Continuing Education for Technical Professionals
You Can't Motivate Employees! - Part 3
Organizational Character
(Part 3 of a 3 part series)
by Susan de la Vergne
Now, Once Again - Where Were We?
For those of you who missed parts 1 and 2 of this series, let me just cut
to the chase:
You can’t motivate employees. Employees motivate themselves. You can, however, create the best conditions under which they do so.
And those conditions that bring out the best in people are found in three aspects of the workplace:
Purpose: So that people on the job feel that what they do matters, their sense of contribution and of giving back is fulfilled by something greater and more lasting than better earnings quarter after quarter.
Leadership: Where the company’s visionaries and keepers of accountability operate from a base of personal power, i.e., expertise, competence and humility, leading by example more often than by command.
Organizational Character: The integrity and consistency of choices and decisions the organization’s leadership makes.
An “Ah Hah” Moment
In 1985, Dr. Edgar Schein, a professor in MIT’s Sloan School of Management, studied the phenomenon of life in the workplace. He published his findings in Organizational Culture and Leadership and so brought to the world the idea that companies have cultures. He talked about culture in terms that sound like anthropology and social science, with words like the “artifacts” of work (technology), and values (what “ought” to be) and basic assumptions (what we take for granted). He examined the roots of culture in the workplace, the importance of it, and how it shows up on the job every day.
It was a groundbreaking idea in 1985, but today “organizational culture” is a commonplace term. Every company has an organizational culture. Leadership now knows it’s supposed “to hire to the culture.” We’ve figured out dysfunctional cultures cost more money to sustain than healthy cultures. Anyone who’s tried to drive an initiative to change organizational culture knows it’s difficult and time-consuming and often unsuccessful.
Organizational Character
Extending Dr. Schein’s discovery just slightly, Organizational Character is not only “how we do things around here” (the culture) but also why we do things this way and what people expect when we do things. It’s an organization’s reputation with the people who work there. It’s the tone and the pace of the organization, and it’s how people are treated. It’s a major reason people like, or don’t like, where they work and a key contributor to motivation.
The Disengagers
So, then, what aspects of Organizational Character disengage people, causing them not to be motivated or energized by the jobs they do? These:
Secrecy – When “They don’t need to know” is the motto of the day and information is always kept close to the vest, it seems that leadership doesn’t trust the people who work there or that the employees are irrelevant to what the company is doing, and planning. Sometimes, of course, confidentiality is called for – to keep things from the competition or to manage a public announcement. But when everything is handled that way, employees disengage.
Surprises – Keeping people off-guard because they never know quite what is coming is one way to keep them alert, but not a way to keep them engaged. Surprise announcements (“Ta da! Here’s the latest re-org of your area!”) make people edgy and nervous, especially when there are a lot of them.
Messenger-shooting – We all know this one: The bearer of bad news is assumed to be the cause of it. It’s a big disengager because people who are naturally forthcoming and honest will shut down quickly if they know they’ll be mistaken for the target.
Distrust – Nothing says “I don’t value you” better than distrustful behavior, and of course people who don’t feel valued won’t be motivated. If your management practice is “We’re watching your every move,” consider whether that’s really warranted.
The Engagers
What can you do to make improvements in Organizational Character where you work?
Know people as people – Trusting people requires knowing them. People feel valued when they’re trusted. Enough said?
Encourage cross-pollination – If your leadership philosophy is “Just do your own job and don’t bother about what they’re doing over there,” re-consider. Instead, make sure people who work together know each other, and what to depend on their peers for. It’s key to feeling like part of the community and essential for motivation.
Be committed to individuals’ growth – Actively discover and develop people’s best talents. There may be no single factor greater than this one to ensure a motivated workforce - it’s a positive statement about the role of the individual in the work being done. (In fact, Marcus Buckingham wrote a whole book about this. It’s The One Thing You Need to Know – the title of his book!)
And last but not least –
Expect the best – Seasoned managers know that you pretty much get what you expect from people who work for you. If you expect untrustworthy, deceitful, unproductive individuals, you're likely to find them. If you expect professional, mature individuals who come to work every day expecting to do the best job they understand how to do, you're likely to find them. Employees want to be thought of in the latter category, not the former.
© 2006 Susan de la Vergne. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.