leadingtoday.org

Leadership Tip of the Month

March 2004

Copyright 2004ã weLEAD, Inc.

Motivating Beyond Money

We are all aware of the fact that people are motivated by money. Virtually all workers exchange their time and talents for financial remuneration to meet their personal needs. For this reason money is indeed a powerful motivator! A wise leader knows that individuals should receive occasional increases in compensation to maintain a high level of motivation. However, increasing the money paid to a worker is actually a short term motivator. In time, the increase in income simply becomes the expected norm. Other individuals will appreciate a raise in salary, but may not be personally motivated by this action. Aside from providing a strong incentive by offering more money, it is important to learn to provide other forms of motivation beyond money. Here are some other forms of motivation to consider.

1. Praise good workers in front of their peers! Virtually everyone welcomes praise and a feeling of appreciation for what they do. Many leaders make the mistake of only praising good performance privately. The most effective form of praise is by public proclamation. Praising the high achievement of others publicly is a great way to motivate beyond money. Some leaders are simply not very good at publicly giving praise. If you have a difficulty doing this in front of others, then do it in a general memo! Or find a key member of your team who has a natural gift of publicly offering praise and have them do it on your behalf. But, don’t overuse this powerful motivator or it will lose its effectiveness.

2. Give them special assignments. This tip requires some time but it is highly motivating. Take the time to find out some of the special interests your workers have. Match their special interest with needed projects or special assignments! The goal is to provide them an opportunity to work at something they intensely love or enjoy doing. Make sure you tell them they have been chosen to serve this special role because you deeply appreciate and recognize their exceptional performance.

3. Give them the ability to create their own flexible schedules. If they work in a structured office environment, allow them to adjust their personal needs with the daily work schedule. Perhaps they visit a health club in the morning and would appreciate coming in 30 minutes later on certain days. Perhaps they have children in a daycare center and would appreciate leaving a few minutes early on some days of the week. It may be important for them to avoid a certain traffic pattern by leaving or arriving differently than “official” workplace hours. Also, don’t forget the powerful motivator of occasionally giving a good worker an afternoon off, or an entire day off beyond the official vacation policy.

4. Look for advancement opportunities for good workers. Not everyone desires a promotion in title or added responsibility, but many do. If it is not offered in a reasonable amount of time, those who are motivated by advancement opportunities will eventually feel unappreciated. If you don’t have any prospects in your own department, look for advancement opportunities in other areas of the organization. Yes, you may personally lose a good worker this way, but it will be offset by the goodwill and respect you will earn throughout the organization. You will show others that you care about the interest and future of others!

5. Simple pleasures are the best. Don’t forget that simple gestures of kindness mean a lot. Is your hardworking associate a sports fan? Get them a couple of tickets to a professional sporting event. Do they enjoy a fine meal? How about a gratis dinner at a fine restaurant for both them and their spouse? Use your imagination and you can find many ways to show appreciation and motivate good performance beyond money. Like the previous tip on special assignments (#2), it is important to take the time to discover their personal interests.

For weLEAD, this is Greg Thomas reminding you that it was James Barrie who said, “Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.”

On the weLEAD Website you will find over 70 other free helpful leadership tips. They are all available in a text version or as an MP3 audio!