Exhaustion is in the air, but you can generate the vitality you need right now.

We need first to understand why we’re all feeling depleted. There are two types of depletion: physical and psychological. We all know the signs of physical depletion and its remedy: take a walk, eat healthy food, do yoga, rest. But if you’ve ever had to drag yourself out of bed, even after a good night’s sleep, it probably has nothing to do with your physical reserves. More likely, your low energy results from your mental state. You are psychologically depleted.

Our psychological well-being depends on the feeling that we have a choice in a situation, are connected with others, and are competent enough to meet the challenges at hand. Consider the current world situation, and it’s no wonder that our choice, connection, and competence feels under siege.

How the Pandemic Limits Choice, Connection, and Competence

The pandemic has challenged our sense of choice. “I have to wear a mask. I have to get a vaccine. I have to work in a virtual team.” Suddenly, it appears that your choices are limited.

But choice is a matter of perception. Some people have struggled during the pandemic, feeling that their freedom is restricted. When this happens, they often react by making questionable choices to restore their sense of control. Other people think, “I can go to the store and wear a mask, or I can choose to stay home and order the item online.”

The pandemic’s effect on connection is obvious. We are in the middle of a global experiment in social distancing. It’s risky to get together in groups. People’s feelings of loneliness are skyrocketing.

As for competence, we’re all in unfamiliar territory filled with new conditions and demands. Competence can be as simple as trying to prevent your glasses from fogging up when you’re wearing a mask. More demanding examples include mastering new technology, homeschooling your kids, and caring for a sick loved one. It is an unrelenting barrage.

The erosion of choice, connection, and competence leads to feeling depleted—your psychological well-being has diminished. But you can restore your sense of choice, connection, and competence and generate much-needed vitality.

You Always Have Choices 

You always have choices—even in the most difficult situations. You may counter that a prisoner doesn’t have options, but that’s incorrect. We can choose how we will respond to any challenge.

Viktor Frankl, a neurologist, psychiatrist, philosopher, author, and Holocaust survivor, wrote Man’s Search for Meaning. He shared that when he was in a concentration camp, he felt a surge of energy when he shared his bread—even when he was starving. He would also help someone up if they fell, although the punishment was being whipped. In these dire circumstances, he concluded that nobody could take his autonomy away. That is certainly true for us. We always have a choice.

Mindfulness increases our awareness of the choices we have. If we are weighed down with worry, we’re less likely to see and appreciate the options available to us. Stay in the present. Ask yourself, “What choices do I have at this moment?”

Creating Connection

We are hardwired to connect with others. A great way to feel connected is to volunteer; to contribute to something greater than yourself. Even with social distancing, you can seek out opportunities to help others.

There is overwhelming evidence that helping others is physically and psychologically beneficial. Helping others is helping ourselves. So if you’re feeling disconnected, you can remedy it by participating in something larger than yourself; something that unites people, not divides them.

Connection is also a matter of finding meaning, whatever your circumstances. Meaningful is not a selfish, self-centered, or me-against-the-world attitude. It is about contributing to the greater good. And it’s exhilarating when we do this. The best choices are meaningful choices.

Just a word of caution in our divisive times. Belonging to a tribe that pits one person or group against another or is based on an us-versus-them mentality won’t give you a true sense of connection. It might momentarily fill a void, but it will ultimately leave you empty.

Competence: Be Gentle with Yourself

We need to be gentle with ourselves. The pandemic is a unique situation in our lives, and we’re all stumbling as we navigate the challenges of a new world. We need to give ourselves a break and take a page from SLII®. We are all disillusioned learners (called “D2”) who struggle to master the world around us. We’re at D2 when wearing a mask, getting distracted while working at home, and on and on.

Being at D2 is uncomfortable. (Read our blog on becoming comfortable with this unavoidable phase). Keep in mind that being at D2 is a natural stage of development. With proactive self leadership, you will move through it to attain mastery.

Build Your Psychological Well-being on Choice, Connection, and Competence

Choice, connection, and competence are the building blocks of psychological vitality. And that stimulates physical energy. So the next time you’re feeling sluggish and depleted, consider if your need for choice, connection, or competence is under threat. Then take steps to consider your choices, connect your choices to meaningful values that contribute to the greater good, and appreciate how much you’re learning. You’ll soon be feeling vital.

Dear Madeleine,

I am what’s called a “people leader”—I lead individual contributors at a global software giant. I am also a technical contributor as a subject matter expert in a specific application.

I don’t love managing people. I am quite reserved and I find it tiring—but it is the only way to get ahead in this company. I’ve always thought I would stay here forever and rise through the ranks. But there has been so much change over the last 18 months that I have had three different bosses. The last one barely seems to know I am alive and has no idea about my technical expertise.

The person who runs the team on which I am an SME disagrees with the strategic direction of the organization and is planning to leave. He wants to take me with him. He is convincing me that if I went, I would make a lot more money and be able to focus on my technical expertise. I am single and could move, although I would be leaving my family and friends.

I have gotten myself into a state and have no idea what I should I do. Thoughts?

Stay or Go?

Dear Stay or Go,

Ah, these big life decisions. Of course, I can’t recommend a course of action one way or the other. I personally have a bias toward action, which has brought me enormous joy and probably more than my fair share of really bad mistakes. But I can help you review the situation as you have laid it out.

You enjoy the technical part of your job, but you have been pressured into managing people. The company you work for is unstable and you get no attention or support from management. The one senior person who seems to grasp and appreciate your value is leaving the company and wants to take you with him. So far, he has made promises, but as yet you have received no official offer. If you were to agree to an attractive offer, you would have to move and leave a settled life with an established community.

Essentially, you just don’t have enough information yet. I think before you do anything rash, you have to get a solid offer that includes a substantial raise, a clear job description, and your moving expenses covered. Until then, it is all pure speculation.

But this event is a bit of a wake-up call that everything is not quite right in your current position. And it’s an opportunity for you to define for yourself what would be better for you. To make these big life decisions, it is helpful for you to understand your core psychological needs and your values.

Values are important. What makes you smile? What do you gravitate to naturally? What gives you energy and pleasure? Ask yourself: Will I be more aligned with my values in this new situation?

Your needs are even more critical. They are what you have to have. To figure out your needs, think about what you must have to be fully functional. It sounds like you might have a need to pursue your mastery of your technical expertise, but you have no need to be in charge of other people.

Some needs don’t really become apparent until they aren’t met. One of the best ways to identify your needs is to think about a time when you behaved badly or became almost sick with unhappiness. Chances are some fundamental need wasn’t being met. What was it?

Do you like to be appreciated or do you need it? Do you like having a close community near you, or do you need it? If you get a reasonable offer, you will want to ask yourself Will I be able to rebuild a life in a new place where I can get what I need to be stable?

If I could be so bold, I’d like to recommend my book Leverage Your Best in this column. It has some great detail on needs and values and it might be worth your while. The more you understand about yourself, the easier it will be to make these big life choices.

If in the passage of time and events you decide to stay where you are, this exploration will still be useful and will help you shape your career path and inform the requests you make of your current management.

I hope you do a little self-reflection and learn more about who you are and what you really want out of life. The more thought you put into it now, the more likely you will be able to create an extraordinary life with few regrets.

Love, Madeleine

About the author

Madeleine Homan Blanchard is a master certified coach, author, speaker, and cofounder of Blanchard Coaching Services. Madeleine’s Advice for the Well Intentioned Manager is a regular Saturday feature for a very select group: well intentioned managers. Leadership is hard—and the more you care, the harder it gets. Join us here each week for insight, resources, and conversation.

Got a question for Madeleine? Email Madeleine and look for your response here next week!

– People who exhibit the behaviors of a self leader are more likely to expend discretionary effort on behalf of their organizations.

– People who are self leaders are more likely to have positive feelings about their jobs.

– Self leaders are more likely to perform at high levels, endorse their organization to others, remain with their organizations, and act as good organizational citizens.

For organizations looking to create a culture of self leadership in their organizations, Susan Fowler, one of the lead researchers in the study, recommends that everyone, regardless of their position in an organization, learn the skills necessary to become a self leader. Fowler explains that self leadership is a mindset and skillset that can be taught and learned.

The mindset of a self leader includes three attitudes.

Challenge Assumed Constraints. Fowler says that for individual contributors to evolve into self leaders, they need to challenge their assumed constraints every day at work. For example, if you assume that no one will listen to your idea because you tried once and were rejected, then you seriously limit your ability to effect positive change.

Activate Points of Power. Next, Fowler says, is to recognize and leverage the power you have instead of focusing on the power you don’t have. Fowler explains that people often point to a lack of position power (having a position of authority to allocate budget and make personnel decisions) instead of recognizing four other types of power they could leverage.

• Task power (the ability to influence how a job or task is executed)
• Personal power (having personal characteristics that provide an edge when pursuing goals)
• Relationship power (being connected or friendly with people who have power)
• Knowledge power (experience and expertise)

Be Proactive. The third component of a self-leadership mindset is the ability to be proactive. Self leaders don’t always wait to be told what to do, says Fowler. Instead they hold themselves accountable for getting what they need to succeed. They think for themselves and make suggestions for improving things in the department and in their roles. They conduct proactive conversations at every level of their development to solicit feedback and ask for direction and support.

With a proper mindset in place, Fowler says people can begin to develop a three-part self leadership skillset.

Setting Goals. Self leaders take the lead to make sure their goals are specific, motivating, attainable, relevant, and trackable. If a goal lacks specificity, they seek clarification. If a goal is not attainable or relevant, they negotiate to make it more fair, within their control, and tied to the company’s metrics. If a goal is not optimally motivating for them, they reframe the goal so it is meaningful by aligning the goal to personal values or a noble purpose.

Diagnosing Development Level. In this second component of a self-leadership skillset, people learn to diagnose their own development level—their current level of competence and commitment for achieving a goal or task. Among the hallmarks of self leadership is learning to diagnose personal competence and commitment and identify what is needed to speed up the process of development and growth.

Matching. The third component of a self-leadership skillset teaches people how to get a leadership style that matches their needs. After diagnosing their competence and commitment on a particular goal, self leaders proactively ask for the direction (guidance and clarification) and support (listening and problem solving) they need to make progress on the goal.

Fowler points out that people equipped with the skills of self-leadership feel more positive about themselves and their jobs. They also have the characteristics of employee work passion: they perform at higher levels, endorse the organization positively, have higher levels of autonomy and competence, and are more likely to remain with the organization.

“When people become empowered self leaders, they’re proactive self-starters who look for ways to make your organization flourish.”

As Fowler and her research colleagues identify, the most crucial element in successful initiatives lies in the proactive behavior of the individual contributors required to carry them out.

“Organizations would be wise to equip their employees with the mindset and skillset to diagnose their situation, accept responsibility, and hold themselves accountable for taking action.”

Interested in learning more? Be sure to download the complete research report here. You can also join Fowler for a free webinar on June 21—Taking a Top-Down, Bottom-Up Approach to Leadership.  The event is free, courtesy of The Ken Blanchard Companies. Learn more here.

In reviewing research for the redesign of Blanchard’s Self Leadership program, Fowler found compelling evidence that suggests the single most essential ingredient in organizational success is the proactive behavior of individual contributors.

Drawing on research from several recent studies (see references below), Fowler points to individual behaviors that lead to broader organizational success.

• Proactively seeking feedback
• Learning how to sell solutions to problems
• Taking charge to effect change
• Getting needs met for direction and support

The bottom line? Organizations benefit from training their workforce in self leadership skills.

As Fowler shares in the video below, “Leadership is a two-sided coin.” Organizations are best served by investing in not only traditional leadership training for managers but also self leadership training for direct reports. When leaders and direct reports have a shared purpose and a common language, the results are that much more powerful.

What’s the Impact of Having Self Leaders?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q18t_ya_OhA

For more information on the impact self leadership can have on overall organizational success, check out Blanchard’s new white paper, Developing Self Leaders–A Competitive Advantage for Organizations, which looks at the correlations between a self leader’s proactive behaviors, optimal motivational outlooks, and the intentions of employee work passion.

You can download a copy of this white paper at the Blanchard website.

References

Goal Orientation and Work Role Performance: Predicting Adaptive and Proactive Work Role Performance through Self-Leadership Strategies. Marques-Quinterio, P. and Curral, L. A., The Journal of Psychology, 2012.

Serving one another: Are shared and self-leadership keys to service sustainability? Manz, C. et. al., Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2015.

