WhyMotivatingPeopleDoesn'tWork...

I recently read Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work…and What Does: The New Science of Leading, Energizing, and Engaging by Susan Fowler (2014).  

In this book SF makes a compelling case for organizational leaders to abandon traditional approaches to “motivate” people. Rather, she advises us to focus our attention on creating the kinds of collaborative, reflective cultures that support productive, positive, and self-actualizing work environments. 

My top takeaways include:

> Use of rewards and punishments ONLY accomplish temporary compliance.

> There are six motivational outlooks: Disinterested (sub-optimal), External (sub-optimal), Imposed (sub-optimal), Aligned (optimal), Integrated (optimal), Inherent (optimal). 

> Motivation relies on three psychological needs – autonomy (a sense of self-direction), relatedness (our need to be cared for, to be cared about, and to contribute to a greater good), and competence (our need to feel effective, growing, and flourishing).

> We promote high-quality self-regulation by fostering cultures that accentuate mindfulness, focus on values, and stay grounded in noble purpose.

>  Leaders should be focused on motivating themselves, not others.

> Well-being is at the very heart of one’s motivational outlook.

> Quality appraisal processes are centered on reflection, not grading or being graded.

> Five beliefs that erode workplace motivation:  1. It’s not personal; it’s just business.  2. The purpose of business is to make money.  3. Leaders are in a position of power.  4. The only thing that really matters is results. 5. If you cannot measure it, it doesn’t matter. 

Fowler asserts that lack of motivation is not really the problem.  People are always motivated.  Whythey are motivated is the real issue to be explored and understood.

My favorite quotes:

“The real story of motivation is that people are learners who long to grow, enjoy their work, be productive, make positive contributions, and build lasting relationships.” (p. 50)

“A space exists between what is happening to you and the way you react to it. Mindfulness is that space.” (p. 62)

“If you cannot measure it, it is probably really, really important.” (p. 148)

This book reminded me of this Daniel Pink TED Talk regarding The Puzzle of Motivation.  Both are worth your time if you want a better understanding of what motivates us.

Investments

One of the great blessings in my life was having had the opportunity to study for one year under Dr. Mike Moses.  Dr. Moses has had a rather amazing career as an educator in Texas, including stints as the superintendent of schools in the Lubbock and Dallas ISDs, as well as serving as the Commissioner of Education of Texas from 1995-1999.

One of the many impactful things Mike taught me/us is that you can tell what’s important to someone by watching two things: how they spend their time and how they spend their money.

Through careful observation I became increasingly convinced of the correctness of that assertion.  With respectful deference to Dr. Moses I’d like to add a third telling indicator: watching how people invest their effort.

Investments along those dimensions are quite telling, for all of us. 

Before choosing who we’ll follow it is wise guidance indeed to assess carefully…

1)   How those leaders spend their time.

2)   How those leaders spend their money.

3)   How those leaders spend their effort.

Taking a look at ourselves through the same lenses is helpful practice, as well.

Choose wisely for best results.

Misbehaving

I recently read Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economicsby Richard

 Thaler (2015). 

Thaler is winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences; he teaches in the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. In this book RT details his decades-long journey of attempting to influence the field of economics by better understanding human motivation as opposed to the more traditional approach of viewing economic behavior through the lens of rigidly rational decision-making.

My top takeaways include:

·       A core premise of classic economic theory is that people make their decisions about the use of money via rational reasoning.  Thaler believes that to be a flawed assertion.

·       Thaler divides the world into two types of people, Econs (the automatons of economic theory who make their decisions based purely on rational thought processes) and Humans (the rest of us).

·       “Loss” hurts us more than twice as much as “gain” gives us pleasure. This concept is known as loss aversion.

·       Winners at auctions are often the bidder who most overvalues the object being sold.

·       If you want people to do something, make it easy for them to do it.

Thaler proposes three ideas he believes useful toward impacting positive change:  

1) Observe. See the world as it is, not as others wish it to be.  

2) Collect data and learn from it. Humans and organizations have an urgent need to learn how to learn.  

3) Speak up. Someone must be willing to tell the boss that something is going wrong.

My favorite quotes:

“If there is a number, people will use it.” (p. 275).  

“Economists are really good at inventing rational explanations for behavior, no matter how dumb that behavior appears to be.” (p. 295)

“Because people are Humans, not Econs (terms we coined for Nudge), they make predictable errors. If we can anticipate those errors, we can devise policies that will reduce the error rate.” (p. 325)

“Good leaders must create environments in which employees feel that making evidence-based decisions will always be rewarded, no matter what outcome occurs.” (p. 357)

This book is a very interesting examination of human behavior, in general.  It’s not just a book about economics.  Well worth the time for anyone in a position of influencing others. 

