Page 210 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

the eight principles model � 189

supplies virtual work tools at the touch of a keyboard. It makes one feel
powerful. It increases the scope of one’s knowledge, skills, and abilities.
It stretches the realm of possibility—impossible performance plans be-
come promising. It shows that the organization and its managers know
what people need to do the work at hand. You want to go fast when
you’re driving that Corvette. You want to win the gold medal when
you have the lightest, fastest, most aerodynamic equipment. There is
something about having the best tools to do the job that’s inspiring.
Technology comes between the mobile workforce and the job to be
accomplished in either a supportive or destructive manner.

` set the enVIronment For moBIle motIVAtIon

principle one: trust Is the glue
Think how motivating work would be without trust. You wouldn’t
believe it when your boss promised a reward for completing a task.
When your boss didn’t trust you to be working at home instead of
goofing off, you’d say, “Okay, I will goof off.” Twiga Foundation pres-
ident Patricia Kempthorne says that trust is a key issue with telework.
“One of the challenges we hear about telework,” she says, “is how to
trust somebody, how do I really know they’re working if they’re not
sitting in the office?” 6
On the other hand, a high-trust environment is the organizational
bonding agent that enables motivation to flourish. “There is noth-
ing that motivates, or inspires, people like having trust extended to
them,” say Stephen M. R. Covey and Rebecca Merrill in their book,
The Speed of Trust. “When it is, people don’t need to be managed or
supervised; they manage themselves.” 7

principle two: the more you know, the more you’ll know what to do
Have you ever tried to find a restaurant without an address or a map?
Ever tried making a new dish without a recipe? Without a map or a