Page 13 - How to Motivate Every Employee

They do it for you

They do it for them-
selves

A s a manager, if you really want to influence people’s motivation,
you have to uncover their reasons for doing things. You have to ques-
tion their purposes and their causes. People aren’t going to be truly
motivated for your reasons and objectives. Employees ask themselves,
“What’s in it for me?” Knowing this upfront, it’s your responsibility
to find out what your employees’ motives are, then help them con-
nect those motives to your organization’s goals and activities. When
you do this, you also will be positively affecting each worker’s per-
formance on the job.
How do you know that you are doing this well? You’ll know when
your employees start asking the question, “What’s in it for us?” By
looking out for your people and their best interests, your employees
will begin to see that looking out for others and the organization as
a whole is how they ultimately look out for themselves. Sure, it can
take some time for this to happen, but if you persist, employees will
see the light and it will be worth the wait.
Most managers attempt to influence employee motivation using
both positive and negative approaches. As a manager or supervisor,
it is important that you understand clearly the three very different
techniques used to influence the motivation of people in today’s
workforce, and, thereby, evaluate their pros and their cons. By study-
ing the three primary ways leaders use to influence their workers,
you will find greater opportunity to lead and bring about more pos-

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