Thinking and Acting in Anticipation: A Review of Research on Proactive Behavior. Wu, C. and Parker, S., Advances in Psychological Science, 2013.

Self-leadership in organizational teams: A multilevel analysis of moderators and mediators. Konradt, U., AndreBen, P., & Ellwart, T., European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2008.

A summer morning stands out with vivid clarity in my mind. I was eight years old. My younger sister, Dee Dee, and I were up before our parents. We were excited to put on our new summer shorts and begin our day. But we were up so early, all our neighborhood friends were still sleeping. And we were bored.

That’s when something magical happened. We went outside and discovered we could turn the steps in our front yard into a game. We ran in opposite directions around the house to see where we met each time. We practiced jumping over the wooden fence between yards. We used the sheets hanging on our backyard clothes line as a makeshift tent.

Exhausted, we flopped down in the grass and began pointing at puffy white clouds in animal shapes against the blue sky. I remember feeling full and satisfied, inventive and adventurous, with a love of games—especially the ones my sister and I created for ourselves.

Dr. Edward Deci, the father of intrinsic motivation, has long lamented that we over-program our children’s lives, robbing them of the discretionary time to be bored. No one wants to be bored, Deci reasons, so we find ways to entertain ourselves. And that’s when we discover our intrinsic motivation—what we enjoy doing simply because of our inherent interest in doing it.

Today’s organizations are filled with employees who are not intrinsically motivated because they haven’t had the discretionary time to discover or tap into their intrinsic motivation.

Do yourself a favor and try these 3 ideas:

Use discretionary time to discover your intrinsic motivation. When you have an unplanned moment, notice the activities you gravitate toward. When there is empty space in your life, what do you want to do? Even if you don’t have the time to get into it or aren’t in a position to do it, recognize your yearning—take note of it. Your discretionary time can reveal the things you are intrinsically motivated to do.

For example, years ago when I would find myself on an airplane without work to do, on vacation with blocks of unplanned time, or with a rare free afternoon on a weekend, I would notice an intense longing to write. Today, I still experience that tug to pull out pen and paper (or iPad) and capture thoughts and ideas. My down time reminds me of my intrinsic motivation.

Tap into your intrinsic motivation at work. When you know what intrinsically motivates you, it’s fun to find ways of integrating it into your work.  I link writing to a variety of work-related tasks such as returning emails, explaining details in written form, drafting proposals, and blogging.

Help reveal other people’s intrinsic motivation. I remember thinking that if my boss caught me reading at work, I’d be branded as lazy. Don’t be that boss. Don’t perpetuate the myth that you need to drive productivity through pressure and constant motion. Instead, encourage your employees to take mindfulness moments. Talk to them about their interests, both work related and personal. Help people discover their own intrinsic motivation. And then help them find creative ways to integrate it into their everyday tasks.

Remember, intrinsic motivation is a good thing. When people are intrinsically motivated they pursue goals for the enjoyment it brings, not because of an external reward or outside pressure. They are more apt to attain a state of flow—that place where time flies and they are in the zone because the demands of the task are matched with their competence to do it. Compelling evidence demonstrates that when people are intrinsically motivated, they generate positive energy, higher degrees of creativity, and sustainable productivity.

One more idea. Do your kids, and their future employer, a favor. Leave them alone with nothing to do sometimes. It might drive you crazy for a while, but it will be precious time where they can discover their intrinsic motivation for writing, reading, teaching, learning, memorizing, running, sports, music, history, or math. Helping your children discover their intrinsic motivation is a gift that will keep on giving.

About the Author

Susan Fowler is a senior consulting partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies, co-creator of the company’s Optimal Motivation and Situational Self Leadership training programs, and the author of the bestselling book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work … And What Does: The New Science of Leading, Engaging, and Energizing.

But that’s not true. In fact, that kind of misinterpretation of the research can lead to assumptions that actually perpetuate disengagement, such as the concept of organizations needing to use incentives, rewards, promotions, praising, perks, status building, pay raises, games, competition, or prizes to get anything accomplished.

Knowing the truth behind the nature of human motivation will not only help you reframe the research and rethink your basic beliefs, it will also allow you to embrace new practices that result in employee engagement and work passion. Let me explain.

People’s Basic Nature is to Thrive

In the 2014 movie Gravity, Sandra Bullock’s character goes into space because she has no reason to live on planet Earth. When circumstances spell certain death, she contemplates giving up. But then we witness her remarkable resilience and creativity as she fights to return to Earth.

As we learn watching the plot unfold in the movie, our true human nature is to thrive by making choices, finding meaning, and developing skills to cope with what the world throws at us. But is that a struggle we have to take on alone? I don’t think so.  In fact, I think leaders can greatly accelerate the process by developing strategies to help people experience what every human being needs to thrive: the three psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence.

For example:

• Define boundaries people need to know and then help them explore the choices they have within those boundaries.
• Demonstrate you care about people through proactive listening.
• Encourage people to develop new skills on a regular basis. Even mundane work is brought to life when people identify transferable skills they can develop such as learning how to focus, improving people skills, practicing different communication styles, etc.

Nobody Wants to be Bored and Disengaged

People want to make worthwhile contributions. People appreciate meaningful challenges. Two of the world’s leading researchers on motivation, Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, wrote a beautiful explanation of human nature*:

“The fullest representations of humanity show people to be curious, vital, and self-motivated. At their best, they are agentic and inspired, striving to learn; extend themselves; master new skills; and apply their talents responsibly. That most people show considerable effort, agency, and commitment in their lives appears, in fact, to be more normative than exceptional, suggesting some very positive and persistent features of human nature. Yet, it is also clear that the human spirit can be diminished or crushed… “

What does this mean for leaders? That it’s important to engage in one-on-one conversations to help people explore their inherent interests, align tasks with their deepest values, and connect their work to a sense of purpose.

Promote Human Thriving

If you believe the high number of disengaged employees reflects a natural state of being, you probably tend to depend on traditional means to fix disengagement—like the incentives, rewards, promotions, etc., I mentioned earlier.

But as you run out of resources and find your workforce is still disengaged, you may need to stop looking for different ways of motivating people and rethink your basic beliefs about human nature and disengagement. Only then will you spark the innovation to develop strategies that promote human thriving—and true engagement—in the workplace.

About the Author

Susan Fowler is a senior consulting partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies, co-creator of the company’s Optimal Motivation and Situational Self Leadership training programs, and the author of the bestselling book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work … And What Does: The New Science of Leading, Engaging, and Energizing.

*Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being, https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/2000_RyanDeci_SDT.pdf

Consider this story shared by a woman in a workshop I was teaching on motivation.

While taking her normal elevator ride up to her office she found herself alone with the CEO of her company, whom she had never met. As she explained, “My heart raced. Should I introduce myself? When will I ever have another chance like this? But what if I make a bad impression?”

By the time the woman could gather her thoughts and decide what to do, the elevator stopped, the CEO stepped out, and the moment was lost. As she rode up the final few floors she was flooded with emotion.

“I was shaking. I was sad—disappointed—mad—frustrated—angry. I couldn’t believe how one person entering the elevator and not saying a word could generate so much negative emotion in me.” The woman said it had been a horrible way to start the day.

What caused all of the mental anguish? Real and perceived power. Without the woman’s perception of the CEO’s power, the dynamic in the elevator would have been far less tense for the woman. Research bears this out.

Dr. Drea Zigarmi, Dr. Taylor Peyton Roberts, and I recently completed research on how a leader’s power affects people’s motivation. We found that leaders at all levels need to be mindful and clear about the types of power they have and use. Our findings showed that the use—or the perceived use—of leader power usually results in people experiencing suboptimal motivation. Let’s take a closer look.

In 1959, social psychologists John R. P. French and Bertram Raven described five bases of power that are typically in play in the workplace.

• Reward power: A leader’s power to promise monetary or nonmonetary compensation or incentives.
• Coercive power: A leader’s power to use threats and punishment.
• Referent power: A leader’s power that causes followers to want to identify with, be associated with, or to believe in the leader.
• Legitimate power: A leader’s power of position or title that gives the leader the right to request compliance from another individual.
• Expert power: A leader’s power that comes through depth and breadth of knowledge.

Why are perceptions of power so important to understand? Because of their impact on motivation. A leader’s use of power can undermine people’s need for autonomy, relatedness, and competence (ARC)—the three psychological needs required for people to thrive, produce, and sustain high performance. Because people can potentially perceive their leader as having power over them in any of these five areas, you could be undermining people’s motivation and not realize it.

Here are insights on how to use your five bases of power more wisely:

• There are two types of reward power—impersonal and personal. Consider how you are using impersonal reward power to grant special benefits, promotions, or favorable considerations. Think about how you might be using personal reward power to influence employees’ feelings of being accepted, valued, and liked by you. Misuse of either leads to suboptimal motivation.
• Understandably, the use of coercive power usually results in a negative relationship—and suboptimal motivation in those you lead. Coercive power creates a workplace where people waste emotional energy to avoid suboptimal motivation.
• If referent power becomes too important, it can result in people who are afraid to disagree with you. It might surprise you to discover that when employees report managers exhibiting referent power, they also report experiencing suboptimal motivation because of their dependence on that leader for their internal state of well-being.
• Even legitimate power—often referred to as position power—can be misused when it is perceived as “Do this because I tell you to.”
• Finally, while expert power won’t necessarily result in people’s optimal motivation, withholding it can put them into suboptimal motivation.

As my colleague Dr. Drea Zigarmi so aptly puts it: “Power is very precious stuff. It entices the leader into flights of self-delusion and separateness from those they lead.”

Over 125 years ago, Lord Acton wrote the famous line, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” and the less famous line, “The sole advantage of power is the ability to do more good.” Based on our research, we might follow with this advice: Let go of your dependence on power to get work done. Instead, consider your power as an opportunity to do more good by developing ARC-supportive skills to understand, appreciate, and respond to people’s psychological needs. You will create a workplace where people are optimally motivated to achieve results and have the energy, vitality, and well-being needed to sustain those results. Powerful!

About the Author

Susan Fowler is a senior consulting partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies, co-creator of the company’s Optimal Motivation and Situational Self Leadership training programs, and the author of the bestselling book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work … And What Does: The New Science of Leading, Engaging, and Energizing.

And while it’s good that we’ve made progress, we still need to keep moving if we truly want to leverage what the new science of motivation is teaching us.

In the June issue of Ignite, Susan Fowler, best-selling business author of Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work…And What Does, explains that individuals bring one of six motivational outlooks to any goal or task they face.Three of the outlooks correlate to positive, long-lasting, and consistent energy for getting a job done—and three don’t.

The three positive optimal motivational outlooks are

• Aligned. This is where an individual derives a sense of meaning from the goal or task, is able to align the task with important personal values, and is making a conscious and deliberate choice to do the right thing.
• Integrated. This is where an individual is motivated because the goal or task fulfills a deeply felt sense of purpose or is regarded as a self-defining activity.
• Inherent. This is where an individual perceives the goal or task as pure fun and enjoyment.

The three suboptimal motivation outlooks are

• Disinterested. This is where an individual feels overwhelmed, cannot find value in the task, or doesn’t have the energy to manage what’s required.
• External. This is where an individual is primarily motivated by the promise of a tangible reward or incentive, or the expectation of increased power, status, or respect.
• Imposed. This is where an individual is motivated by pressure to perform by either self-expectations or the expectations of others. Their actions are an attempt to avoid feelings of guilt, shame, or disappointment.

Fowler explains that looking beyond a simple extrinsic/intrinsic model of motivation creates additional choices and gives leaders more options to help facilitate a shift to a better outlook. Her approach is to teach leaders how to have conversations that help others identify the reasons for their motivation. The result is higher quality motivation that is based on meaningful values and a noble purpose.

Fowler is quick to point out that this kind of shift is more than a theoretical idea—it is a practical enhancement that makes the application of other leadership skills more effective.

“A strong foundation in motivation science elevates traditional leadership skills,” explains Fowler. “For example, consider the benefit when you combine traditional goal setting with a motivational outlook conversation about achieving the goal. These conversations give managers an opportunity to help people find relevance, meaning, and deeper connection to their goals. Skipping over the motivational outlook conversation or jumping to a problem solving or action planning conversation with people when they are suboptimally motivated on the goal, problem, or plan usually leads to suboptimal results down the road.

