Motivation

I hear a lot of managers worry about how to motivate people. I don't think you can motivate people... people create their own motivation. But you can de-motivate people and unfortunately, too many managers do.

Here are some of the de-motivators I see:

Certificates, awards, ceremonies, and other forced fun

Relentless deadlines

Micromanagement

Withholding information

Not making time to meet with people individually on a regular basis

Taking a one-up position

Ranking

Carrying poor performers

Treating people as “resources”

Dictating rather than including

Blaming team/system problems on individuals

Saying one thing and doing another

When managers stop de-motivating, people find their own intrinsic motivation.

Here’s an HBR article that outlines actions to create a motivating environment. I've also written a bunch about management action to create a motivating environment. Some of the articles are posted on my website (which I'm having overhauled -- hope to have a new shiny version with more articles up soonish).