LittleFiresEverywhere

I recently read Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (2017).  I rarely report on my fictional reads, but this one deserves note.

Ng does a magnificent job of character development (several of them, actually) while weaving a tapestry tale that touches on the messiness of family, of culture, of heritage, of values, of morality.  The contradictions that most of us struggle with along all those dimensions are laid bare in this work.

I love it when authors cause me to think about their book while I'm NOT READING their book.  Ng did just that.

This one is getting dangerously close to cracking my Top 10 Fiction readings.

LeaderFails

Leadership comes in all kinds of iterations and manifestations.  

Leaders at all levels (in our families, in our houses of faith, in our social networks, in our communities, in our world) can learn much from the fails of leaders past.

Here's what failing leaders DON'T do:

• LISTEN - they fail to stop talking long enough to actually hear the voices, perspectives, insights of others.
• ADMIT - they fail to acknowledge that problems exist, much less the prospect that they themselves could have contributed to the problems.
• FORGIVE - they fail to understand that forgiveness is the first step in healing, the only path toward community.
• HONOR - they fail to respect the dignity of others.
• BRIDGE - they fail to build bridges, concentrating, rather, on magnifying the chasms.
• SEE - they fail to envision and craft better futures, preferring to highlight the problems.

History is littered with examples of failed leadership.  

It is also ripe with examples of leaders who chose the paths of 

Listening, Admitting, Forgiving, Honoring, Bridging, and Seeing.  

None perfectly so, but always and persistently with betterness in mind.

We can learn quite a lot from both.

PassionPulls

No, this is not a blog post about sex.  (Sorry, if you're disappointed.)

Passion is one of the most common attributes of exemplary leaders.  Who among us prefers to follow dull, uninspiring, visionless leaders?  We much prefer to hitch our wagons to those leaders who grab us by the imagination and energize us.

The leaders I admire (and emulate) most are pretty good at the following Passion Pulls:

• They "see" a better future, one that depends on us collectively taking some bold and proactive steps.
• They persistently, relentlessly describe that future (mostly through stories) so that we can also "see" how we fit in to that future and how we can, from our various stations, contribute to its realization in meaningful ways.
• They LISTEN; well, often, attentively, painfully, patiently.
• They create and demand LEARNING environments at all levels in which it is always OK to question, to experiment, to tinker on the edges, to take risks, in the interest of pursuing those better futures.
• They encourage and cheer us as we enthusiastically pursue those better futures together; they also console us and empathize with us when we've fallen on our asses in the effort.

If you haven't already, consider finding and following leaders of just such ilk.

Better yet.......................BECOME one.

SizingPeopleUp

I recently read Sizing People Up: A Veteran FBI Agent’s User Manual for Behavior Predictionby Robin Dreeke and Cameron Stauth (2020).  

My top takeaways include:

·       Behavior Prediction Sign #1:  Vesting – Creating symbiotic linkage of mutual success.

·       Behavior Prediction Sign #2:  Longevity – Believing your bond will last.

·       Behavior Prediction Sign #3:  Reliability – Demonstrating competence and diligence.

·       Behavior Prediction Sign #4:  Actions – Displaying consistent patterns of positive behaviors.

·       Behavior Prediction Sign #5:  Language – Creating connections with masterful communication.

·       Behavior Prediction Sign #6:  Stability – Transcending conflict with emotional accord.

·       Trust should be viewed as predictability, not morality.

·       5 HACKS TO ACCELERATE THE TEMPO OF A RELATIONSHIP: 1. Intensify the experience.  2. Ritualize the relationship.  3. Begin at the end.  4. Demonstrate people’s value.  5. Decode the “Code of Trust.” 

·       How to apply the “Code of Trust”:  1. Suspend your ego.  2. Validate people.  3. Don’t judge people.  4. Be reasonable.  5. Be generous.

·       The truest measure of love is not how you feel, but what you do.

·       Exemplary communicators don’t “win arguments;” they listen intently and completely.

My favorite quotes:

“Trust creates a state of calm and creativity, animates everyone involved, and unites entire nations. It sits at the top of the human hierarchy of positive actions, because it is the action-equivalent of love—and often exists in combination with love.” (p. 11)

“The content was excellent, because the absolute essence of great communication is to focus on the other person, instead of yourself. ” (p. 170).

“Love is the pure essence of the quiet mind, and fear is the constant cold shriek of the noisy mind.” (p. 214)

This one is an excellent, and contained numerous very nice literary morsels (somewhat unexpected from an ex-Marine and ex-FBI agent).