“People work best when they are pursuing goals for high quality reasons. Ask people questions that help them connect their goals to their values and sense of purpose. People who make this connection don’t just perform at a high level and achieve their goals—they flourish.”

You can read more about Fowler’s approach to workplace motivation in the June issue of Ignite.  Also, be sure to check the information about Fowler’s upcoming webinar on Leadership Skills: Applying the New Science of Motivation.  The event is free, courtesy of Cisco WebEx and The Ken Blanchard Companies.

Running is part of my life. It’s what I do.

But lately I’ve encountered a problem: I haven’t been running.

When I’m training for a race, I run three times during the week and then have a long run on the weekend. There’s no doubt my friends get bored of me cancelling plans in favour of “Sunday Run Day.” Even when I’m not actively training, I like to keep my fitness level high and run at least twice a week.

But I’ve been struggling recently. I’ve probably been out on some shorter runs, perhaps going twice in the last month. As a result I’m trying to understand what is stopping me from lacing up my trainers and taking that step out of the front door.

• Work has been busy. (But I could definitely spare time to go out for a short run each day—I’d just need to get up a little bit earlier.)
• I’ve had a lot of plans with friends. (But I could easily find a balance between working out and going out.)
• I need some new trainers. (But the old ones still work.)

I haven’t got any real excuses not to be out pounding the pavements; I simply can’t be bothered. I can’t find the motivation. I just don’t want to.

I’ve registered for some races in the second half of the year. I can’t wait to start training for these races, but I’m procrastinating, because I have lots of time between now and then. Whilst being registered for a race is a short-term motivational push (simply because I fear being the last one panting across the finish line), the races aren’t enough to keep me running the rest of the time. The promise of a medal and a finisher’s t-shirt is an exciting reward, but it’s not enough to push me all the time.

I’ve found myself slipping away from running, and I find myself at a point now where I’m simply disinterested. I’m prioritising other commitments, and I’m not leaving myself with enough time or energy to go for a run. I’d rather be doing something else. I simply don’t care.

That can’t be right.

Look at my opening paragraph. I’ve already said that being a runner defines me. If I am to find the motivation to run again, I need to remember what makes me want to run. I need to remind myself why I love running.

I started running at university. I took a law degree, so after a day of reading textbooks, I decided I didn’t want to stay inside, and I found that running became an escape. I could go out, and use it to digest everything I’d read that day; or to think about things that weren’t law. It was my freedom, and my thinking space.

The more I ran, the fitter I became, and with that, I found that maintaining that fitness was important to me. Plus, if I ran, it meant that I could eat more (and anyone who knows me, knows I like food—a lot!)

I started tweeting about running – yes, I’m one of those annoying people, but everyone knows if you don’t share your workout on social media, it basically doesn’t count – Twitter opened the door to my first Marathon. I trained, and it became an addiction. I chased the miles; the times and the personal bests; and I learned to love the ache in my legs.

Running became part of me. I wasn’t running because I had to. I was running because I loved how it made me feel – it cleared my mind, it meant I could eat loads of cake kept me fit, and I just enjoyed doing it. It became an integrated part of my life.

The key to getting myself back to enjoying running again is to remind myself that in running I can demonstrate important values of fitness. I can derive that sense of fun and enjoyment and continue to feed my natural love of challenging myself.

The end-of-race medal is a great goal to work towards—but if I’m to keep running, I need to find a kind of motivation that isn’t external. It’s not because of the promise of a piece of “race bling.” It’s because the only person who can fully motivate me—is me!

– Our basic human nature is to thrive. No one wants to be bored and disengaged. People want to contribute. People appreciate meaningful challenges.

– We all have three psychological needs—autonomy, relatedness, and competence—that contribute to our well-being.

– Leaders can’t motivate anyone. What they can do is shape a workplace where it is more likely that people will experience optimal motivation through proven best practices.

If you are serious about improving people’s productivity, sustainable performance, creativity, resilience, risk-taking, mental health, emotional well-being, and positive physical energy, I urge you to consider elevating your current leadership practices.  Here are three ways to get started.

1. Encourage Autonomy: Set SMARTer goals where the M stands for motivating and the reasons for achieving the goal are tied to developed values, a noble purpose, or inherent joy. Illuminate freedom within boundaries to shift focus from what can’t be done to what can be done. Present timelines as useful information rather than as a form of pressure.
2. Deepen Relatedness: Discuss individual values in light of the organization’s values so that workplace goals can be linked to reasons individuals find meaningful. Reframe metrics with individuals so that they can personally relate to outcomes with purpose and meaning. Provide pure feedback that leaves out your personal opinion, statements of your pride or pleasure, and rah-rah comments. Allow individuals to reflect on and determine how they feel about their own efforts, rather than becoming dependent on your approval—an unhealthy reason for their actions.
3. Build Competence: Facilitate Motivational Outlook Conversations to help ensure individuals are optimally motivated to follow through on solutions and action plans—otherwise, your coaching results are as castles built on sand. Concentrate on learning orientation by asking each day/week/month: What did you learn that will help you tomorrow? and What do you still need to learn to achieve your goals? Celebrate learning moments by going beyond fixing mistakes to taking advantage of them.

One More Thing: Leader, Heal Thyself

The new science of motivation builds a compelling case for updating traditional leadership practices. But before you can encourage autonomy, deepen relatedness, or build competence with those you lead, you need to reflect on your own motivation to lead.

Consider this story:

The hard-driving sales manager hoping to inspire his new sales rep took the young man to the top of a hill overlooking a posh part of the city. “Look at that place,” said the manager, pointing to a magnificent property. “I bet the house is 6000 square feet, plus the horse stable and tennis court.” He pointed to another home, “Can you imagine the party you could throw around that pool?” Then, the manager put his arm around the wide-eyed young rep’s shoulders and told him, “Son, if you keep working as hard as you’re working, some day all this could be mine!”

If your people sense—or even wrongly interpret—that your motivation to lead is self-serving, it undermines their psychological need for relatedness. Their positive energy is diminished as you chip away at their autonomy by pushing them to make their numbers or by pressuring them to be number one. They feel manipulated by your suggestions when your intention was to build their competence. Worse, feelings of alienation and pressure can fuel negative energy, leading some to sabotage the system by falsifying reports, making bad deals, or engaging in unethical behavior. They justify their own self-serving actions by comparing them to what they perceive as your self-serving motives.

To take advantage of the compelling new leadership practices, ignite your own motivation to lead through meaningful values and a noble purpose. When it comes to being an inspiring and effective leader, the reasons for your motivation matter.

About the Author

Susan Fowler is a senior consulting partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies, co-creator of the company’s Optimal Motivation and Situational Self Leadership training programs, and the author of the bestselling book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work … And What Does: The New Science of Leading, Engaging, and Energizing.

Editor’s Note: Are you attending this year’s ATD International Conference & Exposition in Denver?  Don’t miss Susan Fowler’s presentation on Sunday, May 22, at 1:30 pm.  You can learn more about all the Blanchard activities at this year’s event by visiting http://www.kenblanchard.com/events/atd-2016

But when they became a manager, their role shifted.  They now needed to focus on what needed to get done and leave the how to the individual contributors they managed.  As a manager, they needed to be more strategic and less tactical.

Many managers struggle with this change.  They had established numerous great methods, processes, and ideas for how to accomplish work. What are they supposed to do with these concepts now?

For a fair share of managers, the natural answer is to pass on their ways to their direct reports by staying hands-on.  It doesn’t occur to them that as a manager their role is to figure out and communicate what needs to get done, leaving the how to their direct reports as their capabilities allow and giving direction and support only as needed. Unfortunately, some managers never make this shift.

If this sounds like you, there are numerous benefits when you shift from how to what.  Leaving the how to your direct reports:

… gives them the chance to develop their skill set.

… is motivating.  Research conducted by Blanchard for our Optimal Motivation training program uncovered that employees feel motivated when they perceive that what they are doing is of their own volition and that they are the source of their own actions.

… gives you more time and space to work on the what.

What can you do to make the shift?  Lots!  Here are a few suggestions:

• Acknowledge to yourself that the change won’t be easy. It helps if you recognize that the benefits far outweigh the uncomfortable process of change.
• Do a little soul searching. Why do you want to keep your fingers in the pie?  Is it a lack of trust, a need to control, or a wish to add value?
• Learn the art of partnering with direct reports to facilitate their independent problem solving. Ask your capable people a question such as “What do you need to do to get the work done?”  Then figuratively sit on your hands and listen as they figure it out.  You might need to ask a few more open-ended questions—but resist offering solutions.
• Practice, practice, practice. This will not happen overnight.  Two steps forward, one step back—but stick to it and you will be able to make the change.

I love the quote “Mediocre coaches are those who remain attached to their own opinions and feel the need to be right or even useful.”  To me this applies not only to coaches but to managers, colleagues, parents, spouses, friends, etc.  Are you unnecessarily keeping your hands on the work your direct reports should be doing themselves?  If so, what are you going to do about it?  Let me know!

About the Author

Joanne Maynard is a senior coach with The Ken Blanchard Companies’ Coaching Services team.  Since 2000, Blanchard’s 130 coaches have worked with over 14,500 individuals in more than 250 companies throughout the world. Learn more at Blanchard Coaching Services. And check out Coaching Tuesday every week at Blanchard LeaderChat for ideas, research, and inspirations from the world of executive coaching.

Pretty heady stuff.

He realized he couldn’t drive people to be more just, client focused, and service oriented. The only way a radically different culture would emerge was through employees working together and making their own decisions to find new approaches for managing people’s wealth.

This powerful executive recognized that only through the power of tapping people’s honest and authentic need for autonomy, relatedness, and competence (ARC) would he be able to achieve the results he was looking for—a high functioning, self-motivated organization.  He realized that any driving for adherence to new policies and procedures would undermine people’s sense of ARC—and his firm’s cultural evolution.

It was a great bit of insight on his part. And it’s something we can all learn from as we endeavor to build highly motivated work environments.

• When you pressure people to perform, the pressure you create has the opposite result of what you intended. Pressuring people erodes their sense of autonomy.
• When you focus on metrics as priorities, people fail to find meaning in the metrics for themselves. When people feel used as a means to your end, it diminishes their sense of relatedness.
• When you drive for results and declare you are holding people accountable for those results, you are also sending the message that you don’t trust people to perform or achieve their goals. You undermine their sense of competence.

Here are four alternatives.

1. Encourage autonomy by helping people appreciate the freedom they have within boundaries. What is within a person’s control? What options do they have? Identify areas for creativity and innovation.

2. Deepen relatedness by engaging people in conversations about their values and aligning their values with the company’s goals. For example, help an employee who has a value for service explore how his service might improve through the company’s new approach.

3. Build competence by providing opportunities for training, clarifying expectations, and illuminating the unknowns. Don’t assume people know how to cope with change. Don’t try to sell change by sharing how the organization will benefit. Focus instead on helping people deal with the personal concerns they have for how the change directly affects them.

4. Teach leaders the skill of conducting motivational conversations. If leaders don’t know how to facilitate people’s shift to optimal motivation, they will default to what they know: driving for results. Leaders also need to practice optimal motivation for themselves. Leaders with suboptimal motivation tend to drive for results from others.

If you want real, sustainable, high quality results, stop driving yourself crazy trying to hold people accountable for outcomes that are not connected to individual needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence (ARC.)  Instead, help people satisfy those needs. When people experience ARC, they thrive—and you don’t need to drive.

About the Author

Susan Fowler is a senior consulting partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies who heads up Blanchard’s motivation and self leadership practices.  Susan is also the author of the business best-seller, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work… And What Does.

Dear Madeleine,

I am a staff manager at an academic institution. Of my eleven direct reports, seven have been with the University for more than thirty years and the rest have also been here for a long time.

They are smart and capable and very good at what they do, as they should be—they have been doing essentially the same job for most of their working lives. And that is the problem. I can get my people to do exactly their jobs and nothing more.

I read about work passion and engagement and achieving great things by harnessing discretionary energy, but this feels impossible with the culture in my department. I would bet that most of my people could get their jobs done in twenty hours a week and use the rest of the time for special projects that would enhance the department and benefit the organization. But anytime I throw out ideas for projects and ask for volunteers, I get blank stares and silence.

When I try to force the issue, I get constant pushback: “the busy season is just starting,” or “so and so is out on maternity leave and covering for her is overwhelming me.” You know the drill. It is so frustrating. How do I get these people inspired and energized?

