutions. Motivation makes the difference between getting there, and narrowly missing the target. And in today’s competitive marketplace, you just can’t afford to do things halfheartedly.

You can get people moving in the very short term by whipping them into action, but unmotivated employees will eventually look for another job. That means your turnover rate goes up, as does the amount of money you need to spend on training and tuning a new person into the team. And that’s the good scenario – what’s even worse is an extremely negative, unproductive person fouling up the workplace atmosphere and sabotaging success. Truth is, as a manager or business owner, motivation is your responsibility! A motivated team sticks together and grows over time, creating a powerhouse of productivity.


I’m sure you were already convinced of the need for employee motivation. Don’t rush in just yet though.

The first question you need to ask yourself here is: how motivated are my people right now? Don’t make any guesses! Many managers and business owners jump the gun and think they know how to motivate their people without even knowing who their people are. Go and find out. Ask them, or have your HR manager to ask them; conduct surveys; identify the top workers on your force and those that are performing less. Find out who is frustrated, bored or burnt out and why; seek out who is energetic, positive and productive – and why.

When you’ve found out really how motivated your people are, you can start assessing how motivated you want them to be. Only then can you start thinking about how exactly you’ll be doing that. We’ll start off first with something I think is rarely worth the money: institutionalised financial incentives. The second part of this ebook is about that phase: how to effectively motivate your people. I’ll give you some hands-on insights into how you can create a workforce that is inspired, diligent and productive. In the third part you find some practical tools to create an intrinsically motivating, inspiring culture in your team or company.

On we go!


Part 1 Why financial incentives don’t work It would be too easy to knock financial incentives. You can always find some reason for why something doesn’t work in certain situations or is potentially bad for you. Take the example of food. If you do some quick online research, you’re certain to find some article explaining why milk, broccoli, chicken, or some obscure yet notably nutritious Japanese vegetable may be OK for you in one way but is sure to contain some toxin that will sooner or later do you in.

So let’s take the positive road: I’m going to try and prove that financial incentives DO work! You’ve probably been search around the internet looking at incentives, because you genuinely want your people to be motivated. Please do, as you’ve read it’s important to work with motivated people! But read this first, and then decide whether you still think it’s worthwhile. Here we go - the common arguments for financial incentives: (1) Money motivates people to work and (2) Rewards motivate people to work even harder.

1. Money motivates people to work Money makes the world go round; at least, that’s what they say. It’s hard to imagine anything happening without money being involved. People around the world go to work so they can feed their families, live comfortably, maybe even go on holidays and buy some cool stuff. So the more money you give them, the happier they’ll be – right?

Yes, money is the main reason people go to work. But as we can gather from motivation theories and especially those that focus on human needs2

Money, and spending it, are not enough to sustain the human spirit. We exist for more than that.

, it serves to provide people and their surroundings with other things, to fulfill needs that are a reflection of their values and identity. Even for people to whom money seems like a goal in itself. Isn’t that more about the figures in their bank account and the indication it gives of their success and power?

Surveys and research studies repeatedly show that other factors motivate more than money3

Can money motivate, by allowing people to satisfy their needs?

. That being said, one cannot help but wonder:

“Money does motivate but only for a short time and only as long as it serves as a measure of worth or of power or of victory.” - James L. Hayes

2 Needs theories of motivation: check out http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/ to learn more.

3 For instance, a survey by Development Dimensions International published in the UK Times newspaper in 2004 interviewed 1,000 staff from companies employing more than 500 workers, and found many to be bored, lacking commitment and looking for a new job. Pay actually came fifth among the reasons people gave for leaving their jobs. The main reasons were lack of stimulation and no opportunity for advancement - 43% left for better promotion chances, 28% for more challenging work, 23% for a more exciting place to work, and 21% for more varied work.

http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/�


Investigating motivation at work, social scientist Frederick Herzberg4

In Herzberg’s studies, among the items bringing satisfaction salary was in fact mentioned, but only in the sense that it accompanied a person's achievement on the job. In other words, it was a form of recognition; it means more than money – it’s a job well done, progress. As a factor, salary belongs among those that define the job situation. When it is insufficient, it’s a dissatisfier (what Herzberg refers to as hygiene factors).

concluded that although pay and conditions could cause dissatisfaction when inadequate, the reverse was not true. Money doesn’t generate satisfaction when increased – this only comes from factors intrinsic to the job itself (like challenging work, recognition and responsibility).

So money is certainly important, and it can help people satisfy their existence needs (see Maslow’s hierarchy of needs5

). It’s a negative motivational driver if one doesn’t have enough for a decent civilized existence. But once a certain level has been achieved, money in itself is not a lasting positive motivator. When we look at the Maslow’s pyramid of needs figure below, we can situate money in the Safety level, also providing the necessary to satisfy Physiological needs. In itself, money creates no Belonging, Self-Esteem or Self-Actualization. As such, it can’t motivate people on a more evolved level.

Maslow's pyramid of needs

4 See http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/herzberg-motivators-hygiene-factors-theory/ for more information.

5 See http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/maslow-hierarchy-of-needs-theory/ for more information.

Self-Actualization

Pursue talent, creativity, fulfillment

Self-EsteemAchievement, Mastery,

Recognition

BelongingFriends, Family, Community

SafetySecurity, Shelter

PhysiologicalFood, Water, Warmth

http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/herzberg-motivators-hygiene-factors-theory/�

http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/maslow-hierarchy-of-needs-theory/�


2. Rewards motivate people to work even harder What are the implications for financial bonuses and other employee rewards? What is the added value of a bonus, if a person can already satisfy their needs with their current level of income? Supposing someone can sustain himself with his current level of income. Of course there’s always something more you can spend your money on, but the question is: will giving more money to your people so they can satisfy their needs away from the workplace make them more prone to invest their time and effort in work?

I know that in my case, the less satisfied I was with my job the more money I needed. My salary increases were used to compensate for the drudgery of work. I indulged in luxury items, fancy clothes, trips etc. The day I became self-employed I had significantly less money, but I didn’t need it – I was working on something that I was passionate about! I never regretted it, and no bonus in the world could have swayed me. Except for the one that would allow me to quit my job altogether, which I believe isn’t exactly what you are aiming for. So giving more money actually did keep me at the job, but it didn’t get me motivated - it merely kept me going at the minimum rate I could go without losing my job.

I’ve identified five difficulties with rewards that keep coming back in literature and confirmed by the experiences of myself and people around me.

A. Even in a situation where financial incentives do offer an additional drive, it impedes today’s worker’s creative faculties, becoming counterproductive.

Career analyst Dan Pink6

According to Pink’s research, money rewards only work for focused, menial tasks. As soon as you need creativity and a broad view, trying to get better results through money incentives actually leads to the reverse.

examined the puzzle of motivation and bonuses, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: traditional rewards aren't always as effective as people think (you, of course, are beginning to see things differently now).

He referred to years of experimental research which suggest that while financial incentives may be good in maximising productivity for simple tasks, they can actually result in lower performance for more complex tasks that require problem-solving or creativity.

What happens is that when people need to think creatively, they have to be able to access all their brain’s faculties. Having a reward to work for creates stress, and a one-dimensional focus on getting the problem solved. Under stress, however, your brain locks down and switches to adrenaline survival mode. You can figure out simple things like ‘is that a tiger in the grass’ or ‘what color is that block?’, but don’t start asking questions like ‘how would you engineer a light sabre’ or, to make it really concrete: ‘what are the needs of your customers?’

B. Giving financial bonuses may actually stifle intrinsic motivation

Let’s look at something called the over-justification effect. It occurs when an external incentive such as money or prizes decreases a person's intrinsic motivation to perform a

6 Daniel C. Pink – author of such works as ‘The adventures of Johnny Bunko’ and ‘A whole new mind’. See http://www.danpink.com for more information.

http://www.danpink.com/�


task. According to self-perception theory, people pay more attention to the incentive, and less attention to the enjoyment and satisfaction that they receive from performing the activity. The overall effect is a shift in motivation to extrinsic factors and the undermining of pre-existing intrinsic motivation.

So in fact, giving financial incentives may actually DECREASE the chances of your people gaining lasting motivation! Giving bonuses might work in the short run, but in the long term you’re undermining their intrinsic motivation for the content of the work.

Another potential problem with the reward approach is burnout. Egging people on by dangling bonuses connected to near-impossible targets is a sure way to exhaust people.

