So, the question, yesterday, was how do you raise the interest level for tasks that may be repetitious? How do you prevent people from resenting that type of work?
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Nathan had some time to think this one over. Giving people more money wasn’t the answer. Compensation is necessary, but seldom a driving force for performance.
“I guess I would have to find out what people really want from their job,” Nathan answered.
“And how would you find that out?” I asked.
“Sometimes, our company puts out an employee survey.”
“And how helpful is that survey to you as a manager?”
Nathan grinned. “Not really helpful at all. The wording on the survey is usually very generic and heck, I don’t even know if the responses are from my team members or someone else’s team.”
“So, how would you find out?” I repeated.
“I guess I would have to just ask them,” Nathan finally concluded.
“All at once, or one at a time?”
“I don’t know, it is kind of a strange topic. I can’t ever remember any of my bosses ever asking me what I wanted out of my job. Maybe I should tackle this one on one.”
“Good,” I nodded. “Now let’s think about what that conversation would sound like.” -TF
According to Buckingham and Coffman of “First, Break all the Rules,” managers should really know what drives their followers. This is a very important task of the manager. They also mention that managers should not assume we think the same as their followers. A manager will have certain talents that have led them into their position. For example, a hotel housekeeper has a talent for constant repetition of cleaning messes. This person receives the same energy as a manager does in managing machinery or a leader leading people. The advice they give is to train the hiring managers the way to interview candidates so that they hire “talent” not just skills and experience.
Very good and relevent topic!