Discouraged

Dear Discouraged,

You are not going to like what I have to say about this. (I don’t even like it.) But I know from research and vast experience that it is true. Ready? Here goes: any institution that has not had to keep up with constant change can become a safe harbor for people who are set in their ways and happy to stay in their comfort zones. What you are actually talking about it is total culture change. You can never underestimate the power of culture to kill any plans you might have to change things. The culture you are fighting has been shaped over years and it does not welcome anything new including variations that might require a little extra effort. Revolution is not welcome here. You might be able to shift the culture to get people to step up—but I warn you that you will need both some serious grit and the following:

1. A fundamental shift in expectations for work production that is passed down from the highest possible leadership. If your department hasn’t been targeted for budget cuts, it is only a matter of time before it is. You can ask your boss what the future holds and get senior leader support for adding tasks or even whole key responsibility areas to individual workloads.
2. A plan to match people with tasks and projects that are interesting to them. You will need to have conversations with each person and ask big, open-ended questions that will get them thinking about what would make something new and different feel exciting instead of burdensome, or worse: scary. Examples of such questions:
   • “What would make you feel like jumping out of bed in the morning?”
   • “What made you interested in working in this field in the first place?”
   • “What do you read about/learn about in your spare time?”
   • “If you could wave a magic wand and do anything you want for work, what would it be?

Using this information to shape the right project for the right person will require some creativity but it should help your people feel some initiative and ownership for any new tasks.

3. An extremely compelling reason for people to change. In this way, motivation is less of a mystery and you can tap into what really motivates each individual person on your team. Each person will have core needs that get met at work—and it will be critical to understand what those are so that any change won’t affect them. In addition, the science of motivation tells us that people are most impacted by changes in their autonomy, relatedness, and competence, so focusing on how change will affect people in those areas will be key. Click here for more information on the art and science of motivation.

Finally, you might want to consider your own motivation—it sounds like your department is getting along just fine. Why fix something that isn’t broken? Perhaps your people are just dandy but you crave the excitement of a fast-paced, super challenging environment? It might be easier to move yourself to a new location than try to change the one you are in.

I warned you that you weren’t going to like it. I’m really sorry. I’m not saying you can’t do it—I’m just saying it will be the fight of your life and you’d better really, really want it.

Love, Madeleine

About the author

Madeleine Homan-Blanchard is a master certified coach, author, speaker, and cofounder of Blanchard Coaching Services. Madeleine’s Advice for the Well Intentioned Manager is a regular Saturday feature for a very select group: well intentioned managers. Leadership is hard—and the more you care, the harder it gets. Join us here each week for insight, resources, and conversation.

Got a question for Madeleine? Email Madeleine and look for your response here next week!

I don’t like the word accountability. It’s always rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. I think it’s because it assumes the worst about people. When we talk about accountability, it always seems the assumption is a person is incapable of, or unlikely to, follow through on his/her commitments. So we spend a lot of time and energy creating systems, processes, or consequences to make the sure the person is held accountable.

I prefer the word responsibility. To me, responsibility has a positive connotation. It’s starting with the mindset that a person will be responsible if he/she is given the necessary tools and training. If a person is responsible, you don’t have to worry about him/her being accountable. Responsibility breeds accountability. Whereas focusing on accountability is only treating the symptoms of a performance issue, addressing responsibility is treating the root cause.

So how can leaders help their people develop an inherent sense of responsibility? Here’s five steps to get started:

1. Create a motivating work environment – You can’t motivate anyone. (What? Did he just say I can’t motivate anyone? Isn’t that one of my primary responsibilities as a leader?) Yes, I just said that. You can’t motivate anyone. Every person is responsible for his/her own motivational outlook. What you can do is create a work environment that allows your people to maximize their sense of autonomy, increase their level of relatedness with others, and develop competence in their work. Autonomy, relatedness, and competence are the variables that allow a person to be optimally motivated and it’s our jobs as leaders to foster an environment that brings out the best in our people.

2. Let your people take the lead in goal setting as much as possible – Think about your own experience. When have you felt the greatest sense of commitment to a goal? When you created it yourself (or had a hand in it), or when a goal was assigned to you? Most likely it was when you were involved in setting the goal because you had a sense of ownership. It was your goal, not someone else’s. Your people will exhibit more responsibility for accomplishing their goals if they are involved in setting them.

3. Be clear on expectations – If people are going to be responsible, they need to clearly understand the expectations of their commitment. Many times our frustrations with people not being accountable is due to a lack of clear expectations. Make sure people know why the goal is important, what the deadlines are, and what constitutes success. If the situation requires you to follow through with negative consequences, do so. Don’t make hollow threats.

4. Use the right leadership style – Your people have different levels of competence and commitment on each of their goals. It’s your job as a leader to flex your leadership style to provide the proper amount of direction and support your people need to accomplish their goals. If you don’t set your people up to be responsible and successful in achieving their goals, that’s on you, not them. (Hold yourself accountable…errr…responsible).

5. Let go – I’ve written previously about balancing control and responsibility. It’s easy to grab control from people when you see them underachieving or shirking their responsibilities. That doesn’t help your people develop responsibility and it only adds to your stress level and workload. If you’ve properly trained and equipped your people, you need to let go and let them succeed or fail on their own.

Starting with these five steps puts the onus on your people to live up to their responsibilities. It’s up to them to hold themselves accountable…to be responsible. The leadership mindset underpinning these steps is one of trust. Ralph Waldo Emerson said “Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great.” Trust your people to rise to the occasion, to be worthy of your trust. Odds are they will prove themselves to be responsible and you won’t have to worry about holding them accountable.

Randy Conley is the Trust Practice Leader at The Ken Blanchard Companies and his LeaderChat posts appear the fourth or last Thursday of every month. For more insights on trust and leadership, visit Randy at his Leading with Trust blog or follow him on Twitter @RandyConley.

I’ll bet you have heard about how a large percentage of New Year’s goals are no longer priorities—or even remembered—by the end of January.

Here’s a formula that can help. I’ve used it successfully with clients and it might also help you succeed in reaching your goals.

SMART Goals multiplied by Connection with Values and Purpose multiplied by Taking Relevant Actions equals Impact

Let me explain how this works, using as my example a client who works for an international development institution whose mission is to alleviate poverty.

SMART Goals. At the beginning of the coaching engagement, my client, his supervisor, and I (as his coach) agreed that one of my client’s goals during our coaching engagement would be to expand his influence outside his specific area of expertise. During our first session, we carefully validated that the goal was SMART: Specific, Meaningful, Attainable, Relevant, and Trackable. In our discussions, my client also realized that the goal was fully aligned with one of the competencies for his position: influence across boundaries. Therefore, it was definitely Meaningful and Relevant for both my client and his organization.

To make the goal more Specific, Attainable and Trackable, my client determined it would be helpful to envision actions that would support the goal. Although he understood the idea, he had difficulties imagining useful actions. Among the roadblocks we identified and overcame during an envisioning exercise was that one of my client’s key values—honesty—seemed to be in conflict with his concept of influencing people outside his own function. He felt that influencing across boundaries might mean interacting with his colleagues in a less than transparent manner.

Connection with Values and Purpose. In our discussion of the connection between my client’s goals and his values and purpose, he realized that the main purpose of his work—helping others less privileged—was integrated with the organization’s purpose of alleviating poverty. At that moment of realization, my client’s energy shifted. He started to see how, by improving his leadership influence across boundaries, he could mobilize resources—relational, technical and monetary—to expand his organization’s project support and implementation.

That moment in which my client connected his goal with his values and purpose brought him to an Optimal Motivational Outlook: which is where people move from extrinsic, or imposed, reasons for doing tasks to intrinsic motivators that are based on values and purpose.

In coaching terms, the combination of SMART goals with connection to values and purpose is what we call the thinking or the being of what we want to do.

Taking Relevant Actions. This factor of the formula is what we in coaching call the doing of what we want to do. No relevant actions means no impact. In this case, after my client shifted to the Optimal Motivational Outlook, he was able to easily identify five actions consistent with his desired impact. For example, one of the actions was to participate in technical groups both within and outside the organization to share and expand his knowledge about projects and potential market opportunities. We co-determined examples of groups that my client could join as well as the timing by which he could complete this action.

My client understood the relationship between the elements of the formula when noticing their multiplicative effect on the impact.

What are your goals for 2016? Have you connected them to a higher value or purpose? Creating this connection can help you work through potential roadblocks, just as it helped my client. Use this formula when reviewing your goals for the coming year and create the impact you want in 2016!

About the Author

Antonio Estrada, MBA, Engineer and Certified Professional Coach is a member of Blanchard Coaching Services network of executive and leadership coaches.  Since 2000, Blanchard’s 130 coaches have worked with over 14,500 individuals in more than 250 companies throughout the world. Learn more at Blanchard Coaching Services. And check out Coaching Tuesday every week at Blanchard LeaderChat for ideas, research, and inspirations from the world of executive coaching.

People go through predictable stages of concern during any organizational change initiative.*

Early on, people have both information concerns and personal concerns—they need to know what the change is, why it’s happening, and how it will affect them. Don’t make the mistake of avoiding people’s personal concerns until you can share all the detailed information about the change. People sense when change is coming: word leaks out, rumors and half-truths are spread, and people make up their own stories in absence of full knowledge. If people smell the smoke of change, they are already fearing the fire. If leaders do not effectively address these concerns early in a change process, the change may likely fail or succeed painfully. Neither of those options is optimal.

To address personal concerns, ask three questions: What choices do you have? What meaning can you make from all this? and What can you learn? When you facilitate people’s answers to these questions, you help them satisfy three basic psychological needs and activate their optimal motivation—despite experiencing disruptive change in their workplace.

Question #1: “What choices do you have?” encourages Autonomy, the first of the three psychological needs.

People forget they have choices when they are faced with a change made without their input or consent. But people always have choices. They can choose to come to work or not; to give their all or bide their time working in fear and expecting the worst; to learn, grow, and contribute or hold back out of resentment and retaliation.

Leaders with the skill of facilitating a motivational outlook conversation are able to guide their employees’ understanding of their situation and potentially shift their perspective. As a leader,  you can help your people connect the choices they have to values they hold dear. Change initiatives and a lack of security are less likely to be seen as threatening when people experience a  sense of autonomy.

Question #2: “What meaning can you make from all of this?” deepens Relatedness, the second psychological need.

People need to attribute meaning to the madness around them. Consider taking a proactive approach to helping people identify opportunities to serve others, deepen relationships, and make a contribution for the greater good.

Don’t underplay your role in connecting what people do every day to a higher purpose. Instead of simply driving for results, challenge people to examine higher quality reasons for why results are important. A leader who does this is more likely to generate results that were previously lacking—and that probably prompted the change in the first place.

Question #3: “What can you learn?” promotes Competence, the third psychological need.

It is in our human nature to learn and grow every day. However, without a conscious effort, adults don’t tend to notice what they are learning—or even that they are learning at all. Asking people what they stand to learn from a change prompts their awareness of their innate desire for continued growth—and how important it is to their sense of well-being. As a leader, you can help rekindle people’s innate enthusiasm for learning.

Take Advantage of Motivation Science During Times of Change

Remember, your job is not to shield people from what’s happening, to prevent their pain, or to obfuscate the truth in hopes of protecting them. Your role is to create a workplace where, despite the chaos or conditions, people are more likely to satisfy their psychological needs and experience optimal motivation.

By paying special attention to personal concerns at the beginning of a change process, you can help people grow and develop in ways that are beneficial to them and the organization before, during, and after the change. The greatest gift you may ever give—or personally experience as a leader—is to help people thrive in the midst of change, uncertainty, and ambiguity.

* Blanchard consultants Pat Zigarmi and Judd Hoekstra have written extensively on the predictable stages of concern people go through when asked to change.  You can learn more in their co-authored chapter of the best-selling book Leading At A Higher Level or via their Leading People through Change model and process.

About the Author

Susan Fowler is a senior consulting partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies and author of the best-selling book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work… And What Does.  She is also the co-author of Blanchard’s Optimal Motivation training solution which teaches leaders how to create a workplace where employees thrive.  You can learn more about Susan Fowler and Optimal Motivation at The Ken Blanchard Companies website.

Dear Madeleine,

I manage a fairly large team of supervisors. The days are long and hectic but I have a good flow going with the group. 