If you dangled a bonus in front of me all the time, as is often done with call-center employees for example, I’d probably burn out by always forcing myself to work harder. The pleasure would fade, it would turn into a rat race. Because the work itself wouldn’t become any more compelling. On the contrary; in this scenario work becomes an eternal obstacle course to get what you want: the bonus. The over-justification effect would turn work into a means to an end, and make it lose its intrinsic value. So bonuses can get me moving but they can’t keep me going. I need something else, something deeper.

Giving bonuses could end up hurting your business in the long term. In some professions, incentives may change people's behavior - but not necessarily in a good way. It mostly engenders blind short-term thinking. If you pay bankers to dream up new financial products to sell, that's what they'll do. Their bonuses being based on short-term sales figures, don’t expect them to blow the whistle to prevent the products from capsizing the company or, for that matter, the whole economy. That's not what you’re paying them for.

C. Financial incentives become institutionalized too quickly

Incentive systems quickly become institutionalized. That's the problem - it's what people come to expect.

Consider this video by top economist and author of the bestseller ‘Freakonomics’, the book that elucidates underlying economic truths about otherwise incomprehensible social and cultural phenomena.

In this video, he explains why financial incentives – the carrots in the ‘stick and carrot’ scenario – are insufficient to drive people to lasting motivation.

Steven Levitt - Why Incentives Don't Work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IFGt8EiQ3M

Levitt thinks that financial incentives are ‘far overrated in the business sector’. The problem is that people almost immediately become accustomed to them. If you award once, people expect them in the future.

He gives the example of his wife, whose company at one point decided to give a turkey to its employees for Christmas. The first year, the personnel were elated. The second, nothing much happened. The third year, they started to complain that the turkeys weren’t the same size as the year before, and bemoaned the injustice being done to them by their company. So as soon as the turkey was first given, people started seeing it as their ‘God-given right’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IFGt8EiQ3M�


Also consider the disconnect between the money and the actual work you’re doing. Will you tighten the bolts faster day after day, week after week, when thinking of the bonus? From my own experience, I’d say it would probably motivate me for three weeks, tops. Then the novelty of thinking about what I would do with the money would wear off, I’d get back into the drudgery of work, and I’d lose my drive.

A counterexample. A friend of mine works for an airline company. Her GM had received her yearly bonus (she was the only one who did) and decided to divide it amongst her team. She didn’t need to do this, and no-one would have known had she kept it for herself. But she did anyway, to thank her team for the job they’d done. She also expressly stated that they shouldn’t expect this in future. The fact that their boss shared her bonus with them when she didn’t have to, showed her team how much she appreciated them.

This element of surprise is important; when people come to expect bonuses, they quickly become accustomed to them. What made people feel appreciated in the above example is that it was unexpected, and that it wasn’t institutional – it was a personal gesture.

D. Rewards are not necessarily an indicator of praise

While I was writing this, I kept thinking back to my life as an employee. I remember there was a time that I was given a $10,000 reward for a successful product launch. This made me very happy at the time, but I distinctly remember feeling guilty that it didn’t really motivate me for more than a week. It didn’t change a thing about my work, which was at the time no longer providing me with satisfaction (except financially).

You see, to me it felt like receiving a lollipop for having been a good kid. The inherent flaw is that I have to give up something in order to receive it. Like it was some kind of pain I had to suffer in order to be eligible for a reward. And it was painful. The pain of engaging in a job that wasn’t intrinsically motivating. In a company that didn't have a culture that could inspire me, make me feel like a part of something bigger, or make me feel connected and useful.

I don’t want to point any fingers here; it’s up to every person to see to their own happiness. Which is why I left the company once I realized I wasn’t going to find it where I was – even though I was doing a good job and making more than enough money.

You can temporarily fill a hole with money, but it's a leaking cauldron. Money has no color, no smell, no meaning. Too often, it’s a way of hiding something that isn't there. Like a parent who buys you gifts instead of giving you attention. If you want to motivate someone to do a really good job, giving rewards on results doesn’t cut it. If I’ve picked up anything from motivation theories, it is that motivation comes from the content of the work and the culture in which it’s performed and they are much more important than the outcome of the work, even though this is instrumental in preventing dissatisfaction.

E. Giving bonuses can ruin the workplace atmosphere

I remember being upset when certain people in the company got bonuses while I know they just got lucky with a certain deal. In the meantime, I was working my ass off and getting nothing. That really pissed me off.

As Herzberg stated in his research, salary often comes up as a cause of dissatisfaction. This dissatisfaction then revolves around the unfairness of the wage system within the company. That’s why giving bonuses may have disastrous effects on workplace atmosphere.


The fatal flaw with all numerical targets and quotas is that they must be simple if they are to be understood and appreciated. Sadly, often simple also means simplistic, as in inadequate to carry the information necessary for the accomplishment of other goals. It's impossible to specify a simple target for a complex organization. Hence the lament of Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel, that for every incentive the company devised it had to implement at least one more to mitigate the harmful effects of the first.

Simple incentives make clever companies stupid like the banks, zapping even the instinct for self-preservation. And complex ones turn them into hotbeds of confusion, envy, fear and loathing, which is no better. Why should some people get bonuses and others not? Why is yours bigger than mine? In any organization made up of multiple teams and interdependencies, reliably calculating the responsibility for gain or loss is like counting angels on a pinhead. And trying to pay out it months or years later, with possible clawbacks depending on it, is a mathematical and legal nightmare.

Wrap-up

So there you have it. I’m convinced that there are thousands of managers and CEOs out there who genuinely believe they’re investing wisely when they spend money on financial rewards.

Money motivates people to work, but only to the extent that they can thus avoid being uncomfortable and having their needs met.

Rewards do not necessarily motivate people to work harder. Most of the time, rewarding people is counterproductive. In the cases it does motivate, don’t expect much quality and DO expect to have to keep on giving and increasing the bonus.

You can’t buy motivation

The best thing to do with pay is therefore to stop trying to make it to do things it is incapable of. Stop trying to bribe people into working harder and let them get on with the job. That sounds flip, but in fact is serious, because it reverses the usual twisted logic. A bonus, like profits in general, is a consequence, not a precondition, of doing a good job. .

…but you can cultivate it

Rely on intrinsic motivation and enhance it with praise whenever possible. When the task is unattractive and intrinsic motivation is insufficient (e.g. household chores, administrative work), selective and unexpected extrinsic rewards can be useful by providing incentives for behavior.

In fact, you can bring it down to one simple piece of wisdom: ‘The reward is not in the destination, but in the journey’. So many companies are focused on the destination that they’re making the journey there a misery. And they wonder why the destination is hardly ever reached.

This is why a complete switch in culture is necessary to create the kind of motivation you really want to see in your people. I’m not saying starve your people and ask them to be happy working for you – I’m saying create the kind of atmosphere where people feel engaged, important, and that they can invest in their growth, and contribute to something they consider important.


Now let’s look at ways of achieving this ambitious vision!


Part 2 Creating intrinsic motivation at work How do you install a generator in your employees? An intrinsically motivating force that drives them on without you having to provide an external pull all the time.

In the following chapter, I’ll explain how to do just that. In short, it starts with creating an environment and conditions that don’t drain their motivation. After that I’ll show you some effective techniques to create the conditions that really get people going. It’s the techniques that have proven to be most effective in the widest range of possible scenarios. Some of these are elaborated further in the workbook so you can take them to the test immediately!

1. Don’t DE-motivate your workers “I'm slowly becoming a convert to the principle that you can't motivate people to do things, you can only demotivate them. The primary job of the manager is not to empower but to remove obstacles.” - Scott Adams, US author

According to Herzberg7

It makes sense doesn’t it: you can try to make people as happy as you want, but if they fear for their lives, get bullied by their boss or aren’t earning enough to have a decent life, people will rarely be motivated. Below are seven factors to check off BEFORE you get into the more advanced stuff of creating an inspiring and motivating culture.

, the factors involved in producing motivation are separate and distinct from the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction. They’re not opposites. Avoiding dissatisfaction implies creating the base from which you can then create true motivation in your team. Similar to the principle of Herzberg’s hygienic factors for motivation, you make sure that there are no factors that are depleting your worker’s motivation before you can start boosting their intrinsic motivation.

