Our theme this month is getting things done through people. While that’s not my favorite definition of management, working with people is clearly one of the most important responsibilities of any manager – in any organization.
And, one of the primary responsibilities of every manager is to motivate people. We could have an interesting discussion about the merits of motivation but, the reality is, motivation is a primary responsibility of management.
That being said, how to motivate our people is an equally interesting discussion. The fact is, different people are motivated in different ways. One size doesn’t fit all.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
Different personality types respond to motivation differently. Some want public praise, some want private encouragement, some want their contributions and creativity recognized. Here’s the breakdown.
Pick Me – I’ll Do It!
We all have them. That rare breed of employee who’s the first to show up, the last to leave and, more often than not, is walking around with a hand in the air, volunteering for everything. These folks thrive on competition and they really want to win. They like to lead and they like to hear praise for their efforts.
The most effective way to motivate the assertive, high activity, high-energy individual is with high-profile projects and public recognition.
Steady Eddie
This personality type is the backbone of every organization. They show up every day, go about their work in a very systematic fashion, prefer the routine and seek organizational stability.
Steady Eddies are motivated by sincere, private praise. They don’t like the spotlight and are not motivated by having attention drawn to them.
The Creative
These employees march to a little different tune than their peers. They love to create new ways of doing things and are not afraid to change the status quo.
Motivate the creative by assigning them to high quality work requiring a creative flair. They need interesting work assignments to stay motivated and you need to keep their innovative, creative minds stimulated.
Remember, one of the tenets of good management is to play to our people’s strengths instead of trying to shore up weaknesses. In that same vein, motivation works best when it’s tailored to personality. Different folks do require different strokes.
Tags: manager, motivate, motivated, motivation, personality, responsibilities, responsibility, strength, strengths
