Not Everyone Wants Your Job. How to Motivate and Develop Your Team.

One organization I worked for brought in a vendor to teach about values and motivation. Every person got their own deck of cards with one value printed on each card. The task was to pick the five that meant the most to you, then one deal breaker, the thing that would make you leave if it ever happened.

The first two picks went fast. By the fourth and fifth, people were bartering with themselves.

Then we compared answers. People on the same team, in the same role, with the same years of experience, held completely different cards. Plenty of them picked money. The other four cards showed what really made each person show up at work (and in life).

That deck of cards is the clearest picture I have of a mistake managers make every day, because this is what we do to our teams, too. We assume everyone wants to climb the ladder we climbed.

Not every employee wants a promotion

I've led a lot of people. A few could see themselves in my role one day. Many wanted to do great work and be left alone. Some wanted to leave at 4:30 to coach soccer. Some wanted the paycheck and not much else.

Most employees assume a promotion is the only way to earn more, gain status, or grow. They keep assuming it until their manager shows them another path. That matters, because promoting someone into managing people when they have no interest in it costs everyone who reports to them.

How to motivate employees when money is limited

Pay people fairly. When there is money for raises and bonuses, give it to the people who earned it, and be realistic about the years when there isn't.

If money is the only motivation conversation you ever have, a budget freeze ensures you have nothing to talk about with your team, nothing to motivate them.  But it doesn't need to be that way.

Pay is also a weaker lever than most managers expect. A 2010 meta-analysis by Timothy Judge and colleagues found only a weak link between how much people earn and how satisfied they are with their jobs. When McKinsey asked people why they quit, lack of career development and advancement topped the list, ahead of pay.

Match what each person values to real opportunities

Start with yourself. In the Helm Method℠, the first step is Aim, so set your intention: help each person get more of what matters to them, based on their values and not yours. Then Act, and match people to opportunities.

• Freedom or autonomy: a project to run start to finish with minimal check-ins from you.
• Curiosity: harder problems, or time interviewing people across the company to learn how it works.
• Status: visibility and introductions to senior leaders.
• Relationships: a role connecting people across the organization.
• Money only: a direct convo about how more money comes in, when, and what it takes to earn it.

For the person who seems checked out, ask: “What would make the next six months worth it to you?”

Listen for deal breakers too. Cross one by accident and the rest stops working.

Motivation changes with life. A new baby, an aging parent, or a return to school can rearrange what someone needs from work. Check in during your next one-on-one: “Last time you said growth and flexibility mattered most. Is that still true right now?”

This week, ask each person on your team one question: “What part of your job would you do more of if you could?”

Watch this week’s Mini but Mighty℠ Leadership Lesson on YouTube: Beyond the Ladder: Not Everyone Wants Your Job. How to Motivate and Develop Your Team. 

Missed Part 1? Why You Should Help Your Best People Leave

Subscribe to @bossatthehelm on YouTube so you catch Part 3 of Beyond the Ladder next week.

Lead yourself. Then lead others. Be a Boss.

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If your one-on-ones have turned into status checks, The Ultimate Guide to Leading Your 1:1s resets what managers and employees each bring to the meeting: 
Executives who want this skill built across every manager in the organization can reach us at https://www.bossatthehelm.com/contact. We tailor it to how your teams work together, grounded in the Helm Method℠.