A. Policy

Rules need to be consistent. Your company policy can make or break motivation. Companies that are ‘lawless’ create vacuums that people will fill in with listlessness and an eternal discontent. On the other hand, being too strict makes people rebellious. What a policy should aim to do is provide clear guidelines so people understand what’s expected of them. This also requires an effort to provide fair treatment.

You could have a dress code, a way of addressing customers, designated areas where smoking is allowed, rules for treating company material etc. This may seem trivial but it’s the little things that give people the feeling that they’re part of an organization that is either well-groomed or shabby. The effect on people’s commitment can be massive.

7 See http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/herzberg-motivators-hygiene-factors-theory/ for more information.

http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/herzberg-motivators-hygiene-factors-theory/�


B. Relationship with supervisor

It’s important to most people that someone is following them up. We need feedback, recognition and even criticism to evolve. The relationship with a supervisor becomes even more important as feedback from other sources decreases (like job satisfaction and feedback from customers).

Supervisors do well to be coaches and understand the basics of human motivation. Every person has their own management style so I recommend you find out what yours is and how to optimise it. A universal skill for any personality type is being able to listen and give constructive feedback. We’ll talk more about this later on in the ebook.

C. Working conditions

A clean environment, not some grey mass divided into cubicles. Refreshments, food, parking space and so on. Make sure your people can work cleanly and safely. A pleasing environment also helps, but of course there are limits to what you can do. Working in a factory or corporation doesn’t mean people want to feel like animals.

D. Salary

Money is ninety percent of the reason people even bother coming into work. But on the whole, salary is more a factor for attracting new employees than for retaining them. People don’t work the money itself but for the security and possibilities it gives them. If you make sure your people earn a decent living including the usual benefits and insurance, you’ve done all you need to do on the financial side. Keep it simple - the more you mess with salary, the more potential envy and discontent you’ll create.

E. Bonuses

Just to repeat my point; bonuses aren’t intrinsically motivating. In the rare case that they do motivate, the potential flipsides are too many. You’d be to ever come up with a truly effective reward scheme that doesn’t create as much discontent as it creates motivation.

F. Status

Some people need this more than others. Everyone needs to feel at least of some importance to your organization. Even the secretary likes to take pride in her work and be seen as a valuable asset to the company. Status comes down to something very simple: being seen, being acknowledged and having a position that has verifiable value.

G. Security

Physical security is part of a person’s need to feel safe – Maslow’s second level. Quite logically, having to fear for your life and/or limbs at work won’t motivate you to go out there and give your all – unless you’re a trapeze artist or an extreme sportsman that is.


However, security can also be a mental thing and can be just as relevant. Not being sure if you’ll have a job tomorrow can fire people up temporarily, but it’s not a way to get people motivated. Bosses often crack the whip and throw in some job insecurity to ‘keep ‘em on their toes’.

And yes, it will keep people on their toes. It will also get you poisonous looks behind your back and awkward silences at the coffee machine. If you’re a fan of Machiavelism you also know that under this regime, team spirit and creativity will most probably be used against you someday.

So provide job security, and clear guidelines as to what behavior is tolerated and what isn’t. Problem workers that can’t be helped can be separated from motivated people who are just having a bad streak.

Conclusion

There are a few areas that need to be tended to before you can start the upwards path to sustainable, intrinsic motivation. Only when you’ve got the above bases covered can you start making people feel included in something significant, in which they are playing a clearly defined role that allows them to grow. We’ll talk more about this in the part to come.

2. Building an intrinsically motivating culture So here it is: the part you’ve been waiting for. What can you invest in to make your people more motivated? There’s actually a lot of literature on motivation, but much of it comes down to Kicks In The Ass (KITAs): seducing people to make an effort instead of letting them decide for themselves that they want to commit – forms of negative or extrinsic motivation. Herzberg8 uses the term job enrichment to create intrinsic, positive motivation. It implies making a job more compelling. Many authors agree with this point, using their own words to describe more or less the same intrinisically motivating factore. Herzberg’s motivating factors are achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement and the work itself. Hackman and Oldham9 speak of Meaningfulness, Responsibility and Knowledge of outcomes – which is more or less the same as Daniel C. Pink’s three concepts of Purpose, Autonomy and Mastery10

.

Combining motivation theory with my own experiences and those of my friends and colleagues, I’ve created a framework that is theoretically sound11

8 See

and that consists of tried-and-tested techniques to create greater intrinsic motivation in your people. Because as it turns out, you as a manager or business owner have intrinsic motivation greatly within you control, and it doesn’t depend on elaborate and expensive incentive schemes.

http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/herzberg-motivators-hygiene-factors-theory.php for more information.

9 See http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/hackman-oldham-job-characteristics-model.php for more information.

10 Daniel C. Pink, Drive - see http://www.danpink.com/drive for more information.

11 That doesn’t mean I claim scientific truth. My main aim is to offer things that work.

http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/herzberg-motivators-hygiene-factors-theory.php�

http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/hackman-oldham-job-characteristics-model.php�

http://www.danpink.com/drive�


I’ve broken it down into two processes that incite motivation. For people to feel intrinsically inspired by their daily labour, they want the feeling that they’re progressing. I’ve come up with an seven-step plan that plants the framework for your people to identify where they’re at, as well as standards for future performance and follow-up. A great motivator for almost everybody is to form part of something greater that they thinkis meaningful. People are (generally) happiest when they’re contributing to something larger than themselves that serves a higher purpose. In the last part of this ebook, I elaborate on how you can instill this sense of contribution in your team.

A. Allowing your people to grow

Of all factors, a feeling of progress is what motivates people most12

People like using their different skills and talents: too many might be overwhelming, too few is boring. Important here is that people keep on feeling this sense of variety. Which means providing a sense of growth in skills. This can be achieved by either deepening existing skills or widening the existing array of skills. That isn’t the same as job loading

. People need to feel that they’re progressing towards something. Many companies try to solve this by awarding big titles and regularly updating them. That means that in ten years time, the lowest level worker is an Executive Vice President of the Collective Coffee Procurement Department. Essentially, the job is the same. People can only fool themselves so long: their skills need to progress, as should the complexity or quantity of what they’re doing.

13

When you start out providing your people with growth, it’s important the conditions are right. Sending people on training courses will not in itself make people more skilled; a few elements need to be taken care of. For example, the job they need to do needs to be outlined. Then, there need to be clear measures for success; on the basis of this a plan is made and resources are provided. Topped off with follow-up and the celebration of successes, you get a recipe for success. Below is an seven-step plan to create this framework for growth.

where meaningless tasks are loaded on top of each other. You need to challenge and expand a person’s skill set.

1. Draw up a job description

A story from the past: in my previous company, every time I met colleagues from other departments I had to explain what I did. When I met my managers, I needed to explain to them what my use to the company was. They just didn’t know! And to be honest, I didn’t really know either, which didn’t help clear things up.

It also became second nature to hide behind smoke screens. All that people knew was that I brought in X amount of money, and I did it consistently. Only when my figures dropped did I come under scrutiny and even then, most of the time a good explanation would do to ‘get them off my back’. That didn’t feel great, but as I was the only person deciding the content of my job, I didn’t feel I owed much explanation.

12 I got this graph from http://hbr.org/2010/01/the-hbr-list-breakthrough-ideas-for-2010/ar/1.

13 See http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/herzberg-motivators-hygiene-factors-theory.php for more information.

http://hbr.org/2010/01/the-hbr-list-breakthrough-ideas-for-2010/ar/1�

http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/herzberg-motivators-hygiene-factors-theory.php�


So the first step to motivation is to know what your people are actually doing, and aligning it with what you and the person want to be doing. Create clear job descriptions. What’s expected of your people, how should they achieve it, and what shouldn’t they focus on? The clearer your vision on someone’s job, the more accountability there can be and the better your people can grow towards success and the feeling that they’re doing a great job.

I would also suggest creating a personality profile for the position you’re evaluating or creating. A great tool for this is the Thomas International function profiling. More about this in the workbook or on http://www.yourcoach.be/en/behavioural-analysis/.

2. Delegate responsibility, not work

Responsibility derives from autonomy. It means that a person’s job provides substantial freedom, independence and discretion in scheduling the work and in determining the procedures to be used in carrying it out.

