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Workplace Communication – how to motivate all the members of your team Have you ever wanted to gain your group’s attention but found that no-one was listening? Are some of your team less willing to follow directions than others? Perhaps they are motivated by different things. By identifying this and adjusting your language you can begin to motivate all of your team. Different people may have different motivations, but fortunately it is not difficult to determine what type of person they are. You simply need to listen to their language and observe their behaviour. Some people are motivated towards something – I want to be more confident, for instance. Some people are motivated by moving away from something – I want to be less fearful. So when speaking to a group it can be helpful to cover both preferences – ‘Learning about customer service will help you avoid upsetting a client (move away) and will make your job easier (move towards).’ Some people are more into options than procedures. People who are into options are motivated by the possibility to do something in another way. They are the type of people who will develop procedures and then not follow them. They enjoy breaking or bending the rules. Exploring new ideas and possibilities is of great interest. They may start a new project and not feel compelled to finish it. To motivate or influence these people, use words such as: opportunity, alternatives, break the rules, flexibility, variety, unlimited possibilities, expand your choices, options. Procedures people, on the other hand, like to follow set rules and processes. Once they understand a procedure they will repeat it over and over again. They have great difficulty developing new processes and without a clearly defined procedure feel lost or stuck. They are more concerned about how to do something than why they should do it. Bending or breaking rules is heresy! They are motivated by words such as: correct way, tried and true, first ... then ... lastly, proven path, follow this procedure to the letter. If you have someone on your team who is de-motivated it might be that you are not providing enough flexibility or that you have not explained the procedures in enough detail. Just try talking to them in a different way and you might find their attitude changes for the better. Back to Articles |
