It is asked a lot of today's leaders: they need to have subject knowledge, be able to manage collaborations and work relations, be strong in action and able to manage changes. In addition, they should be coaching and motivating in their leaderships. But, what is it that drives a person? How do you get an employee to perform. A small business is not always able to attract employees with so-called external driving forces such as fine educations, high salaries and exciting career opportunities. So, how do you motivate your staff long term? How do you access a person's internal driving forces?
Today I attended a seminar by Richard Rejsjö. He believes that one should begin by asking "if you could do what ever you want, what would you do". Perhaps the answer would be "then I'd be a writer." Then he suggests you ask the question "why" three times to get to the core. The answers might be "because it's free," "because I can work from home" and “then I would not feel the stress of picking up or leaving my children at daycare at a certain time point". For this employee maybe flexible working hours could be the solution. For another employee perhaps responsibility is the key driving force. The solution for that person can be an own area of responsibility.
However, what do you do if an employee has no motivation at all and underachieve? To begin with, you have to analyze if the situation is temporary and if so, if you can help and assist the employee for a period. If the situation is of a more constant nature, perhaps you should look over the employee's duties in whole. Perhaps there are other tasks at the company that would fit better. Maybe there is more suitable work at another company. Punishment has never proved successful as a driveing force. Instead, it is important to highlight the positive features of the employee. Important is also as a leaders to lead by example.
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