If you give people trust, autonomy and the feeling of responsibility, they will run things for you. No more nagging: ‘have you done this’ or ‘why didn’t you do that’ – your people will hold themselves accountable. It’s the difference between solving only the problems your people are blocked by, and having to take care of every single detail. How do you do this? Here are some pointers:

Give people their own 'department' or area they’re responsible for

Task identity implies being able to identify one’s work as an integral part of a bigger process, and hence enables more pride to be taken in the outcome of that work. What I’m saying is that it is much easier to be motivated when you know what your piece of the puzzle contributes to. And what’s even better: to have the feeling that it really matters, to the company and to you!

So show people that you trust them to take care of their part of the business. They will appreciate this enormously! When someone feels like they own part of the business, they’ll run it with all the creativity they have in them – and everyone has a degree of creativity, even the most boring accountant or engineer.

If you can’t give a department, assign people certain responsibilities, however mundane. Hopefully it’s something that contributes to the job content, but it can also be the official coffee maker or the one that makes sure the copy machine works. It’s not about the task, it’s about the responsibility and your faith in people’s ability to take care of things.

3. Create measures for success

Many companies work according to the principle of ‘just get the job done’. Come in on time, work late if you must, and make sure you meet your deadlines. That’s about all the accountability you have. If things go wrong, blame can hit your performance like a thunderstorm in a blue sky.

People generally aren’t natural long-term thinkers. They focus on what is in front of them. This also means that motivation comes from how they perceive what is in front of them. If it’s the same stuff as always and they don’t feel anyone will ever really notice if they make an effort or not (which is how a lot of jobs work), don’t expect them to be all shiny and happy about doing it. Don’t expect people to feel accountable when their performance is retroactively judged on the basis of improvised expectations.

http://www.yourcoach.be/en/behavioural-analysis/�


So if you want people to reach new levels of proficiency, define the levels. First define the basic level of achievement you expect from the job. Don’t be too strict on this, as you need to leave room for improvement. Just the minimum you would expect. Then define where the person you’re reviewing is on this scale. If he or she is below par, define what needs to be worked on to get to the level you want. If he or she is above par, great! For them to grow, you can go on to create levels above their standard performance that they can strive towards. Do this together so the person knows what’s expected and agrees with your suggestions.

When defining the level, make things as precise as possible. Use SMART goal setting – outlined in more detail in the workbook. SMART goal setting introduces a set of objective measures and criteria that make any goal more palpable and achievable. Use figures and facts, not feelings and estimations. Define measurable criteria: what will you see, hear and/or feel when the result has been achieved? This will help greatly in creating a clear picture of what the person is expected to do, and a feeling of achievability that provides a healthy challenge.

4. Make a plan

Once you’ve defined where your people are and where you want them to go, make a plan! Define ways of getting them there together with the person concerned. Write down concrete, measurable actions they can take to achieve their goals. Make it official, so you’re both committed to achieving this result.

The plan should contain concrete steps and milestones, as well as dates. Both you and the person concerned should be completely committed to the plan! That starts with yourself: people want to feel your faith in their growth. And they want to know that you’ll be taking the plan as seriously as they are.

I’m saying this because many managers are very busy, and they might forget the plans they make with their people, only to remember suddenly and demand an update long after it’s due. It’s like someone calling you at three in the morning to wish you a belated happy birthday - just plain counterproductive. So make the plan, and give yourself some dates too.

Also make sure that you’re not ramming this down their throat; you can expect some resistance to change, and it’s your commitment that will allow them to get over it and get used to it. The more reciprocal the process, the more chances you have of the plan being respected. Listen to remarks and critique, and try to solve them collaboratively before you start the plan rather than fixing it afterwards.

5. Provide resources

Essential when people are to reach their goals, is that you support them. As a manager or business owner, you have leverage and resources to make things happen. Your people are the worker ants that will do the miles to effectively make them happen. Connect the two by smoothing the path where you can: negotiate with other departments, free up the necessary budget for projects you believe in, eliminate technical constraints… The feeling of being supported is in itself a great motivator. It makes people feel part of a team. I remember having to reach goals and be constrained by my own manager in my ideas. Admittedly some of them were out of line, but others were great and we just didn’t get the budget, or it took too long to get the agreement from higher up… With a bit more effort and support, we could have done so much more. And we would have felt a lot more progress and motivation!

Train your people for success


Part of the process of helping your people achieve their goals is to train them. Sales training, communication training, productivity training and so on. When set in the framework of a growth plan, training courses start making sense. It’s not an end in itself (incentive), it’s a means to an end.

But be careful! Trainings aren’t good enough by themselves. If you send people to training courses in the hope that they’ll perform better without even having defined what ‘better’ is, don’t expect improvement or even motivation for the training courses. Use the levels of performance and the plan you made to decide what kind of training is in order, and measure its effect.

So you need a clear reason why your people should take this training course. That said, you can give them a voice in deciding what kind of training they feel would be relevant for them. It’s a great sign of trust to let people decide their own way of getting to a certain goal. It’ll make them more autonomous, and a lot more motivated to get there.

6. Provide knowledge of results

So you’ve defined the job and future goals for your people, you’ve put a plan in place and you’ve sent them on training courses. Are your people performing as planned? Did they learn what they went out to learn? Did they achieve their goal? There are two processes at work here: follow-up and feedback. Follow-up means that you follow up on measurable outputs. Feedback is that you give this work and/or the way it’s being done an estimation and indicating possible areas for improvement.

Follow-up is ESSENTIAL! Without follow-up, you’re basically throwing your resources away. I remember getting measures for success, being allowed to go on training courses, and never being quizzed on them. I could measure for myself, but I was never sure if I was meeting the standard that was expected of me. This created tension for me, and unease. I was unsure whether I was doing a good job, and what I could improve upon. It created stress.

I remember making spreadsheet after spreadsheet at my manager’s request. Figures that needed to be crunched and organized, hours of plugging with codes and calculations. When I’d sent it through, I’d rarely get any feedback on it and if I did, it was either a scolding for what was missing or a brief ‘thanks’. Needless to say, as time went by the effort I put into creating reports became a lot less. But think about it: these reports were a reflection of how my part of the business was doing, yet firstly no-one seemed to care, and secondly it didn’t really seem to make any difference.

In a perverse way, I began not making an effort, as getting strife afterwards for its quality at least gave me a sense of feedback. Being able to defend myself made me exist. If I did everything normally, I didn’t exist.

A knowledge of outcomes also comes from feedback. It implies that an employee is aware of how effective he is at converting his effort into performance. This can be anything from production figures to customer satisfaction scores. The point is that the feedback offers information that you can use to do things differently if you wish. Giving feedback can be difficult. People easily feel attacked personally, and fear their livelihoods. It can be hard to make positive changes in someone when you can’t tell them what to improve upon. Take a look at Appendix F for a positive, constructive way to give feedback.

Feedback can also come from other people or from the job itself.


It doesn’t just need to be you giving feedback. A lot of feedback can come from customers and the job itself. At best, your people have accountability for their work with customers and a direct relationship with what they’re doing. From the job itself, clear measures of success will let them know when they’re doing well.

7. Celebrate success

Upon reading this title you may think: ‘Is he now going to defend giving rewards and incentives after breaking them down ten pages ago?’ Well, yes and no. There is a difference between celebration and rewards. A celebration is, by definition, a joyful event that contains human interaction. While a reward can be a purely abstract, impersonal thing.

What I’m implying with this difference is that any form of celebration needs to be personal, and in person. People need to know it’s them that are being celebrated, and it needs to be done face to face. You raise the glass with them and discuss their great performance. If you want to add a little something to emphasise your appreciation, go ahead. But it’s the personal praise that will motivate people, not the bonus reward.

With these seven steps, you’ve created a framework where people see where they are and where they’re heading. Their skills are sharpened and their goals are being met. They are growing! But what if that isn’t enough? And it could well be that that isn’t enough – people are different and some have more need to contribute to something outside themselves, rather than thinking of their own progress. Which is why this next part is important: to instill a sense of contributing to something larger than oneself – by making the job meaningful.

B. Making the job meaningful

Meaningfulness means being able to identify one’s job as contributing to something wider, to society or a group over and beyond the self14

I’m sure you’re convinced of the meaningfulness of your company or department’s function. It’s time to instill that same feeling in your people! Below are some powerful tools to create a culture in your company, a sense of belonging and purpose.

. When work is experienced as meaningful, a person’s contribution significantly affects the overall effectiveness of the organization. For example: contributing to the firm’s growth this year, looking after someone or making something that will benefit someone else. People will be less motivated if they are only making a faceless owner wealthier, or producing some pointless item.