Recently, though, it has become clear that one of my best people—the person I am grooming to take my job, as I am up for a promotion—is looking for another job.  I know this because her coworkers and one of her direct reports have overheard her talking on the phone, and she has been taking long breaks in the middle of the day with no explanation.

I guess I wouldn’t mind so much, but she is not discussing it with me. I always thought we had an open relationship—in fact, we have often talked about her career and how I can help her to develop.  I also wish she were being more discreet.  I feel kind of mad about the whole thing and don’t know how to proceed.  Thoughts?     —Kind of Mad

Dear Kind of Mad,

I don’t blame you for being mad. It sounds as though you’ve gone the extra mile for this employee and she’s now going behind your back—and it doesn’t feel good.  But this isn’t really about you. Your best bet is to continue being as open as you always have been.

Set up a meeting and tell your employee what you have heard and what you are thinking and feeling.  She must have her reasons for looking for another job, and it is up to you to create a safe environment so she can help you understand what they are.  The best way to do this is to ask an open ended question and then stay quiet long enough for her to answer it.  Examples of questions that might feel right:

“What is going on that makes you want to leave?”

“What is missing for you in your current job?”

“Is there something I should know that I have been missing?”

Stay quiet for as long as it takes – the less you talk, the more your employee will talk. Don’t argue or judge, simply seek to understand. You may find out she is really upset and frustrated with something in her current situation, or you may find that her job search has nothing to do with that.  Either way, the only way to find out is to ask—and, again, don’t judge.

It is an accepted wisdom that many employees leave jobs because no one asked them to stay. You can certainly do that if it makes sense.  If it doesn’t—and it is, in fact, time for her to go—you can certainly offer to provide an excellent reference.  And then you can ask her to be more discreet.

Consider this a good wakeup call. You can leverage it by reviewing who your best folks are and crafting a plan to retain them.  One good tool is the stay interview—a regular conversation you have with each of your high performers to assess their engagement and job satisfaction and what you might be able to do to make staying with the job continually attractive to them.  To be ultra-prepared, it might serve you to understand more about motivation. Susan Fowler has literally written the book on the topic, and here is an excellent white paper to get you started.

So don’t get mad, get smarter about retention!  Good luck.

About the author

Madeleine Homan-Blanchard is a master certified coach, author, speaker, and cofounder of Blanchard Coaching Services. Madeleine’s Advice for the Well Intentioned Manager is a regular Saturday feature for a very select group: well intentioned managers. Leadership is hard—and the more you care, the harder it gets. Join us here each week for insight, resources, and conversation.

Got a question for Madeleine? Email Madeleine and look for your response here next week!

As Blanchard shares, “The advent of the functional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is giving us a peek into the workings of the brain, and the new science of motivation is helping us better understand what engages people. These developments, combined with ongoing research into well-being, are all beginning to converge on a new holistic model for leading others effectively.

“For the past fifty years we have used a left brain/right brain model to explain the way our brains work. While that’s been helpful, functional MRIs have vastly improved our ability to see which parts of the brain light up in different situations. The new focus is on the prefrontal cortex. It is the seat of judgment, emotional regulation, and executive functioning.”

According to Blanchard, the prefrontal cortex is also a “resource hog.” It uses a large share of the body’s glucose and oxygen and is very sensitive to external factors like sleep, diet, and stress.

“Stress causes the release of cortisol and adrenaline, which shuts down the brain’s higher level thinking abilities,” says Blanchard. “People revert to a more basic fight, flight, or freeze mode. That’s not the kind of thinking that leads to innovation, creativity, and collaboration. Instead, leaders want to look at creating safe environments that increase the production of the neurotransmitters that promote feelings of wellbeing, like dopamine and oxytocin. This makes it easier for people to consider new ideas, take risks, relate to others, and perform at their best.” 

ENGAGEMENT AND APPRAISAL

Blanchard will also be sharing new approaches to the problem of stubbornly low employee engagement scores in many organizations—including research his company has done that has garnered academic awards for research excellence and cutting-edge thinking.

“Organizations have become good at measuring levels of engagement, but not at improving those levels. Our research has found that there is a significant correlation between twelve work environment factors and five important employee intentions: the intention to perform at a high level, to apply discretionary effort when needed, to stay with an organization, to endorse it to others, and to work collaboratively as a good organizational citizen. Leaders need to intimately understand these environmental factors, the connection to intentions, and the individual appraisal process if they want to make lasting improvement to employee engagement scores.”

OPTIMAL MOTIVATION

The third area Blanchard will cover in his presentation is the latest research on motivation and the continued shift on discovering intrinsic motivators that tap into the motivation people already have. Blanchard will be highlighting the work of Susan Fowler, a senior consulting partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies, who is the author of Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work … and What Does.

“Susan Fowler has literally written the book on how motivation from external rewards and sanctions impacts six different motivational outlooks,” says Blanchard. “Including how extrinsic motivators lead to one of three suboptimal motivational outlooks, while intrinsic motivators lead to optimal motivation.” 

A CRITICAL JUNCTURE

Blanchard believes the leadership learning and development space is at an important inflection point.

“We are at a critical point in our industry where there are tens of millions of people who are either in, or soon to enter, their first management job. This huge thundering herd of people is moving into leadership at a time when direct reports will be expecting a lot from them. It’s never been more important to take a second look at methods that have worked in the past and combine them with the latest thinking about how to enhance leadership practices for a new generation in the workforce.”

If you are attending this year’s ATD Conference learn more about The Blanchard Companies’ complete schedule of activities. If you are not travelling to this year’s conference, be sure to check out a free online event on May 27 where Blanchard will be sharing key points from his presentation.

Dear Madeleine,

I’ve got a member of my team who has “retired in place.” No matter what I try, I can’t get him to engage. Any thoughts?

Frustrated

Dear Frustrated,

I think the only thing to do in this situation is to have a serious sit-down with your disengaged team member. First, put the facts as you see them on the table and let him know you’re looking for a substantial change in attitude and behavior. Be prepared with:

• A clear vision of what it would look like if he were to “come out of retirement”—a picture of a job well done.
• Concrete observations of how his disengagement is affecting both the team and the results the team is trying to achieve.
• Clear requests for the changes you want to see, with a timeline. This is a critical piece—there has to be a deadline.
• Unambiguous consequences—what will happen if you see no change?

Now I’ll add a second component.

All the latest research about motivation makes it clear that people can choose to be more engaged—it is an internal proposition. Blanchard’s research into Optimal Motivation focuses on three key psychological needs all people have—needs for Autonomy, Relatedness, and Competence.

Consider what you could do to encourage autonomy and perception of choice; deepen relatedness (quality of relationships, meaning and purpose); and increase competence (a sense of growing and learning) for this employee. Exploring these areas with him could get at some of the root causes of his disengagement.

This kind of conversation takes a certain amount of courage—but I guarantee it will bring about results of one kind or another. Your only alternative is to allow the situation to continue, which would eventually cause resentment among the rest of your team.

For detailed help on how to have Challenging Conversations, see our white paper Challenging Conversations–Strategies for Turning Conflict into Creativity. And let me know how things work out!

About the author

Madeleine Homan-Blanchard is a master certified coach, author, speaker, and cofounder of Blanchard Coaching Services. Madeleine’s Advice for the Well Intentioned Manager is a regular Saturday feature for a very select group: well intentioned managers. Leadership is hard—and the more you care, the harder it gets. Join us here each week for insight, resources, and conversation.

Got a question for Madeleine? Email Madeleine and look for your response here next week!

Grit

The other reminder came this week from my daughter’s fourth grade teacher, Mr. Cameron, who talked about having grit in his Tip of the Week.

Both shared how grit helps us push through challenges. They believe grit means hard work, not giving up, and always trying your best. Linda Kaplan Thaler shared the latest research on success and the strategies that helped her succeed at the highest levels in both her career and her personal life. Mr. Cameron was preparing the students for state testing. When I asked him about grit, he said, “There will be times when a question or task is going to be very challenging, and it’s important for our students to have a strong sense of what grit can do to help. Having grit means you’re not going to just guess and move on—it means you dig down, try your hardest, and work your way through the problem.”

Action Steps for Leaders

As leaders, we need to develop grit in ourselves as well as our people. In addition to digging down and trying hard, I’d like to suggest a third strategy—finding meaning. Here are a few ways to get started:

• Identify true passion. We inspire grit when we help our direct reports identify their true passion—something they love to do so much, they lose track of time. Think about the activities you love to do. When you are doing them, do you find yourself working harder to break through the barriers?
• Shift the motivational outlook. In our newly released Optimal Motivation learning program, we assist people in shifting their motivational outlook—finding a higher purpose for engaging in a goal or task. Susan Fowler, one of the authors of the program, talks about the importance of helping people discover how their jobs can meet deeper psychological needs. She shares scientific evidence that proves people find sustainable motivation when this discovery happens.
• Push the boundaries. Some of my best coaching experiences have been when a coach has said things such as “why not you?” and “write your ideal job and then go after it” and “manage your career to leverage your strengths and your passions.” More often than not, our self-talk limits our ability to push the boundaries. It’s that inner voice that says “I can’t” or “I’ll never be able to.” Help your people to push their perceived boundaries and set stretch goals. Be the positive voice and accountability coach they need.

Inspire your people

As Linda Kaplan Thayer shared, grit is showcased by people who have a deep motivation to do what they do. As managers, we can help our people tap into that motivation.

What do you believe inspires people to have grit? In my experience, it is a combination of a meaningful purpose and a will to succeed. Leaders have a role to play here. At the end of the day, leadership equates to influence and influence can inspire and generate motivation. Your leadership could be just what your people need to be able to push through challenges and showcase their grit.

About the Author

Joni Wickline is Vice President, Professional Services with The Ken Blanchard Companies. You can read Wickline’s posts as a part of Coaching Tuesday here at Blanchard LeaderChat for ideas, research, and inspirations from the world of executive coaching.

Drawing on research from Blanchard senior consulting partner Susan Fowler, the two Blanchards explain that a better approach involves looking for ways to connect a task or goal to something deeper and more meaningful. This requires some introspection, as each person comes to work with a different set of values and beliefs and a different set of personal drivers that are unique to them.

And while there are some common factors like Autonomy, Relatedness, and Competence—which are important needs for everyone—more subtle factors, such as Self-Regulation, Personal Values, and Mindfulness also come into play. The more you understand what is important to you and how you react to different motivators, the better able you are to understand how others might react.

Six Action Steps

For leaders ready to get started, the Blanchards point to six action steps from Fowler’s new book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work … And What Does. 

• Encourage autonomy (perception of choice)
• Deepen relatedness (quality of relationships, meaning and purpose)
• Develop people’s competence (sense of growing and learning)
• Promote mindfulness (capacity to see new options)
• Align with values (including personal values, not just the organization’s)
• Connect to a noble purpose (both personal and the organization’s)

Then they pose an important question—to what degree are a leader’s needs being met in each of these six areas—and to what degree are leaders helping others?  You can learn more about the leader’s role in identifying motivators, avoiding common motivational mistakes, and how six different motivational outlooks play out at work by reading the complete article, Check Your Motivation to Lead in the Spring 2015 issue of Training Industry Magazine.

In the latest issue of Ignite! Fowler explains that individuals bring one of six motivational outlooks to any goal or task they face—and that three of the outlooks perform better than the others for generating positive, long-lasting, and consistent energy for getting a job done.

The three optimal motivation outlooks are

Aligned. This is where an individual derives a sense of meaning from the goal or task, is able to align the task with important personal values, and is making a conscious and deliberate choice to do the right thing.

Integrated. This is where an individual is motivated because the goal or task fulfills a deeply felt sense of purpose, or is regarded as a self-defining activity.

Inherent. This is where an individual perceives the goal or task as pure fun and enjoyment.

The three suboptimal motivation outlooks are

Disinterested. This is where an individual feels overwhelmed, cannot find value in the task, or doesn’t have the energy to manage what’s required.

External. This is where an individual is primarily motivated by the promise of a tangible reward or incentive, or the expectation of increased power, status, or respect.

Imposed. This is where an individual is motivated by pressure to perform by either self-expectations or the expectations of others. Their actions are an attempt to avoid feelings of guilt, shame, or disappointment.

The challenge for leaders is to help themselves (and their team members) identify which of the six motivational outlooks is currently in play, shift to one of the more positive outlooks, and then reflect on the impact. Fowler’s research shows that this three-step process leads to greater performance, productivity, and well-being.

