Tag Archives: motivation

Play at the Highest Game

Skill is made up of two elements, technical knowledge and practiced performance. If the skill is to throw a ball, there is some technical knowledge you need to know about the ball. Does the ball have seams, round or oblong, fingers around the ball or inside the ball, underhand or overhand. You see, there’s some technical knowledge you need to know about the ball.

But if you really want to get good at throwing the ball, you also have to practice. When I interview a candidate, not only will I interview them for their technical knowledge, I will also interview them for their practice. What is your frequency of practice, depth of practice, duration of practice, accuracy of practice? Because if you don’t practice a skill, what happens to the skill?

And, so it also works with challenge. For a person to be happy in their job, they have to be challenged, at least for some material duration of time, to their highest level of competence. This may be as small as ten percent, maybe 40 percent, but some material duration of time. Without challenge, we get bored. Of course, we can complete the mundane portions of our tasks, but without challenge, we go home empty. We completed the checklist, but completed nothing of significance.

As we design roles for people to play, we have to adjust those roles so people play at their highest game, at least for a portion of each day. Because if we don’t practice a skill, the skill goes away.

The External Push

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“I am fairly confident,” Marissa supplied. “I know what I want. I have a cause, rather a cause that has me, that I care deeply about. I think I have what it takes.”

“All necessary, but not sufficient,” I replied.

“What am I missing?” she asked.

“You think that, to be successful in your endeavor, all that is required is an internal drive, perhaps a singular focus toward that goal. But, success is more complicated than that. There is not a singular reason, but a multitude of complex elements and events that will determine the outcome. And, you will likely have to respond to most of them in one way or another. You think you have the internal fortitude to meet the challenge. But you will wake up one morning, and not be in the mood. Some one thing will look too difficult. You will go inside and come up empty. All may look lost. In addition to your internal toughness, you must surround yourself with people who will support your journey, who will listen to your story, encourage your spirit and not allow you to falter. This is your inner circle, who you go to for counsel and guidance when what is inside you, is not enough. They will not let you off the hook for the sake of a lame excuse, a bit of trouble or something unforeseen. Look around you. Who are you holding hands with? You will need them.”

Work and Competence

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It’s an innocent question at every cocktail party. It’s an icebreaker question. “What do you do?” is a variation on “What do you do for a living?” The intent of the question may be casual, but it may be the most serious question of the evening.

Why this focus on work? And what of job satisfaction surveys? How important is work in a person’s life? And, why does some work suck, and other work engage?

Each person, based on their internal capability, yearns for work that is just within their highest level of competence. Competence is the combination of capability and skill. Skill is the combination of technical knowledge, application of that knowledge and practiced performance. Both capability and skill are required for competence.

Competence is an integral part of happiness. The invitation for every manager is to create the environment where team members are challenged to their highest level of capability leveraging their internal competence.
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Watch Tom Foster on Chris Comeaux’s Anatomy of Leadership.

Why Bother?

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Watch Tom Foster on Chris Comeaux’s Anatomy of Leadership.
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People embark on the path to accomplishment for a number of reasons. Fame and fortune are seductive ends to the journey. Others compete for the sake of competition, to beat an opponent, to win the game. Nothing like a mark in the WIN column. It feels good.

But others pursue accomplishment because they are drawn to achievement as a worthy goal, that without that effort, life would otherwise feel empty. This could be more than the pursuit of meaning in life, this could be the pursuit of experience in life.

It’s Not Working Harder

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“The difference in the two jobs was night and day,” Caitland explained. “The higher paying job had a better title. Managing Director, I think. The other company had lower pay, a lower title, but the work was more interesting, more challenging, in the end, more satisfying.”

“What was it about the work that made it more satisfying?” I asked.

“The Managing Director job was just that. I managed and I directed. Actually, it was a glorified supervisor position. Very frustrating. I was supposed to make sure the work got done, but I felt like I was putting my thumb in the dike. I could easily see better ways to achieve the goals, systems that we could create to more effectively solve the same problems over and over. But my boss was resistant. He said that creating those systems would be a waste of time, there were always too many exceptions.”

“And why was the other position more satisfying?” I repeated.