1. Share the company vision with them

Some managers and business owners think they need to be very secretive about strategy and high-end stuff, as if their employees wouldn’t get it or something like that. And OK, some wouldn’t and some couldn’t care less. Most, however, are craving some inside information and know damn well how the company works. They want to know what’s going on behind the scenes at the highest level. It’s like gossip magazines, it’s compelling! Being able to share some interesting information makes your people excited that they have a secret no-one else knows about.

14 The term meaningfulness is derived from Hackman and Oldham’s job characteristics model. See http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/hackman-oldham-job-characteristics-model.php for more information.

http://www.yourcoach.be/en/employee-motivation-theories/hackman-oldham-job-characteristics-model.php�


2. Create a company-wide vision

After initiating the process of sharing the company vision with your people, you can cement the mutual understanding you have by creating a mission statement. A mission statement is a written, easy-to-remember sentence, a short list of bullet points, or a paragraph illustrating your company’s goals and purpose.

Often you will have rather different ideas among partners as to the direction and strategy of a company. By answering a few questions collaboratively and creating one document that all involved in your company or team agree to and sign, you will be fully aligned on your goals and be able to work together efficiently.

Companies that have created dynamic, thought-provoking, on-the-mark mission statements involved everyone in the process, from the lowest-ranking employee to the highest-ranking executive, while at the same time keeping in mind the needs of all their customers, even the least important. They brainstormed, reviewed and rewrote their mission statement until everyone was satisfied.

You should see this more as a process than something you need to have done quickly. It’s very much the natural result of the above effort you make to share and receive visions on the company and/or team. So it takes some time to build. Don’t make it into a crusade – let it evolve15

3. Share a bit of yourself

.

Become a human being. All the other people are. This is the 21st century, and that means people no longer see institutions and society as a big machine that needs to be oiled with the sweat of the workers, and their boss as some all-knowing God who has all the answers. Especially not in the West.

Look at the X and Y Generations, the workforce of people now in their twenties and thirties. This is the generation that decidedly wants to work to live, and not the other way around. If work sucks, people leave. So having a connection with the place they’re working is increasingly important. Show who you are and people can feel safe to show who they are. You’ll start seeing their specific talents, and use them to improve overall performance.

4. Cultivate a culture of helpfulness

Set standards, provide resources to support people’s efforts, and give your people enough time so minor glitches aren’t perceived as crises but as learning opportunities. A useful concept here is the servant leader16

Servant leaders are felt to be effective because the needs of followers are so well looked after that they reach their full potential. One strength of this approach to leadership is that it takes you away from self-serving, domineering leadership. This implies that you need to rethink how you respect, value and motivate the people reporting to you.

. The servant leader serves the people he leads, thereby showing them that they are an end in themselves rather than a means to an organizational purpose or bottom line. He rolls up his sleeves and pitches in!

15 See the workbook for more information on how to create a mission statement.

16 A movement started in the seventies by Robert K. Greenleaf. More about this on http://www.greenleaf.org/

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Look at the workbook for more about servant leadership. It contains my overview of the topic and practical tips for you to help your people achieve more, just by changing the way you look at things and interact with them.

5. Listen to your people

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” - Stephen R. Covey

The best bosses I ever had were the ones that took the time to say hello, ask about me and my life and make me feel at ease. Just a casual chat when they were around made me feel appreciated and wanted in the company. It made me feel connected to their purpose, and to that of the company.

Don’t forget how quickly people feel alienated at work. We spend so much time there, yet we hardly get to know each other. Just by being there, and listening to your people, you can instill a team spirit and the feeling among your employees that they actually exist, that they matter to you, that you know what they’re doing and appreciate their work.

You can’t imagine how meaningful feeling understood can be to many people. Just having someone listen to their story. You never know what you might uncover: ways of making your company more productive, or talents they have and can use to take new and exciting responsibilities!

Take the example of someone who’s always going around talking to colleagues and moaning; you may see him as a nuisance, but this is potentially a very good organizer for company parties! This person knows everyone and knows how to talk to them. Convert his frustration into responsibility and he could become the life and soul of the company.

You are not the all-seeing eye either. Becoming aware of the different visions and ideas within your company can significantly enrich you. If you share your vision and learn to hear the opinion of others you stand to gain not only a lot of insight, but also many fans. I remember some of my managers would only take the sales perspective into account; everyone had to bend to the will of the sales people. I would talk to the accountants, the engineers and feel their silent frustration, and dwindling commitment. Had the bosses at least asked for their opinion, they would have felt they had a say in where two thirds of their waking time was leading to.

We used to have a manager in the Legal Department, who was completely crazy about the latest technology. He used every product the company made, and when I talked to him he always had ideas for improvements and new products. But he was only a ‘guy from Legal’, so his ideas never made it to the Product Manager’s drawing board, let alone the managers who decided what product to focus on next. Who knows what they could have produced had they listened to the guy from Legal…


Conclusion That’s it! I hope you enjoyed my take on why employee rewards won’t drive your sales up – but intrinsic motivation will.

I began with the definition and importance of motivation at work. In the first part of this ebook, I explained why I think financial and other rewards don’t intrinsically motivate people. Firstly because money only serves people’s lower level needs, and secondly because a reward scheme, even if it does somewhat motivate, eventually has more downsides than it has upsides.

In the second part, I created a framework for building an intrinsically motivating culture at work. That begins with taking away demotivating factors like unclear policies, not enough safety, and so on. When these factors are taken care of, I focused on two powerful processes that make people intrinsically motivated. The first is growth, and I gave you a simple eight-step plan to facilitate growth in your people. The second is making the job meaningful, and I outlined some techniques to create this sense of contribution and meaning in your people.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, and that you will find some use in it. I’ll be happy to receive your feedback and suggestions on improving it.

This ebook is very much geared towards practice and usability. So, as a take-away, I’ve included a check sheet that you can print off and use to keep track on a daily basis of any factors that may be causing dissatisfaction in your people, as well as reminding yourself of what you can do to inspire your people to greater intrinsic motivation.

Benjamin Ball [email protected]


Motivation check sheet Demotivating factors

Policy Are your policies clear and fair?

Relationship with supervisor Can people turn to their supervisor?

Working conditions Are all basic facilities present? Is the work space pleasant?

Salary Do people make enough for a decent living?

Bonuses How is your bonus scheme affecting overall performance?

Status Do people feel like they mean something within the company?

Security How secure are life and limbs? Are people afraid of losing their job?

Building an intrinsically motivating culture

Growth

Job description Do you have clear job descriptions?

Delegate responsibility, not work Do your people have areas of responsibility?

Create measures for success Are you clear on where you want your people to go?

Make a plan Is there a SMART plan on how success will be achieved?

Provide resources Can people actually achieve what they're set out to do?

Provide knowledge of results Do you and your people know how they are doing?

Celebrate success Do your people know you are seeing them grow?

Contribution

Share the company vision Do your people know where you want the company to go?

Create a company-wide vision Do you know your people's opinion on the business?

Share a bit of yourself Do your people know who you are?

Listen to your people Do you take time to listen to your people?


Workbook This workbook gives you the practical tools to create an intrinsically motivating, inspiring culture in your team or company. The tools are mentioned in the ebook and elaborated here.

It consists of:

Active listening Giving feedback Mission statement Servant leadership SMART goal setting Behavioural assessment – Thomas International

1. Active listening

A. What is active listening

Active listening is the act of trying to truly understand what the speaker is trying to convey. It’s a model for respect and understanding by focusing the attention on the speaker. It’s a way to gain information and perspective, to avoid misunderstandings. It takes negative emotions out of important interactions, and makes them more profound and meaningful.

In emotionally charged situations, it can be hard to really hear what the other person is saying. You think you’ve heard it all already. Thoughts and feelings run through your head and something the person is saying might really offend you. You may feel the person is attacking you, that they don’t understand you. You may start shouting, or become aggressive, or turn away from the situation. Whatever the case may be, the situation is not improving.

Follow the following pointers to improve your listening skills, get more information out of a conversation and ultimately improve your results and get things done.

B. Focus your attention

Overcome environmental distractions. Find a quiet place without visual distractions. Sitting in front of a computer screen is not the way to interact with someone. In a group setting, refrain from side conversations.

Sit close enough, but not too close. Avoid facing the speaker – it’s too confronting. Don’t put a desk in between you, or anything else. The perfect position is sitting next to each other, slightly facing each other.