You can read the complete article, Motivated Leadership, by checking out the March Ignite! online newsletter.  Be sure to see the link to a free webinar that Fowler will be conducting on 3 Skills for Activating Optimal Motivation at Work. Want to diagnose your own motivational outlook?  Fowler has a short online assessment you can take!

The 950-person study looked at the correlations between three different motivational outlooks—Disinterested, Suboptimal, and Optimal—and five subsequent intentions to act in a positive manner—apply discretionary effort, perform at a high level, endorse the organization, remain with the organization, and be a good organizational citizen.

As expected, people who identified their motivational outlook as Disinterested showed no measurable correlation to exhibit the five desirable behaviors. However, the research showed that people with a carrot and stick (gain reward or avoid punishment) motivational outlook, labeled Suboptimal by the researchers, also showed no measurable correlation back to positive intentions.

Only people who identified their motivational outlook as Optimal—participating in a project or task because they were able to link participation to a significant value, life, or work purpose—showed a strong correlation.

Implications for Leaders

For managers—especially those using rewards and sanctions as performance management tools—this new data requires a rethinking of the best way to go about encouraging long term high performance. For best results, the Blanchard researchers suggest six ways managers can build stronger links to positive intentions.

• Encourage autonomy—by inviting choice and exploring options within boundaries
• Deepen relatedness—by sharing information about yourself and the organization, showing empathy and caring, and discussing your intentions openly
• Develop competence—by emphasizing learning goals and not just performance goals and by providing training and appropriate leadership style matching a person’s level of development
• Promote mindfulness—by encouraging self-reflection and asking open-ended questions that identify options
• Align with values—by helping individuals align goals to their identified values and by exploring natural interest and enthusiasm for a goal
• Connect to purpose—by providing rationale and big picture overviews to help individuals connect the goal to a work or life-related purpose

The research cautions leaders that taking motivational short cuts may spur action short term, but may do more harm than good long term. Instead, take the time to connect and align work goals in a way that builds autonomy, relatedness, and competence. You can learn more about the research—including source materials and additional tips for leaders, by downloading the 12-page white paper, A Business Case for Optimal Motivation.

In a new article, Missing the Point on Motivation, Fowler stresses not to wait until people have become disengaged before taking action. Instead, begin at the source of people’s engagement journey.

She explains that people are always appraising their workplace and coming to conclusions on whether they feel safe, positive, and optimistic about the environment, or threatened, unsure, or fearful. These appraisals lead to conclusions about well-being, intentions, and subsequent behavior.

“A leader’s role is to help people manage their appraisal process now so that people get on the path to employee work passion rather than the road to disengagement,” says Fowler. “Every day is an opportunity for leaders to help individuals shift their motivational outlooks. Day-to-day motivation holds the key to long-term engagement.”

According to Fowler, a primary reason engagement initiatives haven’t been as successful as hoped is that leaders do not understand the role motivation plays in the engagement process. That, and the outdated beliefs leaders have about motivation.

“I think many leaders are afraid of changing traditional methods of motivation because they are worried about how people might react,” explains Fowler. “However, our experience has been that when leaders are exposed to proven best practices and develop skills to use them, they are more inclined to move outside their comfort zone and try an alternative approach.”

Guidelines for Getting Started

For leaders ready to try a new approach, Fowler recommends finding ways of satisfying deeper psychological needs and focusing in six key areas.

• Encourage autonomy. Give people options. Even when you are discussing deadlines, frame them as useful information for achieving important goals rather than ways for applying pressure.
• Deepen relatedness. Appreciate the vital role emotions and feelings play in creating connection. This interconnectedness is something we all long for.
• Develop people’s competence. At the end of the day, it’s not just about what a person accomplishes; it’s also about what they are learning and how they are growing.
• Promote mindfulness. Prompt awareness of options that a person may not have considered. Ask open-ended questions to help individuals see options and rise above old, unhelpful patterns of behavior.
• Align with values. Help others align their work to meaningful values that generate positive energy, vitality, and sense of well-being.
• Connect to purpose. Few things in life are more powerful than acting from a noble purpose.

The quality of people’s day-to-day motivation is the source for the quality of their engagement. For best results, intervene earlier and use more effective and enduring approaches to motivation. You’ll be surprised at the impact you can have as a leader when you meet deeper and more satisfying needs.

To read more about Fowler’s approach to motivation, be sure to check out Missing the Point on Motivation.  You can also learn more via a free, online Leadership Livecast Fowler is hosting on Motivating People Doesn’t Work … What Does? The online event is free, courtesy of The Ken Blanchard Companies.

The result is suboptimal motivation, which characterizes three out of a possible six outlooks people can have when considering a task:

• Disinterested (suboptimal): I’m not interested–it feels like a waste of time.
• External (suboptimal): I’ll do it because of a promise for more money or an enhanced status or image in the eyes of others.
• Imposed (suboptimal): I’ll do it to avoid feelings of guilt, shame, or fear from not doing it.
• Aligned (optimal): I’ll do it because it allows me to connect the task to a significant value.
• Integrated (optimal): I’ll do it because it allows me to link to a life or work purpose.
• Inherent (optimal): I’ll do it because it is something I enjoy and think would be fun.

When managers promise more money, award prizes for contests, offer rewards, threaten punishment, apply pressure, or use guilt, shame, or emotional blackmail to encourage specific behaviors from employees, they may successfully initiate new behaviors and produce results—but they fail miserably in helping people maintain their progress or sustain those results. This is the motivational junk food approach that leads to the Disinterested, External, and Imposed suboptimal outlooks.

People with high-quality motivation, on the other hand, may accept external rewards when offered, but this is clearly not the reason for their efforts. The reasons the optimally motivated employees of the world do what they do are more profound and provide more satisfaction than external rewards can deliver.

Don’t Feed Your People Motivational Junk Food

When people experience high-quality motivation, they achieve above-standard results; demonstrate enhanced creativity, collaboration, and productivity; are more likely to repeat their peak performance; and enjoy greater physical and mental health.

Providing high-quality motivation like connecting a task to significant values and/or purpose may require more thought and preparation, but it generates the high-quality energy, vitality, and positive well-being that leads to sustainable results. If you want to create a work culture that thrives, wean yourself and your people off motivational junk food and offer them healthy alternatives.

To learn more about Fowler’s approach to motivation, be sure to read her complete article at Fast Company Online, Why the Way We Motivate People—and Ourselves—Matters.  Curious about your own motivational outlook and how it might be impacting your performance?  Check out Fowler’s free Motivational Outlook self-assessment.

In a new article for Harvard Business Review Online, What Maslow’s Hierarchy Won’t Tell You About Motivation, Blanchard author Susan Fowler suggests that despite the popularity of Maslow’s model it might be time to take a second look at the idea of a needs hierarchy.

In conducting research for her new book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work … And What Does, Fowler found that instead of a hierarchy, contemporary science points to three universal psychological needs common to all people at all times:  autonomy, relatedness, and competence.  This research would suggest that leaders need to address these three psychological needs early and often instead of delaying them for a future time.  For example:

Autonomy is a person’s need to perceive that they have choices, that what they are doing is of their own volition, and that they are the source of their own actions.  Fowler explains that the way leaders frame information and situations either promotes the likelihood that a person will perceive autonomy or undermines it. To promote autonomy Fowler recommends that leaders:

• Frame goals and timelines as essential information to assure a person’s success, rather than as dictates or ways to hold people accountable.
• Refrain from incentivizing people through competitions and games.
• Don’t apply pressure to perform. Sustained peak performance is a result of people acting because they choose to — not because they feel they have to.

Relatedness is a person’s need to care about and be cared about by others, to feel connected to others without concerns about ulterior motives, and to feel that they are contributing to something greater than themselves. Fowler shares that leaders have a great opportunity to help people derive meaning from their work and deepen relatedness by:

• Validating the exploration of feelings in the workplace and being willing to ask people how they feel about an assigned project or goal and listening to their response.
• Taking time to facilitate the development of people’s values at work — and then helping them align those values with their goals.
• Connecting people’s work to a noble purpose.

Competence is a person’s need to feel effective at meeting every-day challenges and opportunities, demonstrating skill over time, and feeling a sense of growth and flourishing. Fowler shares that leaders can rekindle people’s desire to grow, learn, and develop competence by:

• Making resources available for learning. What message does it send about values for learning and developing competence when training budgets are the first casualty of economic cutbacks?
• Setting learning goals — not just the traditional results-oriented and outcome goals.
• At the end of each day, instead of asking, “What did you achieve today?” ask “What did you learn today? How did you grow today in ways that will help you and others tomorrow?”

The exciting message to leaders is that when the three basic psychological needs are satisfied in the workplace, people experience the day-to-day high-quality motivation that fuels employee work passion — and all the inherent benefits that come from actively engaged individuals at work.

To learn more about Fowler’s research, read her entire article at HBR.org.  Be sure to check out—and join the lively conversation—taking place with fellow leadership development peers!

In her new book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work … And What Does, author Susan Fowler reminds leaders that employees are always motivated—it’s just the quality of their motivation that’s a problem sometimes. Fowler shares how the repeated use of motivational carrots & sticks might get results in the short term, but often have negative consequences long-term.

That’s why she labels a motivational mindset created by the use of rewards and/or punishment as sub-optimal and why she encourages individuals and leaders to check-in on their own motivational mindset occasionally to make sure that they aren’t just going through the motions.  Fowler knows from the research that sustained, healthy, long-term motivation comes from an aligned and integrated motivational outlook where work is connected to a higher purpose and people see how their role fits into the bigger picture.

How can you tell when it might be time for a motivational outlook check-up?  Here are some of the common symptoms Fowler has seen. Consider a one-on-one conversation focused on motivation when normally productive employees are:

1. Missing deadlines
2. Performing below expectation on important goals or projects
3. Not living up to their potential in a role
4. Often in a bad mood that permeates the workplace
5. Not taking initiative in circumstances where it is needed
6. Displaying emotion that is out of character or seems disproportionate to the situation
7. Undermining the positive energy of others
8. Rejecting helpful feedback
9. Getting defensive easily or often
10. Seemingly out of alignment with the organization’s purpose and values
11. Ignoring health and or safety issues

Any or all of these symptoms can indicate an employee with a sub-optimal motivational outlook.  To reframe and potentially upshift motivation to something more optimal, Fowler recommends a conversation focused on the issue, but she cautions against three common mistakes managers make; trying to problem solve, impose your values, or expect an immediate shift.

To avoid these common mistakes, Fowler recommends the following:

Refrain from Problem Solving:  This is a different type of conversation.  As a leader, you will be sorely tempted to share your expertise, but do not confuse a conversation about internal motivation with a problem-solving session.

Don’t Impose Your Values: One of the biggest mistakes leaders make with motivational outlook conversations is assuming another person holds or appreciates the same values. Despite your good intentions, imposing your values on others tends to provoke an imposed motivational outlook—one of the sub-optimal outlooks you are trying to avoid.

Do Not Expect an Immediate Shift: Relax, practice mindfulness, and allow the conversation to take its course. Realize that a person may not shift during this first conversation—it will happen when the person is ready. Remember, the purpose of a motivational outlook conversation is to discuss and explore motivational options and then shift, if they choose to do so.

To learn more on improving motivation inside your organization, download a free chapter of Fowler’s book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work … And What Does.  You can also check on your own motivational outlook through a mini-assessment. And don’t miss an opportunity to participate in a live webinar with Fowler on Wednesday, October 22. Susan will be presenting on Rethinking Five Beliefs that Erode Workplace Motivation. The event is free, courtesy of Cisco WebEx and The Ken Blanchard Companies.

But sometimes there’s a downside to this kind of efficiency. Sometimes the fast way doesn’t work and we go off course. Such is the case with a great many approaches to motivating employees. Just when the situation calls for deliberation and a different approach, our habits kick in and we again head down the route that is fast and easy, but a bit off course.

One of my coaching clients recently worked through such a situation. He had been leading a team for five years and for that whole time, no matter what the task, goal, or situation, he attacked it—pushing, leaning in, and constantly pressing ahead as was his habit. This fire-drill approach to goal achievement worked for him in that a lot of work got done. Unfortunately, though, it resulted in many of his teammates feeling imposed upon, overly pressured, harried. And that caused them to start leaning out—away from the work and away from him. This circular dynamic became a spiraling motivational problem—the more he leaned in, the more they leaned out, and the more he leaned in…

When he called me in, my client thought I was going to work with his team to get them to be more accountable. But the real work ultimately was in helping him see how his habit of pressing, pressing, pressing was in itself triggering the problems with his team.

