Discretionary effort can not be mandated! It’s a true statement. Think about it. What is the likely impact of demanding someone give additional effort? There might be a momentary increase in effort and productivity if the person feels threatened enough but is likely very short lived and will be replaced by returning to the previous performance level or worse. So, what is the best way to motivate people to perform better? It’s through engaging them at a higher level not through threats or making higher demands. There are many elements to increasing engagements and it is a topic worthy of the many books that have been written about engagement, so I’ll focus on just a couple of high-level concepts in this post. First and foremost, people need to be set up for success. They need a clear picture of what is expected of them. They need the basic tools, equipment, information, and or resources to deliver the expected results. And lastly, there needs to be an emotional connection to a higher purpose. They need to understand how what they do matters; they need to feel someone cares about them and that they matter not just as a worker but as a human being as well. There are several very good resources for more information and tools for increasing engagement. Checkout what the Gallup organization has to offer and checkout cultureconnection.com headed up by Michael Stallard for a deeper understanding of the importance of engagement in the workplace and for many tools and resources to help build your leadership skills.
“Engagement Is The Secret Sauce Of Performance Improvement”