Focus on the other person. Understand the speaker as if you were him. Listen with your ears and all your senses. Give your undivided attention. Put aside distracting thoughts. Defer judgment; always return to the message of the speaker. Put your personal emotions aside (for the time being). You are here to gather information.

Make eye contact – look at the speaker directly.


Active listening also means you are open to hearing what people have to say. You also speak with your body, so body language says a lot about the conversation you’re having. Some people say you should adjust your body language to that of your conversation partner. My personal opinion is that when you are present with a person, your body will adjust automatically. Changing your posture constantly to match is manipulative, and it’ll divert your attention from being with the speaker.

Pay attention to the conversation, and when you’re there your body will adjust. You may notice at some points that your body is in a completely different position than that of your conversation partner. No need to do anything but realise what that means about your interaction.

Use body language as an indication of your position in the conversation. Take it as a cue to stay alert, to be present so you can hear what the person is saying.

Are you leaning out of the conversation, or too much into it? Are you crossing your legs and arms defensively? Are you sitting turned away, or facing the person? Are you looking at the person or at the ground? I would say that if any of these things are off, you’re probably not really listening. So then when you notice this, readjust and focus on the speaker again.

C. Acknowledge without interrupting

Pay attention to the speaker’s behavior and body language. What emotion does the speaker emit? Consider the speaker’s background (cultural and personal) – without judging.

Don’t interrupt with counter-arguments or other remarks. Allow the speaker to finish and give plenty of time and rest after talking. At the same time, give yourself time to let the speaker’s words and actions sink in. Observe your own intuition about the situation, but don’t use it yet. Just be aware of your own instinctive reactions.

Acknowledging is not agreeing. Express your appreciation for the speaker’s sharing. This builds trust and encourages dialogue.

Use your body position to indicate your attention and interest. Nod occasionally, and keep your posture open. Smile, if it’s at all appropriate. Let the speaker know you’re still there by saying yes and uh huh.

2. Giving feedback

A. Make sure you understand correctly what’s being said

Describe what you see Be a fair witness. This means that you describe what you see, not what you think it means. That’s ‘I see you’re leaning back and looking away from me, what can I understand from that?’, not ‘You look scare?’. When you can’t find a way to describe what you see literally or it just sounds stupid (I see your pupils are dilated and you are turning white), say ‘I get the impression that you feel …, am I correct?’.

Ask questions Make sure they are non-threatening, aimed at increasing understanding. Ask open questions as much as possible, and avoid closed ones. Use how, what, where, when and who


questions. Try not to ask why too much as it can sound threatening – find ways to ask these questions differently (‘What makes you think that…’, ‘How should I understand…?’)

Paraphrase Summarise what you heard, using the speaker’s words as much as possible. ‘What I heard you say was… Is that correct?’ Don’t interpret or try to understand just yet – you’re still collecting information! Let the speaker add more detail. A good way of paraphrasing is repeating the last couple of words of the speaker’s sentence – of course only if they contain some kind of statement or conclusion.

Acknowledge the emotional content Let the speaker feel that you understand they have emotions. Give him the message that you understand, that you are aware. That doesn’t mean you agree, but that you see what’s going on. You can say something like ‘You said that …(paraphrase) and you seem upset by what has happened (emotional feedback).’ Your body and tone will also make it clear whether you acknowledge their feelings or not. In fact, it’s probably the most telling way, and the hardest to fake. All I can say is, be present with the speaker and feel with them.

B. Respond in style

Be open and honest in your responses. Assert your opinions respectfully. Bear in mind how your words may affect someone and choose them carefully. Some words trigger defense mechanisms, blocking the interaction.

If you find yourself getting emotional, say so and ask for more information. ‘I may not be understanding you correctly, and I find myself taking what you said personally. What I thought you said is ….; is that what you meant?’

Get the dialogue going, and let the speaker know what you think you understood, and how that reflects on your view on the situation. Switch between giving your opinion, and returning to the person to understand their replies and reactions.

There’s a difference between giving positive and giving negative feedback. Both are very important!

C. How to give negative feedback

Create a safe atmosphere

Find a private place. No one wants to receive negative feedback in front of others. Sometimes it is unavoidable, but that should be a last resort. Take a meeting in your office, call the person into a vacant conference room, or step into the lunch room if it’s free.

When you call someone into your office or suddenly sit down next to them, they probably know something’s coming. Be aware of the possibility that many people will be defensive before you even open your mouth. Getting feedback triggers an instinctive fear. It may be quite irrational, but nevertheless it’s something to take into account. Get your emotions under control. You don't want to criticise someone else's actions when you are angry or upset. You are likely to say something you don't really mean or to react poorly to something that is said to you. Be calm. Don't yell and scream. If you do, the other


person will become defensive and won't hear what you are trying to tell them. Make sure your body language isn’t aggressive – like sitting above someone, sitting too far across a table or too close by. Reaffirm your faith in the person. Tell them that you still have faith in them as a person and in their abilities; it's just their performance you want them to change. Say something like "you're a good customer service rep and I appreciate your punctuality” "What I admire about your style… "I'm impressed with the way you …… "I really liked how you… "That was very impressive how you…

Be timely. Negative feedback should be given as soon as possible after the event. If you see an employee being rude to a customer, don't wait until their annual performance review to tell them. How many other customers will they have angered in the meantime? Call them into your office right away.

Stay humble. The measure of success is not what you say, but how someone reacts. Don’t get upset when someone stays defensive – they’re just scared. Or they don’t believe you, in which case you may wonder why. If your body language is aggressive, wonder if you have their best interests at heart and if not, what you are really trying to achieve with your feedback. Using the constructive feedback system as a strategy to get back at someone is NOT feedback! Use people’s reactions as feedback on yourself, not as a way to judge their character. This may take some deep breaths at times, and it’s absolutely essential.

Describe the behaviour you see Don’t use BUT after the previous statement! The word BUT and HOWEVER recall everything you said before. Make two separate sentences or connect them with AND, and watch how your whole statement starts sounding different. You’ll probably have to adapt the tone and wording of your statement; that’s a good thing!

Focus on actions, not on the person. You create an immediate barrier when you directly criticize someone as a person. Make sure you describe behaviour, and not your interpretation of it. Transmit that you understand this is just something they’re doing, not who they are. Be specific. It does no good to tell someone 'you have a bad attitude'. You need to identify specific actions the person took or specific things they said if you want them to understand. So don’t say ‘You were being obnoxious’, but ‘I noticed on this occasion that your face was wrinkled up and your voice sounded sharp’. Keep all blame out, for the sake of keeping the other person receiving the feedback receptive. You may think at this point: ‘Why do I need to be so humble and soft?’ – it’s because deep down, people are scared and they have defense mechanisms when they are attacked. This is not the state that will allow them to get new insights and come up with alternatives, which is what you want - right? If you’re not able to do this (yet), that says a lot about you and the relationship you have with that person. No need to be overly soft – you can be assertive, but stay mild for the person.

Ask what was meant with the behaviour


You’ve told the person what you saw or heard, and what that led you to believe. Now you can ask the person if they understand how you came to believe this, and what their view on the situation is.

Stop talking. After you have told the person what specific actions took place, how you interpreted that and have asked them what their story is, stop talking. Give the other person a chance to respond to or adjust your statements. Listen to what they have to say, and ask questions to understand their motivations and positive intention. A positive intention is always something to do with the person himself! Even helping someone else is done to make oneself feel good. So a positive intention is not ‘the customer was rude’ but ‘I felt threatened by the customer and wanted to protect myself’. When you fully understand, acknowledge the intention of the employee.

Describe the effect of the behaviour on you and others Describe how you and others perceived the reaction. Use personal statements whenever possible, describing your reactions. "I felt…", "It seemed to me…"I wonder if…"I sense”… Remember that this is your personal interpretation – you know what they were trying to achieve now.

Don’t start judging! Avoid saying that the person is like this or that, that they should or shouldn’t do this or that, that they’re wrong and you’re right. Even if you think that’s the way it is.

