Management would be easy if only everyone were highly motivated. But that's like saying basketball would be simple if only everyone could dunk. Most of the time, reality intervenes.
As most managers who've been at it a while know, in management you have no choice but to deal with all kinds of people. Some are intrinsically motivated, many are not. Over the course of a few decades in management, I learned a few things about working with those who are not. Accordingly, here are 4 tips to motivate the unmotivated.
We'll assume for purposes of this article that the employees we're discussing here are at least reasonably talented - meaning they do have the skills needed to successfully perform the job they're in. (If they don't - meaning they lack both skills and motivation - then the management solution is simple: They shouldn't be in the job, and it's the role of management to see to that.) But again, here our assumption is they can do the job. Management's role is to pull the right levers to get them to want to.
Get to know your employees as individuals - To have any hope of effectively motivating, of finding the right key for the psychic lock, you first have to understand something about your employees, and why they aren't working up to their potential. What is it that's standing between ability and execution? What are their likes and dislikes, their hopes and fears? The more you know, the better chance you'll have of discovering what incentives can in fact be difference makers. Is it money, flexibility, prestige, recognition, workplace relationships?... to name just a few. What aspects of the current working environment do they find frustrating and demoralizing? It's a cliche, but when managing others knowledge is power.
Be fully conscious of personal and
Find assignments that appeal - As with the interpersonal element noted above, the character of an assignment - the nature of a project - can make a vast difference in how one approaches it. If you can find the right match that sparks an employee's interest, the results can be surprising - and exceptional. Again, I understand of course - note detergent bottle example above - that managerial options aren't always unlimited. But sometimes they're broader than one might think. Perhaps a project outside one's own department - that has value to the organization - makes good business sense. Or discuss with your employee what could be of keen interest; often you may not be able to get the right answers without asking the right questions.
State clearly your own expectations - Rule #1 in business: You don't get something for nothing. In return for your own thoughtful attention to your employees' well-being and success, there are definite expectations you'll have. One key to effective management is to directly confront the hard stuff - which is why it's important to make clear exactly what your performance-related expectations are. What's acceptable and what isn't. And unmotivated sub-par performance naturally isn't. Clarity is always the ally of strong performance.
In the end there are no surefire ways to motivate the unmotivated, but there are steps you can take to improve your odds. And in a world where studies routinely show that roughly 7 in 10 employees are disengaged and unmotivated, better odds are often what management is about.
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