Some ways to create a better motivational climate.

When employees call for interesting work, they are asking to be challenged. Human nature is such that we like to contribute to things larger than ourselves. That is the essential driver in volunteer work. Give them goals.

Setting a stretch goal can be exhilarating, but it will back fire without support in the form of resources, time or manpower. Managers must be in the same corner with their employees, helping to stand up and take the punches as well as to throw more than they take. Coaching plays a critical role, too. Be available to talk things through.

Mistakes will occur, some of your own doing, others from what someone else does. All failures are not equal. Failures from not trying or simply not caring are unacceptable. Failures that arise from seeking to fulfill the goal and working hard at it are understandable and valuable. Lessons can be learned.

Make no mistake, while managers value challenges over compensation, money is not immaterial. According to the Ashbridge study managers rated a “high basic salary” as their third most important motivator. By contrast, organizations put more value in incentives. Incentives have their place of course, most often in sales organizations shooting for specific sales targets. The downside of incentive compensation is that more never becomes enough. That is, employees become more focused on attaining a number than on fulfilling a mission. This leads to tactics that undercut service and margin in order to make quota.

Managers can be the driving force behind creating a motivating environment by demonstrating that the objectives of each member of their staff is in concert with those of the organisation. Motivational efforts in successful organizations are varied, and must change as the organization changes. In an era of transformation, employees must feel the ‘waves of change’ and adapt to them. This becomes apparent when the managers change the organizational environment as the organization matures.

There must be an open and trustful atmosphere, based upon respect, for motivational efforts to be effective. Employees must be able to the express themselves and be involved in matters that affect the future of the organization.

To motivate employees, a manager must give them authority and responsibility to perform work and hold them accountable for effective

performance. Effective managers give credit to employees when it is due and accept responsibility when problems occur.

The most productive employees are self-motivated if they have a supportive environment in which to work. Managers must be aware that the most effective type of motivation comes from a serious and deliberate effort by the individual employee. A manager cannot be effective until they genuinely accept their employees’ capacity for self-direction.