Ascertain that the person believes that you acknowledge their intention, AND that they understand the perception you and others had of his behaviour. Ask how the person would like to act in future Give the other person the chance to think of other ways to act: the more it comes from the person, the more they will live by it. Come up with alternatives in future that take in account the positive intention they have for themselves, and the perception of the people around them. Give honest, helpful appropriate suggestions. Point out tactfully some areas for improvement. "There may have been a missed opportunity… "It's a small thing, but be aware of…. "The one thing you might look for is…

Make an agreement about how you’ll institutionalise this new behaviour Ask how you can check that the person is behaving in this new way. Decide on a way that you can indicate that they’re behaving as before so they can change it without negativity.

Define positive steps. Agree on what future performance is appropriate for the employee. If there are specific things the employee needs to start doing or needs to stop doing, be sure they are clearly identified. If there is something you need to do, perhaps additional training for the employee, agree on that as well.


Involve others. If needed, you may want to inform others of the commitment the person has made. Don’t make them feel like little children that need to be corrected. Be discreet about it when the person might feel embarassed about it, and be positive to the person that’s to be made aware of the new behaviour. Reinforce the person’s effort to grow, don’t punish them with humiliation. Get over it. After you have given your feedback and agreed on a resolution, move on with your job. Don't harbor ill will toward the employee because they made a mistake. Don't hover over them out of fear that they may make another mistake. Monitor their performance as you do all employees, but don't obsess.

End with a positive encouraging remark.

Never end with a negative. "I really admire your courage in stepping up for this demonstration." "Overall, I very much enjoyed…" "We are very pleased and lucky to have you as a member of our company… "You have some wonderful …natural … skills …and with practicing and learning new skills, you will be a masterful …."

Give feedback regularly

The more you give feedback, the more used people will become to it. It will become increasingly easier to broach sensitive subjects. Also, you’ll find people become more frank with you as well, which can help you significantly in your growth as well. A culture of reciprocal feedback is worth gold!

D. How to give positive feedback

Giving positive feedback is a lot less delicate, but it’s still important to do it right. You can achieve great things with it though, so here are some pointers to be even more effective when giving positive feedback:

1. Do it now. Positive feedback is too important to let slide. Say something right away.

2. Make it public. While negative feedback should be given privately, positive feedback should be given publicly. Do it in front of as large a group as appropriate – do keep in account what the person will like most.

3. Be specific. Don't just say "Good job, Sally." Instead say something like "Sally, that new procedure you developed for routing service calls has really improved our customer satisfaction. Thanks for coming up with it."

4. Make a big deal out of it. You can’t assemble the entire company every time you give positive feedback, but provide as much ceremony as you can and the action warrants.

5. Consider the receiver. It is important to consider the feeling of the person receiving the recognition. For a very shy person, thanking him in front of the entire company is probably not that appropriate. For another person, you might hang a banner, balloons, and streamers in the department area.

6. Do it often. Don't wait for the big successes. Celebrate the small ones too.


7. Do it evenly. Big successes need big recognition; small successes need smaller recognition. If you throw a party for every small success, you diminish its effect for a big success.

8. Be sincere. Don't praise someone for silly things you don’t mean, like coming in on time. Don't congratulate someone for just doing their job. People will see right through you. Really mean it when you give positive feedback.

3. Mission statement

A. What is a mission statement?

Writing the mission statement for your business can be one of the most important things you ever do as a company owner or manager, especially if there’s more than one person working on the business. A mission statement is a written, easy-to-remember sentence, short list of bullet points, or paragraph illustrating your business' goals and purpose. It has one common function: to guide you and your employees in making critical decisions that affect the direction of your company.

It can not only dramatically reduce conflict and prevent arguments, but can also align all in your business with the same goals, in turn creating a much more effective team and much more profitable business.

Often you will have rather different ideas among partners as to the direction and strategy of a company. By creating one document that all involved in your company or team agree to and sign, you will be fully aligned on your goals and be able to work together efficiently.

That’s why you need to get absolutely everyone that is involved in your company in with the process. Brainstorm, review and rewrite your mission statement until everyone is satisfied. It needs to identify what you hope to accomplish, and it should correspond with what your customers or managers want and need.

Don't rush the process!

Brainstorming and creativity take time. You will receive resistance. Be sensitive to the process as it’s more important than the end result. Take the time to untie the knots that are keeping people from participating. It might be certain people (maybe yourself?) appear too domineering and drown out other voices; it might be a sense of disillusionment in the company or mistrust in your intentions.

Show your people you care about their voice, maybe even more than about the actual mission statement. Demonstrate through your actions your commitment. Participate in the committees and work groups and help them build the excitement and determination to succeed.

It’s more than just making a written piece of text; to do this right, you need to create a movement that everyone is involved in. It means applying the principles of servant leadership. That’s the power of the mission statement; getting it done is the end result of getting everyone involved in and excited about the company. If you get frustrated and end up making it yourself, it’s only your own mission statement and it will have no effect.


B. Creating a mission statement

Here’s how you go about creating the content of your mission statement:

Pick one central theme. Focus on a few key attributes of your company or service. The theme should be easy to understand, non-controversial, and translate into behavior that can gain support. So what is your theme? Does it deal with a product, service or both? Can it be easily understood and interpreted by both your team members and customers? In some cases, it can be mildly controversial to provoke thought and discussion. Do you want to push the leading edge of your technology? Do you want to accept challenges that others won't or can't? Do you want to solve problems that are difficult and challenging to solve? Does this key attribute bring value to your customers?

Short mission statements are harder than long ones, but also more powerful. A bulleted mission statement is easier, but may be too scattered to accomplish what you want. Here are some key questions that can be used to build your mission statement:

Who you are

Statement of Value. Identify values that form a link to the organization's strategy that employees can be proud of.

Statement of Behavioral Standards. How does employee behavior relate to customer perception and value?

Statement of Character. What is the organizational culture? What type of company do you want to create? Are you a lifestyle or high potential company?

What you do

What problem(s) do you solve? What need(s) do you fulfill?

What do you sell? How do you make your money? What is your revenue model?

How are you unique from everyone else out there? What is your unique selling proposition?

Who/What you do it for

Statement of Purpose. What inspirational purpose appeals to higher values in both your employees and customers?

Who do you sell to? What is your target market?

What are your economic/financial goals?

What are your social/community goals?

Where you’re going

Statement of Strategy. What is your business strategy, and how does it appeal to your employees and customers?

Where is the company going? What products/services/industries do you plan to venture into?


What is your five year strategy? Do you want to sell internationally, build an online store, franchise your business, build certain partnerships, develop additional products?

Do you ever plan on selling the company or going public? What is your exit strategy?

C. Where should you keep it?

Certainly not buried in some remote vault that you bring out only at Christmas time! Keep your mission statement in front of you, your management team and employees, and your customers. Include your mission statement in the executive summary of your business plan. Place it in large bold print in the front of your employee manual. Include it in as many advertisements, promotional materials, and other public documents as possible. Never lose sight of why you started your business and never compromise your ethics and values.

D. Examples of mission statements

The Coca Cola company: “To refresh the world”, “To inspire moments of optimism and happiness”, “To create value and make a difference”.

The Elephant Sanctuary: "A Natural-Habitat Refuge Where Sick, Old and Needy Elephants Can Once Again Walk The Earth In Peace and Dignity". One powerful statement that evokes emotion and instant attachment to the cause of this organisation.

Sun Microsystems: "Solve complex network computing problems for governments, enterprises, and service providers". A simple mission statement identifying who their market is and what they do.

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream: "To make, distribute & sell the finest quality all natural ice cream & euphoric concoctions with a continued commitment to incorporating wholesome, natural ingredients and promoting business practices that respect the Earth and the Environment". This mission inspired Ben and Jerry to build a cause-related company.

Joe Boxer: "JOE BOXER is dedicated to bringing new and creative ideas to the market place, both in our product offerings as well as our marketing events. We will continue to develop our unique brand positioning, to maintain and grow our solid brand recognition, and to adhere to high quality design standards. Because everyone wants to have fun everyday, JOE BOXER will continue to offer something for everyone with fun always in mind".

4. Servant leadership

A. What is servant leadership

The servant leader serves the people he/she leads which implies that they are an end in themselves rather than a means to an organizational purpose or bottom line.

Servant leaders are felt to be effective because the needs of followers are so looked after that they reach their full potential, hence perform at their best. A strength of this way of looking at leadership is that it takes you away from self-serving, domineering leadership and makes those in charge think harder about how to respect, value and motivate people reporting to them.


The term originated with Robert K. Greenleaf:

“Servant-leadership begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. The best test is: do those served grow as persons; do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants?”

