Just Desserts

I feel like this week I have driven about a million miles, but it hasn't really been that much. It is more just that I don't drive longer distances these days, so are no longer accustomed to sitting in the car for hours on end. On Wednesday it was almost eight hours of driving time and today, another four and a half, but it felt long. At least for half those journeys though, I had Smallsteps to talk to, which I count as quality time of a kind, since she is a captured audience and forced to talk with me.

We also spend time singing, much to the detriment of her ears I am sure.

Before going to pick her up today, I had a session with a client, which is quite rare in July since most are on holiday. This one is not on holiday yet though, as he will very soon take a few weeks off once his second is born, so we could spend a couple hours talking about his work as a people leader. It is always fascinating to get such an in-depth view into roles and talk through the various challenges they face and discuss possible approaches. It isn't as much about problem-solving with them as it is about shifting perspectives through conversation. It is a bit like therapy.

But what was interesting today is that while we were discussing his team where he mentioned that with a few rough calculations he had created one view of productivity where there was a clear quarter of over performers, half are mid-range, and the other quarter is underperforming. It was just one simple view as he noted and only looked at a few metrics, but is still a good way to consider things. I asked him what the difference was between the top performers and the bottom and other than skill gaps, the clear point in his opinion was motivation.

Seems obvious.

But the thing with motivation is that the influencing factor that leads to the same outcome in results, could be very different. One person might be (most are not) motivated by money, another by the desire for recognition of a good job, and another by a fear of public failure. And then those at the bottom who are underperforming might have similar motivations, but have different expectations of what a good or a bad result may be. In fact, as I suggested and he agreed, it is likely that at least some of the underperformers are actually blind to their underperformance, meaning that they might feel they are actually doing a great job.

Without feedback to the contrary, how would they know?

As I have found, many people are either unaware of their own shortcomings, or find ways to avoid acknowledging them. I think at least for me in various things, I have had a "sense" that I am failing at times, but have found my own strategies to ignore that feeling and instead focus on where I am not failing. However, when it comes to job roles, the thing is that if there are say five skill areas that are required, all of them have to meet at least a passing grade. They don't all have to be brilliant, but there is a minimum required. Most of us put more emphasis on what we are already good at, rather than where we are not, probably because it is more flattering to our ego, and far less work.

And then we have also been told to "focus on our strengths" which isn't bad advice at all in a general sense, but any discipline is composed of multiple sub-components. So to meet the requirements of the general discipline, we have to get all sub-components up to that passing grade at least. Yes, we can still have strengths in that group, but we also have to acknowledge our weaknesses. If we were to look at it from a sporting perspective, for instance for basketball, we might be a great defensive player able to force turnovers, but we can simultaneously suck from the free-throw line. That might not be a vital component for the team, but it might be.

But when this comes to our "motivation" it is interesting, because often what motivates us is somewhat tethered to factors that we don't want to work on, and we feel demotivated when forced. For example, if someone was solely motivated by money, it wouldn't matter what job they do or what tasks it contains, as long as it provides enough money to meet their expectations. They can be shovelling human faeces with their hands, but if the salary pays what they want, they are happy.

Does that sound tenable?

And it is because of this that while money is a motivator for some, it is rarely the only motivator or even the main one. Which is also why a lot of people can be unhappy in their well-paid roles that they took for the money, because it doesn't satisfy their other motivations. And often, people who are lacking in something currently will see that as a motivator, so that a poor person might be wishing for any job that will make them rich. But once rich, does the motivation still stand?

So what is your core motivations?

It is something worth reflecting on, because it can bring perspective and guidance as to what you do, are willing to do, or should avoid. Once known, it is possible to then start designing and building an environment and the conditions that will feed that motivation. Similarly, it is also possible that someone or something (like a corporation) that is able to identify motivations, can then design their environments to manipulate behaviours. Or, like many do, do a switcheroo of a kind so that motivations feel they are being met, even when they are not - like how social media makes people feel connected, even though it is widening the gaps and isolating people.

But as said, knowing your own motivations brings benefits, including being able to see and avoid demotivating factors that are trying to fool us into behaving in ways that run counter to what we actually want or need. So, it is worth discovering what drives us, so we can start in that direction, and then understand that even when heading that way, it isn't all going to be fun and games, because along that path will be tasks and situations that will be demotivating and uncomfortable in the short-term, even though they are still moving us along to where we want to go in the long-term.

So, what are you willing to work hard for?

Taraz
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