Last year I shared my six ideas for motivating your team (which had previously been published by Outreach Magazine). I wondered how the six ideas hold up during a pandemic. Would they still work in an era of zoom calls and working from home?
I looked over the list and decided to give it a refresh. Usually I write about stuff I know and have decades of experience with, but this time I’m winging it like everyone else. So your feedback is even more welcome as we all learn how to motivate folks in these crazy times!
Anyway, here are my original six ideas in whatever color this is followed by a few pandemic era reflections:
1. Don’t Make Lists of Six or Ten or Any Number. Seriously. Who wants to feel like they are being managed by a list? Nobody. The thing about lists is that they’re always linear, and people are decidedly nonlinear.
I think this holds up well in the pandemic. More than ever people want to feel like, well, like people. Not projects or numbers. We long for human interaction in a way zoom, email, text or Slack can’t provide. So rule #1 is increasingly important.
2. Don’t Freak Out When People Act Like People. Sometimes your colleagues will come to work in a bad mood. Some days they will be unmotivated, unfocused, even unintelligible. Don’t affirm those behaviors, but do recognize that you can’t expect people to be robots.
Yep, this continues to be true, and is actually even more true than ever. We are all on edge these days, and as my wife pointed out we are pushing our surge capacity beyond all reason (check out Brené Brown for more on this). Managing people who are pushed beyond reason takes patience, empathy, and love.
3. Listen. You’ll be shocked how happy and productive your team will be if you simply listen more. At first they may not even know how to respond. If you’ve not been an active listener, you can expect crickets the first time you simply stop talking and allow others to speak.
Well, sorta. Listening is obviously an important life skill. But in an era when we lack personal interaction, people also need clarity about our expectations. We need to over communicate what we want done, as we also over communicate our appreciation and support. Yes, definitely listen. But don’t do it at the expense of clarity.
4. Reward People Publicly and Privately. Private compliments and discreet gifts are powerful motivators. Leave a gift card on someone’s desk. Deliver a handwritten note. You might not even be recognizing a job well done; simply remembering a spouse’s name can be a powerful motivator in some situations.
This is probably hyper-true during the pandemic. Our culture already suffers from loneliness, and the pandemic has made it worse. Recognizing people is a simple way to bring joy to their lives and alleviate some of that loneliness.
5. Make Work Fun Whenever You Can. I use to lead monthly all-team conference calls that were potentially very boring. I liked to start the call by saying, “Today’s award is a $20 Starbucks card.” “Award for what?” I’d be asked. Nobody knew but me, which is what made it fun. The criterion changed each month. An employee might win for making the most people laugh out loud, or perhaps for the best use of alliteration. When people have fun they are more motivated to engage and contribute.
The idea above is especially powerful now because so many of us are meeting remotely. So what else can we do here? If you are like me you are sick to death of zoom calls, so how can we make them more fun? I’d love to hear from you on this one!
6. Be Vulnerable. I’m big on the three A’s: acknowledge your mistakes, admit when a problem is hard, and ask for help. Expressing vulnerability is the most authentic way to motivate a team.
This is important anytime. But it can be pushed too far during a pandemic. Honestly, a team member who is working from home with kids attending online school or perhaps dealing with an elderly parent is most definitely not ready to empathize with your problems. So be cautious here. Remember, as I point out in #2 above, people are beyond their surge capacity. Be humble and vulnerable of course, but don’t let it slip into whining. Especially now.
These six ideas are probably too many. Truth is, what we need is to get out there and actually care for our people. That means demonstrating genuine interest in their lives. It means being clear about our objectives, forgiving mistakes and teaching constantly. It means encouraging whenever we can. If we do those things, our teams are going to do just fine.
All true…but the part about “get out there and actually care for people” could be complicated while maintaining social distancing and wearing a mask!
So, overall I think the list stands up well during the pandemic. I would change some of the wording, and underemphasize some things as I overemphasize others. But it’s still a good list!
Thoughts?