Replacing my client’s habit of relentless pressure with a different method was necessary. What did my client learn to do? He learned to take a lighter motivational approach. Here’s how:

1. Via interviews, we collected unvarnished feedback about the problems he was creating. We sought comments relating only to his problematic behavior, because we wanted the intervention to focus on helping him stop doing the things that had made it “difficult to breathe,” as his teammates had reported.  He and I met with each person to discuss their feedback openly so that he could see, hear, and feel how he was affecting each person.
2. He apologized. No elaborate explanations of his intentions or grand stories about why his habit was necessary and useful. He simply said, “I’m sorry.”
3. He learned how to involve people in pacing the work so that they could collectively agree how to proceed, even in the face of intense organizational timelines.
4. He asked his peers to tell him what to do instead of always pushing his own solutions.
5. He asked his peers to tell him what the impact of this shift would be on them. (Everyone answered they would feel more positively motivated and happier.)
6. The team began a new ritual of celebrating progress anytime a member called for it—not only at the end when the result was achieved.

My client’s new approach to generating positive motivation has everyone not only feeling better but also performing better.  When the team needs to work extra hard to meet a very challenging deadline, they collaborate about how to get it done. Today in the meetings I observe, the tone is much more optimistic. A new and positive circular dynamic is occurring where the team feels they “have more space to breathe and are more productive, too,” as one member told me.

Reducing pressure for better results?  It’s not just a possibility. It works.

About the author:

Dr. David Facer is one of the principal authors—together with Susan Fowler and Drea Zigarmi—of The Ken Blanchard Companies’ new Optimal Motivation process and workshop.

In Fowler’s experience, the motivation practices used in many organizations have undermined engagement more often than they have engaged employees. Fortunately the new science of motivation has identified three psychological needs—Autonomy, Relatedness, and Competence—that can help managers create the type of environment where employees thrive.

Autonomy.  Diverse studies over the past 20 years indicate that adults have a psychological need for autonomy. For example, productivity increases significantly among blue-collar workers in manufacturing plants when they are given the ability to stop the production line. Similarly, the productivity of white-collar workers in banking firms has been shown to increase in workers who report a high sense of autonomy.

Autonomy doesn’t mean that managers are permissive or hands-off, but rather that employees feel they have influence in the workplace. Empowerment may be often considered a cliché, but if people don’t have a sense of empowerment, their sense of autonomy suffers, and so does their productivity and performance.

Relatedness. Relatedness is the very human need to care about—and be cared about, by others. As Fowler explains, “It is our need to feel connected to others without concerns about ulterior motives. It is our need to feel that we are contributing to something greater than ourselves.”

Fowler encourages leaders to help their people find meaning, social purpose, and experience healthy interpersonal relationships at work.

“Beliefs such as, ‘It’s not personal; it’s just business’ diminish an aspect of work that is essential to our healthy functioning as human beings—the quality of our relationships” says Fowler.  She reminds managers that applying pressure to perform without regard for how that makes people feel actually limits performance.

Competence. People are naturally motivated to learn, but managers often undermine employees’ desire to grow and learn new skills by assuming that people need to be incentivized to learn—either through rewards or punishment.

As a leader Fowler suggests seeing learning and growth in a new light by asking about, and providing opportunities, for people to grow and develop. “What did you achieve today?” What did you learn today?” How did you grow?” are great questions to ask when combined with opportunities to use strengths and develop new skills.

Create an Engaging Environment

In closing her article, Fowler stresses that it is a mistake to think that people are not motivated. In her experience, they are simply longing for needs they cannot name. The greatest thing a leader can do is create an environment that allows people to satisfy these needs, grow, enjoy their work, and build lasting relationships.

You can read Fowler’s complete article in the September issue of Personal Excellence.

Also be sure to check out the website of her new book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work…and What Does, which is available for presale now and will be available in bookstores on October 4. You’ll find great resources for leaders–and you can download a free chapter to learn more!

Did any of those family battles end up with your mom or dad saying “Do it because I said so!”—after which you skulked away under threat of grounding and did the minimum possible to complete the task so you could go back outside to play?

Why did you resist your parent’s request? Didn’t the battle take longer than the actual task?  Did you have better and more fun things to do? Did you just not like being told what to do?  Maybe you didn’t know exactly how to do it? Or maybe it was a little of all of those things?

Déjà vu

Fast forward to now. You find yourself engaged in the same battles with your own children and hear yourself saying the one thing you promised yourself that you would never say to your kids: “Do it because I said so!” Then you wonder why you did not keep your promise. Expecting some relief from that question, you go to work. At 9:00 a.m. your employee, Gilda, walks into your office and says she’s going to be late updating her accounts in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. You aren’t surprised. She has yet to meet a CRM deadline.

In response, you reiterate the importance of keeping her account details current. She tells you she understands, but she has too many other things to do. You argue a bit—politely, of course—until, after a few rounds of back and forth, you throw up your hands and say, “Do it because I said so!” Gilda skulks out and inputs the data, but you can tell that she did not put much effort into it and the updates are not what you expect. Is this déjà vu? You wonder, was this a grownup version of the conversation you had with your kids earlier that morning—and the ones you experienced when you were a kid? Surely there is a better way.

Recent motivation research shows that a subtle shift in outlook on these less than desirable tasks can make all the difference in not only well-being, but also goal achievement. So how can you help Gilda feel less imposed upon but still complete the CRM task? As we teach leaders in our new program called Optimal Motivation, the first step is to check out the employee’s basic psychological needs—Autonomy, Relatedness, and Competence—on the task. The more fully that the employee has these three needs met, the more likely she will be to complete the task, resent it less, and possibly even enjoy it while she does.

3 Steps to a Better Way

In your next meeting with Gilda, instead of getting upset, you decide to use three steps to helping her improve her motivational outlook.

1. Empathize with her reality. Start by acknowledging that with her sparkly and people-oriented personality, this CRM task probably feels dreary compared to being out with clients. She agrees. You reiterate the importance of getting the data into the system quickly, and you point out that by doing so she will make herself more positively visible in the organization, and that will help get her contributions to the company recognized.
2. Ask for permission to proceed. Next, ask if it would be okay to examine her point of view about the process so that you might help her find a way to make it feel more rewarding. As she begins to open up, you talk about her love of being with clients. She talks about her desire to make an important contribution to the company and to help her clients succeed. She begins to really understand how the CRM might support those goals.
3. Explore positive possibilities. Inquire about ways she might both update the CRM system regularly and accurately and also feel better about doing it. Explore whether she would like to shift her outlook from feeling imposed upon to being more aligned around the importance of her keeping her CRM details up to date. While it may not happen in the snap of your fingers, you are trying to help her decide to spend the necessary time—probably half an hour each morning—updating the system instead of waiting until the end of the month when it becomes overwhelming. By coaching her rather than driving her, you are both much more likely to feel positive and confident about her solution.

A True and Common Story

Gilda’s story is real. From that point on, her information was always up to date in the CRM. It is still not her favorite task, but she sees the value of it and that makes her outlook more positive. And as her boss, you feel better about saying, “Because I said so” less often.

Who knows? Maybe your success with Gilda—and your new awareness of the better way—will help you with your kids, too.

About the Author

Sarah Caverhill is Vice President–East Region of The Ken Blanchard Companies. Sarah holds a master of business administration degree and a bachelor’s degree in marketing. Sarah is also coauthor of the book, Your Leadership Legacy.

How can we be in the flow more often? First, we have to understand the conditions that lead to flow experiences. Second, we have to take steps to create the environment for us to get in the flow.

Conditions for Flow Experiences
There are three basic conditions you need for flow experiences:

1. A clear goal – This is why you often hear athletes talk about being in the zone or having tunnel focus when it comes to their activities. Whether it’s trying to hit a pitched ball, complete a pass, score a goal, make a last second shot, or cross the finish line ahead of others, there is a clear goal that lends purpose, structure, and process to the task at hand. A lack of clear goals often prevents the achievement of flow experiences at work. Unclear goals make it difficult to narrow our focus and attention and leaves us feeling stuck or overwhelmed with the work in front of us.
2. A balance between your skills and the challenge of the task – If you perceive you have the skills to meet the difficulty of the challenge ahead of you, it’s easier to get in the flow. If you believe you’re ill-equipped or don’t have the talent to accomplish the goal, anxiety and stress will prevent you from achieving a flow-state. Conversely, if you believe the goal is not challenging enough given your experience and skills, you’ll encounter boredom or apathy. You need the goal to be challenging enough to capture your attention and simultaneously have enough expertise to give you confidence to tackle the situation.
3. Real-time feedback on your performance – You can feel when you’re in the flow. It’s those occasions where you lose track of time because you’re completely immersed in an activity and things just, well…flow. And when you’re not, you feel like you’re trudging up a muddy hill, taking one step up and sliding back two. Flow is sustained by receiving feedback on your performance. When you see you’re performing well, it increases your confidence and desire to stay in the flow. When you see you’re off course, you can make adjustments to get back on track and in the flow.

How to Increase Flow Experiences
We can take concrete steps to help increase flow experiences at work that will allow us to perform our best. Here are six suggestions:

1. Connect your work to the bigger picture – Too many of us view our work with a microscope rather than a telescope. A microscope allows you to zoom in on the details of a particular object, ignoring the surrounding area. A telescope, on the other hand, allows you to see long distances away—the big picture. Rather than being uninspired by the small tasks you have to do, connect them to the importance of the big picture. Figure out how your work contributes to the betterment of the world. How does your work help improve the lives of people by meeting their needs or desires? All work has redeeming value and it’s up to us to discover it. Tapping into the bigger picture will add motivation and commitment to your work and help you achieve flow in your activities.
2. Clarify and prioritize goals – If your goals aren’t clear, work on gaining clarity. Figure out specifically what you’re trying to accomplish, what the standards are, the deadlines to meet, or the deliverable being produced. If you’re challenged with too many goals, work on prioritization. If you have conflicting priorities from multiple stakeholders, you may have to involve your supervisor to help you. Get clear on what you need to accomplish and then apply laser-like focus to your activities.
3. View work as a game – Games in general, and video games in particular, lend themselves to flow experiences because they are immersing in nature. We get wrapped up in figuring out how to reach a new level, unlock the next treasure, or beat the “boss.” You can apply the same principles to your work. Engage your mind in thinking about how you can accomplish things faster, better, or easier. Are there other ways you can approach tasks or activities that may bring more fulfillment? Look at work as a game you’re trying to master and let your creativity run wild.
4. Seek out bigger challenges and/or improve your skills – Complacency, boredom, and apathy are flow killers. If you find your work lacking in challenge, seek out new ones. Work with your supervisor to see if there are increased responsibilities you can take on, project teams you can join, or other ways to add more challenge in your work. On the flip side, worry, stress, and anxiety are also flow killers. If you find your work is too challenging, explore skill development opportunities. Go back to school, read books, get a mentor, or seek out additional training to boost your confidence and capability to meet the challenges you face.
5. Find your sweet spot – Your sweet spot is where your skills are matched appropriately to the challenge, and when you find that place, you have the greatest chance of achieving states of flow. Finding your sweet spot might mean following point #4 above, or it might mean transforming how you do your work by changing/improving processes, delegating it to someone, or collaborating with others.
6. Choose your motivation – Your supervisor is not responsible for motivating you. You, and only you, control your level of motivation. You can choose to be disinterested in your work or feel like others are imposing work on you, or you can choose to shift your motivational outlook by focusing on areas of your work where you can exhibit autonomy in your activities, mastery over how well you do your job, and satisfaction in the relationships you build with others.

Randy Conley is the V.P. of Client Services and Trust Practice Leader at The Ken Blanchard Companies and his LeaderChat posts normally appear the fourth Thursday of every month. For more insights on trust and leadership, visit Randy at his Leading with Trust blog or follow him on Twitter @RandyConley.

The answer to this entrenched belief is so obvious that at a recent speaking engagement, I had over 300 people spontaneously fill-in-the blank by yelling in unison, “Results!”

I then asked them to consider the affect this tyranny of results has on the workplace. It was not easy. Leaders tend to tune out as soon as you mess with results. Executives cannot imagine what else matters at the end of the day, but results.

As it turns out, the science of motivation is shedding light on the high price being paid for blind allegiance to results and leaving alternate opportunities unexplored, unmined, and under-appreciated.