“A lot less stress, even though we produced more than double the output of the other company. It’s funny, I never fixed a problem while I was there. I only focused on systems. I would fix the system and the system would fix ten problems. We seldom worked overtime, but were much more productive.”
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As we wind into this holiday season, Management Blog is winding down its publishing year. We will see you in January 2024. Until then, have a Merry Christmas. Enjoy the time with family and friends. See you soon. -Tom

What’s the Difference in the Work?

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“As a manager, if all you can offer is money, what kind of issues do you constantly face? More importantly, if we are trying to get some work done around here, how can we bring out the best in people?” I repeated.

Caitland hesitated. “I guess my experience is from my first few jobs. Money was the only reason I worked. It’s how I put myself through school. The only reason I worked was for the money. And if I got a better offer, more money, for another job, I jumped on it.”

“Did you ever take a job, based on compensation, that you wished you hadn’t taken? Even though the money was better than your previous job?” I pressed.

She nodded her head. “Yes, but, in my mind, I told myself they were paying for a lousy job and that’s why the money was better. Funny. They were paying for a lousy job.”

“And have you ever taken a job that was so interesting that the money didn’t matter?”

Again, Caitland nodded. “Yes, don’t tell anyone, but this job, I would work for free.”

“So, tell me, what’s the difference in the work?”

How Much Are They Paid?

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“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.

Feeling Part of the Team

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“Caitland, you have been a manager for a while in this company. I know you’ve received awards, plaques and certificates for things you have done. But I only see a couple up on your wall,” I observed.

“You’re right,” she said, leaning over to open a long file drawer. “Look at these. I actually think it’s company policy to only give out awards that fit in file drawers.”

“But, aren’t you proud of the recognition?”

“You, know, it’s nice. But after a while, the plaques are all the same.”

“How so?” I asked.

“You want to know what really makes me feel a part of the team, I mean the management team. Every Wednesday, the three top executives in the company go to lunch. Two months ago, they asked me to go with them. In that lunch, they shared some exciting news about a new product launch. It made me feel an important part of what’s going on around here. I would trade all of my plaques for more of those conversations.”

Consequence

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Victoria was stumped. She had always thought the only way to motivate people was to create a bonus or incentive program.

“So, if a bonus is off the table,” I started, “what could you create as a positive consequence?”

“I suppose, if I am around and notice something good, I could give them an attaboy,” she floated.

“And if you are not around?”

“That’s the problem, when I’m not around, things grind to a halt.”

“Have you ever heard, What gets measured, gets done?” I asked. “Why do you think that happens?”

“I don’t know. I suppose it’s because people think they are being watched even when they aren’t being watched.”

“Don’t be naive. People know exactly when they are being observed and when they’re not. Here’s why What gets measured gets done. Knowing that something was done correctly, one unit completed to the quality standard creates a positive consequence. But only if it was measured. If no one notices, then there is no positive consequence. If it gets measured, there is a positive consequence.”

“So, then I would still have to be there to count all the completed units?” Victoria resisted.

“No, they’re adults. They can count their own completed units, and post the number on the white board by their work station.”

“What white board?” Victoria asked.

“The one you are going to purchase and put up tomorrow.”

Ply Them With Money

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“Maybe, I will have to give them some more training. That might perk them up,” Victoria replied. “The J-curve says that productivity on anything new will decline before it gets better, but more training might be the ticket.”

“And what else?” I prodded. Victoria was getting push back as her team took on more responsibilities.

“I guess I could talk to them, as a group, let them know how much I was counting on them,” she added.

“Those are both things that you could do, probably won’t hurt, but probably won’t have the impact you are interested in,” I explained. Victoria’s face twitched. She was looking for more approval than I was giving.

“Both things you suggest,” I continued, “occur before you get the behavior you want. Most managers go there. It’s not that it’s bad, just not very powerful. The power is not in what you set up before the behavior, but what you set up after the behavior. Consequences. And the most powerful consequence is a positive consequence.”

“You mean like a bonus?” Victoria guessed.

“A bonus is a reward, not a consequence. An immediate positive consequence is more powerful than a reward. Rewards are always delayed, can get taken away, the qualifications may change. Immediate reinforcement is more powerful than an uncertain reward.”

“I don’t know. If I can’t ply them with money, what can I do?” Victoria cringed.