Employee Motivation: See you at the top....of Maslow's Hierarchy

Any of us who've sat through a psychology 101 class are at least aware of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. In 1954 Abraham Maslow mapped out his theory on motivation and it has become one of the standards in explaining what makes us tick. Without dissecting his entire pyramid I want to jump straight to the top - the self actualization level of the hierarchy. What does self-actualization mean? In my view, when a person has reached true self-actualization they feel they are doing what they were put on this earth to do; They are living their potential; They have met the "measure of their creation". Now be honest: How many of us have met or will ever meet this level of satisfaction? If you could choose to do anything in the world you wanted to do would you choose your current job? It's ok if you said "no".

Think about what makes you...you: What are your key talents, interests, strengths, capabilities etc... If you are fortunate enough to have a "job" where you are able to leverage each of these, chances are you will be pretty doggone happy at work. In "First, Break all the Rules", Marcus Buckingham points out that the great managers are those that focus on their employees' strengths and "manage around" their weaknesses. He doesn't mention it by name but isn't he really talking about self actualization? Being able to do what we do best (or being able to use our key talents, interests, strengths and capabilities) on a daily basis is a huge motivator. This approaches that state of Self-Actualization.

There's alot about Maslow's that we could discuss - and we will in the future. But for now, think of opportunities to match projects or tasks that may come up with the individual strengths and interests of your team members. And here's another thought to leave you with in regards to Maslow's: The higher you move up the hierarchy, the more "bang for your buck" you'll get. Focusing on the higher level needs of an individual will yield bigger performance results than the lower level needs. Stay tuned....

Effective Leadership: Do I have to know it all?

Think back to elementary school. Remember your teachers? Their job was to impart their knowledge to you. We were little kids - we didn't know alot back then. So our teachers would do their best to fill our little "skulls full of mush" with the useful information we would need to be successful, productive adults. This model may have worked alright for kids but this is not the most effective approach for adults.

Some leaders think they are supposed to function in this same teacher/pupil mode. ("You just sit there quietly and I'll tell you everything you need to know...") But this approach overlooks a fundamental element in managing adults. And that fundamental element is "adults know stuff." I know - it's pretty profound isn't it? But it's surprising how often we think our job as a coach is to impart all of our wisdom to our agents - the typical "sage on the stage" scenario. That is not what a coach's role is about. Obviously there are skills and tips we can share with our agents but effectively managing performance is more about drawing things out of our agents than putting things in. Plus, we can miss opportunities to leverage skills and experience our agents already have.

In the mid nineties Michael Jordan got this hair-brained idea to retire from basketball and play baseball for awhile (a very short while!). Fortunately, he came to his senses and decided to go back to basketball. Many folks asked him why he was coming back to the NBA. He believed that even after all the things he had accomplished in his basketball career he could still improve in some areas. One of those areas was his free throw shooting. His free throw percentage wasn't bad - but it wasn't all that good. So he made it a point to work with a coach and practice everyday on his free throw shooting. To me, this paints a very interesting little picture. Imagine Michael Jordan, quite possibly the greatest basketball player in history, working with a coach to help him improve his skills in a particular area. Now, if Michael and his "coach" were to play a little one-on-one, you know Michael would smoke him! But that's the whole point - to be an effective coach, we don't have to necessarily be able to "outplay" our agents.

Obviously it helps to be grounded in the fundamentals but effective coaching is more about motivating people than transferring "our" knowledge to them. I'm not recommending you try this, but a truly great coach can improve performance even if he knows absolutely nothing about his employee's actual "job". That's because great coaches focus on people more than process. Now, being an expert on the process might help, but that is not what will have the biggest impact on developing people. The coach/agent relationship is far more important than the coach's depth of process or product knowledge.

If you feel pressure to know more or be smarter than all of your agents - relax! That is not what your agents are expecting from you. Instead, look for ways to build on what your agents already have. Look for ways to fine-tune and tweak what's already there instead of ignoring it. Look for ways to remove obstacles (both internal and external) that might be holding them back. And most importantly, focus on a positive, professional, supportive relationship between you and your team.

Experiential Learning: Are You Experienced?

As a trainer I'm always beating the drum about making training "experiential". Adult learning theory stresses the importance of experiential learning and hands-on training and, of course, I agree with that - it's crucial. But I like to think that "experiential" also refers to what the adult learner brings with them to the classroom.

As a trainer, I am doing a great disservice if I do not acknowledge and leverage the wealth of experience that my participants have. In any given class I'm sure I have multiple individuals who are full-blown experts at something. True, they may be new to my particular industry, but chances are they are bringing with them a bevy of experiences, skills and insights that will help them in their current undertaking. Why not build on what they already have instead of building from scratch? One of the easiest ways to do this is to simply give your class plenty of time for discussion. Let them talk. Let them bring up past experiences. I've found that in most cases the more my participants talk the better. It's the basic "guide on the side" vs. "sage on the stage" philosophy.

This past week I attended an ASTD seminar with Cynthia Clay, President of NetSpeed Learning in Seattle. She shared a great quote from George Siemen of the University of Manitoba. He views the training professional as a "museum curator". A trainer should be "an expert who creates spaces in which knowledge can be created, explored and connected." Wow. What a great analogy. Our job isn't necessarily to jam folks' brains full of everything we know but rather to create an environment where they learn on their terms. One of the best ways for adults to learn is from other adults and sometimes one of the best things a trainer can do is shut up and let participants talk.

I remember a Sunday school teacher a few years back, an older lady who was a retired school teacher - a very intelligent woman steeped in the traditional "education" approach. It seems nearly every week we would get to a point in her lessons where there would be some great discussion going on or at least the potential for some great discussion- but this sweet lady always nipped it in the bud! "Well, we need to cover all of this material so let's move on", she'd say. Why was it so important that we moved on? To be honest, I got more out of the contributions made by other class members than from her "curriculum". This is an example of being curriculum driven vs. learner driven. Focus on the learner not the curriculum! I would much rather have participants really "get" one or two topics than simply hear a dozen topics just for the sake of "getting through" the material.

C.S. Lewis said "a person with an experience is never at the mercy of a person with an argument." We cannot underestimate the value of experience. It is a key element in adult learning. It means we need to give participants hands-on experience but it also means we need to make the most of the experience they already have. Much of the learning that takes place in your classroom may very well come from the experiences shared by your participants. Don't be afraid to let that happen.