How
to motivate people especially at the workplace is a problem that is close to
the heart of anyone who is responsible for getting results via the effort of
other people. Often, when people are promoted into a manager role within an organisation,
they are ill-prepared for their new set of responsibilities. Just because they
did well in their previous role does not mean to say that they will make a good
manager, yet that is often how they win the promotion.
This
was a problem that I remember facing in my own first manager position
within a leading computer company in the UK. Quite frankly, I made a complete
mess of that role for the reasons already mentioned: I was simply unprepared.
It took a number of years, a lot of patience and quite a bit of self-education
before I was finally ready to make a decent fist of performing the manager
role. I remain grateful for the experience, painful as it was at times, because
it enables me to empathise with people who attend my workshops wanting to learn
how to motivate their own staff.
This also
applies to us, as Administrative Professionals (APs) playing different roles in
our offices. As APs, we have junior staff, who we need to direct, guide and
ensure that they perform their duties well in order for the organization to run
smoothly. So we need to learn how to motivate and encourage the people we work
with so they perform well at their jobs.
For
many managers, the basic problem is that they expect their staff to be just as
motivated and committed to their jobs as they themselves are. When the
newly promoted manager had been a regular worker, they had always given their
best for the company; that is why they attracted the manager's job. This
attitude, as helpful as it was in the previous role, can often represent
something of a stumbling block for a new manager.
Hmm… how true
of most of us, Admin. Professionals, example when you started your role as an
Administrative Assistant, you did so well at the job that you were promoted to
the level of an Executive Administrative assistant, this role requires you to
do more and to supervise the other administrative staff at the office. Then the
need to delegate and direct those staff comes in and you are at a loss what to
do. Let us read this article carefully in order to learn how to motivate
administrative staff and encourage them to work well.
When
we come to discover that other employees are not as motivated as we want them
to be, they are not as committed to the company and they are not giving their
best, it is often very tempting to resort to some kind of disciplinary action
in the hope that they will correct their behaviour. What often happens is that
this kind of response often exacerbates the situation. In addition, it
alienates the manager. When this happens, we are left wondering what on earth
we can do to motivate our staff and usually, people resort to what has
sometimes been called The Great Jackass Theory of Motivation.
The
Carrot and Stick
Sometimes,
I joke that at my old school, they used the carrot and stick method of motivation,
but without the carrot – it is true, by the way. Let us first define motivation
as “the
desire, willingness or enthusiasm for doing something”. The opposite
attitude would be the aversion or reluctance to engage in the activity.
If
you imagine being tasked with the business of having to get a donkey (not
renowned for being the most cooperative of God's creatures) to move forward,
even if you had never heard of the idea before, it would not take you long to
come up with the basic idea of the carrot and stick. You do not need me to
explain how this is supposed to work.
But
the question is: does this approach work with humans? Many companies actually
resort to this method because they are fundamentally unable to address the real
underlying issues of why their employees seem to be lacking in motivation.
Hmm… I wish
our employers know the reason for the lack of motivation on the part of we, the
employees.
Whilst,
this article is not about The Great Jackass Theory (carrot and
stick); however, we will make a few observations in passing.
· The effect of
the stick wears off over time;
· Carrots often
work better than sticks; and
· What
constitutes a carrot is not the same for everyone.
So,
if you must use the Great Jackass method, and maybe there are times when you
just have to, ensure you use the stick sparingly, for maximum effect, and
select your carrots carefully, generally avoiding the use of money as an
incentive.
To end, I hope this post, assist us as Administrative professionals to
work well at our jobs and also learn to perform our supervisory role over
junior staff well by motivating and encouraging them to do their duties
judiciously in order to grow the company they work for.
If
you enjoyed this article, you will also enjoy the Free
Personal Development Books. Will Edwards is Writer and Founder of www.whitedovebooks.co.uk
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