B. Aspects of being a servant leader

So how do you become the kind of leader that is able to lift his people up to reach their full potential? Here are some questions that can give you an indication of the direction in which a servant leader thinks and feels:

Calling – a natural desire to make a difference for other people. Willing to sacrifice self-interest for the sake of others.

Do people believe that you are willing to sacrifice your own self-interest for the good of the group?

Connected ability: listening skills, constructive feedback

Listening – receptive and genuinely interested in the views and input of others. This one is essential.

Do people believe that you want to hear their ideas and will value them?

Connected ability: listening skills, fair witness

Empathy – can walk in others’ shoes. Have earned confidence from others by understanding whatever situation is being faced.

Do people believe that you will understand what is happening in their lives and how it affects them?

Connected ability: listening skills, personal feedback

Healing – apprecation for the emotional health and spirit of others. The ability to create an environment that encourages emotional mending.

Do people come to you when the chips are down or when something traumatic has happened in their lives?

Connected ability: listening skills, coaching skills

Awareness – looking for cues from the environment to inform their opinions and decisions. To know what’s going on and not be fooled by appearances.

Do others believe that you have a strong awareness for what is going on?

Connected ability: listening skills, being present

Persuasion – offer compelling reasons when they make requests.

Do others follow your requests because they want to as opposed to because they ‘have to’?

Connected ability: listening skills, awareness of personality profiles, personal feedback, mission statement


Conceptualisation – encourage others to dream great dreams and avoid getting bogged down by day-to-day realities and operations. To foster an environment that encourages thinking big and valuing the creative process.

Do others communicate their ideas and vision for the organisation when you are around?

Connected ability: listening skills, feedback skills, having a mission statement

Foresight – picking up patterns in the environment and seeing what the future will bring.

Do others have confidence in your ability to anticipate the future and its consequences?

Connected ability: mission statement, listening skills, business skills

Stewardship – making a positive difference in the world.

Do others believe you are preparing the organisation to make a positive difference in the world?

Connected ability: making a mission statement

Growth – believe that all people have something to offer beyond their tangible contributions, and work to help people in a number of ways: spiritually, personally, professionally.

Do people believe that you are committed to helping them develop and grow?

Connected ability: listening skills, job descriptions, feedback skills, follow-up

Building community – instills a sense of community spirit.

Do people feel a strong sense of community in the organisation/team that you lead?

Connected ability: listening skills, mission statement, feedback skills, team building sessions with a goal.

As you can see most of it is plain listening, and being there. I understand it might seem daunting to have to speak and listen to every one of your people. It may not even be physically possible; you may not have the time to listen to everybody. A good start is to listen more than you’re doing now in the conversations you’re having, and having slightly more conversations than you’re having right now. Next time you see someone, make a note of listening more. Growth is one step at a time, starting from where you are now.

When you start listening more, your people will notice. They will feel your openness, and that will allow them to relax and open up as well. Combine this with the other capabilities you’ll be developing, and things will start rolling nearly of their own accord. There is no great secret, no personality you need to adopt. Just listen, and be present when people are speaking. Keep trying, keep listening. Don’t think of what you want to say; accept that you might at the end of the conversation say: ‘Thanks. I’ll think about that’ and nothing else.

5. SMART goal setting

You could say that most of the human endeavour is aimed at achieving some kind of goal. It appears in every aspect of life: where your relationships are going, what you want to obtain materially, the way you use your spare time… Everything comes down to how you prioritise, and what you want to achieve in every aspect of your life.


A. What are SMART goals

SMART criteria aim to bring structure and follow-up into your goals. Instead of vague resolutions, you can make verifiable plans with clear milestones and an appreciation of its feasibility. Every goal, whether be intermediate or final, can be tested against the SMART criteria. If it stands the test, any goal will become more realistic and attainable.

SMART goals are one of the most effective and commonly used business practices. You can create transparency across the company thanks to the checklist and specific demands of SMART criteria.

B. The SMART criteria

Why not think of a small goal you have right now, personal or professional. To make it SMART, it needs to pass the following five criteria:

Criterium 1: Specific

What exactly do you want to achieve? The more specific your description, the bigger the chance you’ll get exactly that. Questions you may ask when defining your specific goal are:

What exactly do I want to achieve?

Where?

How?

When?

With whom?

What are the conditions and limitations?

Why do I want to reach this goal? What are the alternative ways of achieving that?

This is the difference between ‘I want to be a millionaire’ and ‘I want to make €50.000 a month for the next ten years by creating a new software product’.

Criterium 2: Measurable

Measurable means identifying exactly what it is you will see, hear and feel when you reach your goal. It means breaking your goal down into measurable elements. That means you’ll need concrete evidence. Being happier is not evidence; not smoking anymore because you adhere to a healthy lifestyle where you eat vegetables twice a day and fat only once a week, is.

Criterium 3: Attainable

Is your goal attainable? That means investigating whether the goal really is acceptable to you. You weigh the effort, time and other costs your goal will take against the profits and the other obligations and priorities you have in life.


If you don’t have the time, money or talent to reach a certain goal you’ll certainly fail and be miserable. That doesn’t mean that you can’t take something that seems impossible and make it happen by planning smartly and going for it!

There’s nothing wrong with shooting for the stars; if you aim to make your department twice as efficient this year as it was last year with no extra labour involved, how bad is it when you only reach 1,8 times? Not too bad…

Criterium 4: Relevant

Is reaching your goal relevant to you? Do you actually want to run a multinational, be famous, have three children and a busy job? You decide for yourself whether you have the personality for it, or your team has the bandwidth.

If you’re lacking certain skills, you can plan trainings. If you lack certain resources, you can look for ways of getting them.

The main questions, why do you want to reach this goal? What is the objective behind the goal, and will this goal really achieve that?

You could think that having a bigger team will make it perform better, but will it really?

Criterium 5: Timebound

Time is money? Make a tentative plan of everything you do. Everybody knows that deadlines are what makes most people switch to action. So install deadlines, for yourself and your team, and go after them.

Keep it realistic and flexible, that way you can keep morale high.

C. SMART+ goals

Another thing that’s very important when composing SMART goals, is formulating it POSITIVELY. Remember that what you focus on, increases. So when you focus on NOT doing something, all you think about is that thing. And it will increase. So don’t ‘stop procrastinating’, but ‘achieve a daily discipline’.

6. Behavioural assessment - Thomas International Everyone has unique behavioural traits; none of these are by definition right or wrong. Behaviour can be appropriate and effective in certain situations, or not. With behavioural assessment, you can find out what behavioural preferences people have in a work environment. It maps the strengths and weaknesses with existing employees and teams; it makes personality model profiles of your best people; and allows you to compose the perfect team.

Behavioural assessment can also be used for hiring new people. When you understand people's motivations, it also becomes easier to deal with them; management becomes more effective and your productivity rises. On the whole personality profiling can answer questions such as:


How does the person view himself/herself?

What activities does he/she prefer?

What motivates this person?

How will this candidate perform in my team?

How will this person react under pressure?

What communication profile does this person have?

It can be used for:

Recruitment and selection

Employee retention

Training and development

Forming teams and optimising team spirit

Identifying human potential

Motivation

Frustration/stress

Evaluation

Coaching

There are all kinds of personality profiling tests out there: MBTI, the enneagramme, Thomas International… You can get a lot for free and I’d definitely recommend shopping around a bit and seeing what fits you. When it comes to implementing them, I would recommend using professional coaches. Coaches can able to make the difference between categorising and giving people indications of their character. They understand the dynamics better so profiling someone becomes an enriching, not a judging experience.

I work in an organisation called YourCoach, where we make use of Thomas International's Personal Profile Analysis (PPA), based on W.M. Marston's DISC profiles. YourCoach has access to an online system that allows us to evaluate a person's work behaviour in 8 minutes by using our fast, reliable and objective test tool. The Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) uses 24 foursomes of descriptive terms. The candidate chooses the least and most appropriate term from every foursome. Every one of them is linked to one of the four DISC dimensions: Dominance, Influence, Stability and Conformity.

Behavioural assessment can be used for either individual analyses or group trainings. Feel free to check out our pages about behavioural assessment here: http://www.yourcoach.be/en/behavioural-assessment/ contact us for more information and a free quote on [email protected].

That’s the end of the workbook, I hope it will be useful to you!

http://www.yourcoach.be/en/behavioural-assessment/�

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