Consideration #1: Redefine and reframe results.

If you are like most leaders, you define results in terms of quantifiable goals and specific outcomes expressed through ROI, net profit, financial gain, labor hours, reduced costs, lower turnover, productivity measures, and other dashboard metrics. Reasonable, but here is the irony: Your persistent focus on driving for results without emotional meaning may be creating the psychological distress, tension, and pressure that undermines achievement and makes it less likely you get the results that you—and those you lead—are seeking.

If you ask managers what matters at work, they will point to results such as achieving high standards on goals, making numbers, reducing production times, increasing output, and eliminating waste. Ask individuals what matters at work and you get a different response. Yes, people want to achieve those goals (when they are fair and agreed upon), but more important than a quantifiable goal is a meaningful one. Research concurs—in the end, it is the quality of the goal being achieved, rather than the quantity of something being achieved, that matters most.

Leaders and individuals need to learn how to frame results differently and trust that they will achieve organizational metrics.

When I was an itinerant speaker for the world’s largest public seminar company conducting over 100 day-long events a year—each one in a different city, state, or country—I appreciated the work, but I was literally bone weary. The company had a hard metric that meant termination of your contract if not met: Collect 75% or more of participant evaluations (typically 200) and score a 4.5 or better on a 5-point scale.

Those goals made me feel even more exhausted! If I had focused on meeting them, I would have burned out and then quit—as many of my colleagues did. Instead, I reframed the goal in ways meaningful to me. I will remember at least 20 people’s names and something about them by the end of each day. If at least one person tells me I made a difference in their life, then it was a good day.  (After all, that was why I was doing what I was doing.) By reframing what results looked like to me, I was energized—and consistently achieved the organization’s measures of success.

Consideration #2: Ends do not justify the means.

If we believe that results are what really matter without consideration as to why those results are meaningful and how people go about achieving them, we are in essence saying the ends justify the means. What a sorry picture this paints. We do not need the science of motivation to prove that means matter as much, or more, than the ends—we see the scandals and horror stories of people, organizations, industries, and countries who prize ends over means every day in the news.

However, we tend to overlook the obvious in day-to-day practice. The evidence is clear that even if people achieve the results you want, they are less likely to sustain or repeat those results if their basic psychological needs are thwarted in the process. You may experience short-term gains when you have a results focus, however, those gains are at risk and compromised when people feel pressure instead of autonomy, disconnection instead of relatedness, and “used” without a sense of the competence they have gained.

Try this for the next month: Reframe the belief that the only thing that matters is results. Consider this belief instead:

In the end, what really matters is not just results, but why and how those results are achieved.

Observe the shift in energy when you focus on what really matters in the workplace—achieving meaningful results that are also psychologically fulfilling. Then trust the numbers will add up.

About the author:

Susan Fowler is one of the principal authors—together with David Facer and Drea Zigarmi—of The Ken Blanchard Companies’ new Optimal Motivation process and workshop. Their posts appear on the first and third Monday of each month.

Editor’s note: This post is the fourth in a five part series on beliefs that erode workplace motivation. You can read Susan’s first three posts in the series by clicking on Rethinking Five Beliefs that Erode Workplace Motivation , Five Beliefs that Erode Workplace Motivation, Part Two , and  If You Are Holding People Accountable, Something Is Wrong.

One of the most perplexing questions in business is how to think about people.  On the one hand, we realize that we need each other if our organizations are to achieve what the founders, current leaders, and employees—people all—wish to achieve.

We are reminded that there is no “I” in team, and that all great achievements come at the hands of people working together.  We read company values statements that say, “People are our greatest asset.”  A personal approach.

On the other hand, we are implored to “get the right people on the bus, and the wrong people off the bus.” It sounds so simple.  We’re told to hire slow (to ensure we have the right people on the bus) but fire fast (when we decide someone shouldn’t be on the bus.) An impersonal approach.

Leaders’ persistent ambivalence about people—and subsequent impact on motivation—was writ large at a global manufacturing company recently.  By any measure, the company has fallen on hard times.  Even after several rounds of layoffs, it is still wrestling with the right formula for success.  After another setback, the COO implored the employees to “take the [issue] personally” requiring some staff to return to working at company offices instead of home offices because the company needed “all hands on deck.”

That sounds reasonable.  The COO wants the employees to really feel it.  But, consider that those employees had survived years of deep and painful layoffs, so they most likely had been really feeling it for years.  The question is whether that approach will engender deep commitment.

Leaders imploring employees to take it personally at one time but not at another time may seem insensitive and one-sided.  Our research into employee motivation reveals employees have a need for warm and supportive relationships that are balanced, rooted in fairness, and free from ulterior motives.  In other words, just like when we were in grade school, no one wants to feel used.

Where do you stand?

Where do you stand on the “it’s not personal, it’s just business” belief?  What links do you see between your beliefs about business and your employees’ motivation?

Senior leaders—indeed, every leader—would do well to recognize the inherently personal, interconnected, and human dimensions of work and organizational life.  When senior leaders implore employees to take it personally only when it suits them, they increase the likelihood that those employees will see the senior leaders—and the company—with the same kind of ambivalence.  In that case, the negative cycle of “it’s not personal, it’s just business” continues—and never ends.  We should be careful not to blame employees for that, though.  After all, they learned it from their leaders.

About the author:

The Motivation Guy  (also known as Dr. David Facer)  is one of the principal authors—together with Susan Fowler and Drea Zigarmi—of The Ken Blanchard Companies’ new Optimal Motivation process and workshop.

His firm had just released a new product that his company leaders believe has the potential to become a real game changer.

Development time lines have been aggressive and productive. A company-wide, cross-functional team has created major innovations in the product itself, along with new distribution methods and a streamlined go-to-market strategy.

“All of that is so positive,” he said.

Then he started to choke up.

“I’m now being told to ask my team for even more effort, even more time.  But they’re already fried.  They are working crazy hours and losing time with their families and friends as it is.”

“They have been pushed to the limit,” he continued.  “There is just no way I can ask them for more effort.  The rumor is that some are beginning to question whether they want to continue working here. They’re worn out, and so am I.”

This executive is known for delivering on his promises, and for caring deeply about his team.

Knowing this, I asked, “The emotion that is welling up right now may be trying to give voice to something big.  What does it want you to say?”

He said, “I fear we are dangerously close to losing some of our integrity as a company.  We tell the world that one of our core values is relationships and caring deeply about one another.  Yet, we just keep squeezing each other harder.  Do we value relationships or don’t we?  What do we really value?  Who are we really being?”

His questions hung heavy in the air like a dense fog.

Enhancing Motivation and Well-Being

How would you respond if you were in this manager’s shoes?

The challenge here is a group of high performers who are feeling the relentless demands imposed by senior management is negatively impacting and imposing upon their well-being and quality of life.  This is causing them to question the company’s sincerity when it claims to care deeply about people in addition to results.

In some organizations, the grumbling and questioning might just be an expected part of the process when people are asked to put in extra effort.  In those organizations, traditional approaches to spurring employee motivation might emphasize accountability.

In other organizations, another common leader response is to avoid the subject and just keep the conversation focused on the task at hand.  Maybe a reminder that the project will eventually be completed and if the staff could just push through a little more it will all be worth it in the end.

But in motivational terms, these employees are no longer aligned with their work—and maybe the company.  Here is an additional course of action that might not be as typical but would certainly better address the situation with a more optimally motivating approach.  (Send us a note with your added suggestions!)

1. Hold an out-in-the-open discussion either one-on-one or in small groups about the company stated values and how people are feeling right now.  The first skill of a mature motivational leader is empathy.  Let people express themselves clearly and boldly.  Listen, listen, and then listen some more.  Be careful not to respond defensively.

2. Seek suggestions from the staff about how they might work together to lessen the pressure, first without extending delivery timelines.  Generate a dozen suggestions.

3. Allow the staff to choose implementation strategies for two or three of their suggestions.  Modify as needed.  The key here is the employees get to choose ways to address the issue productively.

4. Discuss how each chosen suggestion would demonstrate that everyone in the company honors the relationships value, without undermining goal achievement.

5. Lastly, make sure the leaders who have been applying the pressure are part of the process and are fully aligned with the adjustments.

6. End the meeting by celebrating the collective effort and affirming everyone’s dedication to continually enriching the work relationships while striving for meaningful results.

7. Monitor progress as needed—and be careful not to slip back into the old, habituated ways of doing things.

Think Motivationally

In today’s hyper-competitive business environment, employees everywhere are being asked to constantly focus on increasing performance.  Too often leaders see results as an either/or choice that requires sacrifices in other areas—such as honoring core values.  It doesn’t have to be that way.  Think motivationally—consider how you can achieve results and promote autonomy, values, and relationships along the way.  You don’t have to choose—a focus on results and relationships will create the results you want and promote the sense of well-being that employees genuinely need in order to thrive.

About the author:

The Motivation Guy  (also known as Dr. David Facer)  is one of the principal authors—together with Susan Fowler and Drea Zigarmi—of The Ken Blanchard Companies’ new Optimal Motivation process and workshop.

My previous blog challenged you to complete five common statements related to motivation. It wasn’t much of a challenge. These beliefs are so deeply embedded in our collective psyche that they roll off the tongue. What is a challenge is to let go and replace these statements with beliefs that promote an optimally motivating workplace.

In Part 1, we flipped the first statement: It’s not personal, it is just business, became If it is business, it must be personal.

In this post we explore the second eroding belief: The purpose of business is to make money (a profit).

We will explore the other statements in upcoming posts.

• We need to hold people ___________.
• The only thing that really matters is _______.
• If you cannot measure it, it _________ ________.

Your Beliefs Determine the Way You Lead

When you hold the belief that money is the purpose of business you are likely to over-emphasize results. You are apt to resort to pressure to motivate people to get those results. You may be tempted to employ questionable ethical practices. When given a choice, you might choose quantity over quality, short-term results over long-term results, and profits over people.

Consider how an alternative belief would generate a different approach to your leadership. How would your decisions and actions be different with the following statement?

The purpose of business is to serve.

Think how this reframed belief might alter your organization’s dashboard metrics—or at least the content and quality of the goals. How might reframing goals so they focus on internal as well as external service, quality of people’s efforts as well as the results of their efforts, or celebrating learning and growth in addition to accomplishments, change the way you lead day-to-day?

Hard-nosed businesspeople will push back on these ideas with a traditional argument, “You can serve all you want, but this soft stuff doesn’t make you money and if you don’t make a profit you will go out of business. Then you won’t be serving anyone.”

It is true that a business must make a profit to sustain itself. But it is an illogical leap to conclude that profit is therefore the purpose of business. You need air to live, plus water and food. But the purpose of your life is not to just breathe, eat, and drink. Your purpose is richer and more profound than basic survival. And the more noble your purpose and developed your values are, the more they influence how you live day-to-day. When you believe that the purpose of business is to serve, you lead differently. Your decisions and actions are more likely to cultivate a workplace that supports people’s optimal motivation.

The nature of human motivation is not in making money. It is in making meaning.

Ken Blanchard says, “Profit is the applause you receive for serving your customers’ needs.” I would add “and your people’s needs.” Research conducted by The Ken Blanchard Companies found definitive evidence that organizational vitality measured by ROI, earnings by share, access to venture capital, stock price, debt load and other financial indicators, is dependent on two factors: customer devotion and employee work passion[1]. It does not work the other way around—organizational vitality is not what determines customer devotion or employee work passion.

Leaders who focus on serving their customers’ needs and satisfying their people’s psychological needs will enjoy organizational vitality. The old sports analogy works equally well in business: Focusing on money and profit is like playing the game with your eye on the scoreboard instead of the ball. In business, service is the game you are playing. Keeping your eye focused on customer service and people development will result in scoring—both to the bottom line and in other more meaningful ways that sustain high performance over time.

Try this for the next month: Challenge the notion that the purpose of business is to make money. Try changing that outdated traditional belief to an Optimal Motivation belief: “The purpose of business is to serve—both your customers and your people. Money is a by-product of doing both of these things well.”

Watch how your people respond to your changed belief. Then notice the results and accept the well-earned applause.

______________________________________________________________________

About the author:

Susan Fowler is one of the principal authors—together with David Facer and Drea Zigarmi—of The Ken Blanchard Companies’ new Optimal Motivation process and workshop. Their posts appear on the first and third Monday of each month.

.