"M" Is For Motivation

As always, I want to offer my sincere apology to Sue Grafton for using (stealing??) her approach for the titles of her many outstanding mystery novels for this series of articles that I hope makes YOU a happier and more effective leader working with a truly empowered team that really enjoys what they do! Oh, and if you have not read any of Ms. Grafton novels I highly recommend that you give her a try.

It’s The WORK That Motivates Them

“If an egg is broken by outside force, Life ends. If broken by inside force, Life begins. Great things always begin from inside.”

- Jim Kwik

In my opinion this is one of the major myths of management, that a person can motivate another team member. The only two things that motivate people are the work itself and the “environment” or working conditions that they work with every day. You can have an impact on the work assignments and the overall work environment, but you’re not what motivates them to do more or to do better. That comes from within them when they have projects that they understand and love working on.  You can reward and enjoy working with them, but you can’t motivate them, only the work can do that.

But what makes the work a motivator? Doing work in the “zone” or the “flow” as often as possible! That’s the key to making work the motivator! There are several key ingredients for projects that empower your Teamers to work in the “flow” including having clear goals, immediate feedback on their progress and a good balance between the challenges of the project and the skills of the Teamer.

“If you want to be successful, it’s just this simple: Know what you’re doing. Love what you‘re doing. And believe in what you’re doing.”

 - Will Rogers 

Working in the “Flow” – The ONLY Way to Go!

“Find a job you like and you add five days to every week.”

- H. Jackson Brown Jr.

If you have ever participated in any sports, you most likely have experienced being in the “flow” or the “zone.” You had the best game, set, match or round of your life! Everything is right with the world and your Teamers can have that same experience at work if you help to empower them. Perhaps you are wondering what is “empowerment?” To me, “empowerment” means that your Teamers are really getting into what they are doing and want to do more and better work. They can make decisions on their own and help directly influence quality control and customer satisfaction. You need to do everything possible to help them to work in the “zone” or in the “flow” which is the state of mind that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a renowned expert on creativity, described in his book Creativity as a “feeling of engagement and focus that time seems to pass unnoticed.”

If you never had the chance to work on a project and get into the “flow” I have sincere sympathy for you. If you’ve ever worked in the “flow” you know that you have experienced the best possible working experience.

You must do everything possible to always provide your Teamers with the best-possible project definition and processes to enable them to have every opportunity to work in the flow. I suggest that you use a Project Work Plan that is described in the next section to provide complete and proper project planning and definition. Make sure that you provide at least the following information and processes to your Teamers for all of the projects that you assign them.

  • Clear directions and goals on what to do

  • Real responsibility and authority to do the project

  • A “panic button” to push if you or they get into trouble and immediate feedback on their efforts

  • They are empowered to use their creativity and judgment

  • The schedule for the project is aggressive but doable

  • Balance between the challenges of the project and the Teamer’s skills

  • Your Teamers should have no worry of failure

In other words, you must strive to provide everything needed to get your Teamers to work in the flow on their projects every day. Working in the flow creates Teamers who love what they doing and often lose track of time while working on a project and typically want to do more. If you can empower your Teamers to want to do the work because they want to, you can help your Teamers unlock their unlimited potential.

I suggest that you read the book Creativity written by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi that describes the flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. It is an amazing read and provides many more insights and ideas on how to provide the environment and tools for your Teamers to achieve the flow and the associated creativity.

“Trust that little voice in your head that says ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting if…’ And then do it.”

- Duane Michals

“Visualize” What You Want to Build or Do

“If you want to reach a goal, you must ‘see the reaching’ in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal.”

- Zig Ziglar

The most critical step in doing any project is in the definition phase of the project. You will need to write down what you want the project to do, for whom you are doing the project, the overall budget for the project and as many other characteristics and benefits of the project that you can think of.

Middles must help their Teamers understand what needs to be done for effective project management. Make all of your mistakes on paper, not the in the real, day-to-day world where it costs lots more to correct.

In order to make certain your projects are on target with the objectives you need to develop and use a Project Work Plan for each project your Teamers do. Once you develop this document, review it with your Teamers and Senior to get their suggestions, changes and approval. Once they approve it, start using this plan as the blueprint that keeps everyone involved focused on the same vision.  You don’t build a house without a blueprint, why should you try to do any project without one.

The following sample Project Work Plan provides some typical topics to cover for your projects. Please feel free to modify it to develop a Project Work Plan that works for you, your Teamers, your Senior and for your specific work discipline.

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SAMPLE PROJECT WORK PLAN

Target User or Audience for the Project

Who is the user or customer? Identify the specific audience this project will help or deal with in as much detail as possible. Include individual job functions and/or titles if possible.

Current Situation

What is the current “situation or problem” that you want this project to solve or address for the user? What are the problems your user is having or may have had that this project must solve or address?

Project Objectives

What will the project do to solve the user’s problems(s)?

What are the Main Benefits Offered by the Project?

These benefits tell not just what a project does, but what it does for those who use it. List the user benefits the project must provide for each user.

What are the Alternatives to the Project?

What are the major alternatives to NOT doing this project?

What is the Budget for the Project?

It’s important to know how much money you have to work with. Up-front budgets give everyone an idea of whether they’re looking for a Mercedes or a Ford. Both can get you where you want to go, but each project carries a different price tag.

What is the Call to Action?

What’s the next step for your Teamers and Senior(s) for this project?

Timetable

The plan. The steps and time estimates for each step to complete the project.

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Sometimes the Project Work Plan can become a fairly sizable document depending on the scope and complexity of the project. My suggestion is to keep it as short and simple as possible but make sure that it defines the desired characteristics, objectives, benefits, budget and phases and steps of the project.

“The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.”

- Earl Nightingale

I wish you empowerment, happiness and every success!!

Jonesy