IS OUR USE OF RECOGNITION TO MOTIVATE, CREATING CLINIC MONSTERS ?
THE FINE BALACE OF USING RECOGNITION TO MOTIVATE
METHODS FOR MANAGING YOUR TEAM MOTIVATION
“If no one is going to praise me should I even bother to try and if no one is going to make me accountable should I just carry on with my inappropriate behaviour, even knowing I am in the wrong”
This is the concern caused by the desire for recognition. Why is it that we seek recognition from others to validate our efforts and motivate us?
The reality of constantly praising and using recognition to motivate.
Many business owners seem to be walking on eggshells for fear of losing team members, that quite frankly probably need to be gone. The reality of constantly praising and using recognition to motivate, has the potential to derail your entire business, if not managed with clear boundaries and strategies firmly in place.
I have found that both, my hands on clinic owners and my absent business owners, all share the same levels of enthusiasm and optimism to grow until we come to the motivation and recognition of team members and then they move into the difficult world of becoming an employer rather than a friend. Once the uncertainty of how we should proceed takes hold it often leads to no one being recognised and then the downward spiral starts as far as motivating anyone to do their best.
So, I have made it another of my missions that my clients don’t find out the hard way because, as many business owners have discovered, the cost of getting it wrong can be crippling. Employee morale is a key component to your clients entering a space that makes them feel that they will be treasured and adored, leading to them returning again and again. Your clients are your best marketing tool, so if they pick up on internal issues you are likely to not only loose them but lose any of the potential friends and family they had thought of recommending to you.
What does recognition mean to your team?
Being recognised by others in your team and your clients is certainly something to be happy about but it should NOT be the key driving force for motivating your team to be the best versions of themselves as individuals.
‘A constant need for continuous proof and validation for workplace moments has the potential to create the team Monster’
Linda Christian
We all need to feel that we have value and can contribute to both the growth of ourselves, within our chosen profession, as well as the growth and success of our workplace but if the only way to achieve this is by a form of bribery from our employer, then in true terms you are using emotional blackmail.
CONSIDER THIS SCENARIO:
You have excitedly decided to implement a new bonus system to both motivate and reward the entire team. The team prima-donna, (yes I know there is always one or the potential for one to appear when you least expect it and recognition is often the trigger that allows them to rear their ugly head) tells you that ‘it won’t work and they never did this sort of thing at the last place she worked.’ How disappointing and sometimes exasperating is this to the rest of the team? What does this tell you? Either she is not confident of her place in the team and her ability to be the shining star, the self-appointed position she feels she alone is worthy of, or truthfully, she really just doesn’t care about cooperative teamwork and wants to just do her thing, her way, after all ‘this is just my job’ so she can leave at the end of the day to resume her life.
Identifying this attitude is imperative to the mentality of your entire team and the work ethos, you need in place, to survive as a business long term. Sometimes the rest of the team will expect this type of attitude because they see her behaviour all day and they are waiting in the wings to see what you are going to do next. When I encounter these types of team issues, we quickly identify behaviours and then pop in a strategy to handle the situation with our desired outcome being the result.
The key conversation I have with my business owners is;
‘Remember this is your business and your hopes and dreams, and it is you who pays the wages and all the associated bills, and it is you who stands to lose the most when it all stops working well, so what do you want to do?’
If motivating and getting the best out of your team is a current problem, we can help you to identify and implement the corrective steps you need to take to get your business on track and your team thriving in a harmonious and productive manner. Identifying issues before they occur.
HOW DOES IT WORK ?
Working on team motivation needs to be inclusive of recognition of all members of the team and their contribution for the end result. This will build individual contributing team members confidence in the team as a unit. Remember it is natural human nature to want to be part of something bigger than ourselves and be seen to be doing our collective part in the whole well. Everyone has the right to want to come to work in a safe, fun environment but not everyone survives or thrives well in an unstable competitive space.
Recognising the personalities, you are working with and identifying behaviour patterns and belief systems that are integral to the ongoing harmonious growth, is often the key underpinning details we use for motivation and a happy cohesive growing team.
Enjoy discovering how to work best with your team. love Linda x