“Thinking about your team, what is it that you think people really want out of their job?” I asked.
Caitland was looking for the trick in the question, but her answer jumped out, shaking her head, “It’s money. Just ask them. Especially today.”
“So, you think money is the prime motivator?” I followed.
“You mean, it’s not,” Caitland baited.
I smiled. “Have you ever heard of Encyclopedia Britannica?”
Caitland nodded. “My parents owned a set. When I was a kid, we used to copy out of it, for our homework assignments. We had a special heavy duty bookshelf. Those books weighed a lot.”
“And what happened to that company?”
“I’m not sure. When CDs came out, there was a company called Encarta. A whole encyclopedia on a CD.”
“And what happened to that company?”
Caitland stopped. “I’m guessing they are out of business, too. Now, I just use Wikipedia.”
“And how much money are the writer’s paid to work for Wikipedia?”
Caitland smiled.
The $$ incentive is an easy thought for leaders. I often ask when leaders give me the same response, “if we paid your team $95,000 each, would the problem stop?” the answer is always it would lessen for some time then increase.
Exploring motivation a leader can not motivate anybody (nor can a motivational speaker or consultant) motivation comes from the individual. The leader can set the culture and develop metrics for greater feedback on good / bad work.