Note: Written by Alex Barrera. Zendesk VP for Latin America.
If you've ever been in a meeting, you may have noticed that when you're chatting with a particular person, their eyes light up, they start to speak hastily, and their body language matches. Sometimes it is because they share the same love for traveling, for reality shows or for
a sports team. But other times, it is because one of those involved knows how to “get the best out” of the other's personality; a very valuable skill, especially if you have just met someone.
Being a good leader, who knows how to "get the best" out of the people on your team is not that different than in meetings. Thus, the practice of increasing salaries for team members in the hope that it will make everyone happier is the same as assuming that you can enlighten meeting guests by asking everyone the same question.
In other words, if a company seeks to please its consumers, then it should replicate those same efforts to please its workers, even more so when there are interdepartmental tasks, for this reason it must be in constant search of factors that accelerate and increase their motivation. Regarding this issue of motivation, it is important to note that more money is not always the key to motivating a team. In fact, the whole concept behind pay for performance is on the wane.
Authors like Daniel Pink in his book "The Shocking Truth About What Motivates Us" comment that pay for performance actually messes things up and has the opposite effect. Companies want to pay just enough to eliminate this concern, but the idea of increases only applies to salaries without having any increase in motivation. And for people that money just means a number, the whole concept should be more about the perception of equity, rather than just assuming that more money will be the solution to a problem.
En vez de utilizar el dinero como el principal motivador, Pink sugiere tres factores para la verdadera motivación: Autonomía, Autoridad y Propósito. Cuando los empleados cuentan con estos factores, están más motivados y logran niveles más altos de desempeño. Con esto en mente, la clave para construir un equipo comprometido y altamente efectivo es reconocer las numerosas acciones en que las personas pueden ser motivadas. La gente reconoce que esto es posible en situaciones sociales, sin embargo, el mismo concepto puede permear en el lugar de trabajo.
It's also important to understand that motivators can change over time - an employee may start their career by prioritizing learning as the primary motivator, but over the years, work-life balance and flexibility can substitute for learning.
Here's the big secret: The company needs to find out what motivates its team. When you know what your team's incentives are, you will solve many of the mysteries that lead to unleashing your potential. And in turn, the company will begin to reveal the incentives that increase team performance.
A great way to do this is with an exercise known as the “Motivational Pie Chart,” developed by Jen Dulski. In this exercise, people fill in a blank pie chart with the greatest number of pie pieces describing what motivates them. For example, 50% is working on something that motivates you, 25% is a balanced work life and flexibility, and 25% feels that with the work you do you are creating an impact.
Then, indicate in "red-yellow-green" each one of the motivators if they are being met or not. The idea is to analyze why the motivators that are in yellow or red are not fulfilled and prepare a plan to help them carry them out.
Recognizing that each person on a team is different, unique, and the reasons that make them get up each morning and go to work, and keep them excited day after day, is one, if not the most important, of the secrets of being a leader. that leaves a mark. As opposed to creating a connection with someone in a meeting, at work it's about making sure that employees are heard and appreciated for the unique people that they are.
