That you assume everyone will react the same way. Years ago, I had a gentleman who was an excellent technician and an effective front-line supervisor. He cared deeply about his employees, so I wanted to show him my appreciation. I figured everyone would love a vacation, so I gave him some time off. He quickly asked if he could give his vacation time to his family. That wasn’t my intention, so I told him that I wanted to reward him for a job well done. Turns out, giving this guy time off didn’t motivate him. His family life wasn’t that great, so staying home longer felt like a punishment to him.
He is motivated by work
because someone else in the organization would give up a kidney for a day off doesn’t mean it’s a motivator for him. This is a good lesson for him to pay attention to. I have found over the years that it’s often the little things that motivate people and help build trust. Simple things like getting out of the office, having conversations and building relationships. Knowing who has kids and who doesn’t. Recognizing outstanding performance, birthdays, team achievements and many other activities that don’t cost money but can reap rewards. But not enough time! I hear this all the time. I guess it depends on what you are willing to invest in.
What you want in return for your time investment.
Bear with me for another war story. When I was a lieutenant in the Air Force, I was a department supervisor with nearly 40 people in my department. To show my appreciation for my subordinates, I began recognizing them in an informal way. If gcash phone number someone did a good job, I would place a soft drink of their choice on their desk with a small yellow sticky note that read, “Well done on the readiness report. BKS.” I think the drinks in our snack bar were only a quarter a dollar each, so it was really cheap and only took up a few minutes of my time. It wasn’t a big deal, and frankly, I’m not sure it had much.
After doing this for about six months
A master sergeant, came into my office and asked to talk to me. After sitting down, she asked me if she was doing a good job. I was quite surprised because she was an excellent employee and her branch had always performed well. I told her in no uncertain looking for a job online: a continuous evolution terms that she was doing a good job. After a few seconds of silence, she said, “But I never got a Pepsi with a sticky note on it.” To be honest, I was targeting the younger people in the department because I thought they were more likely to respond positively to this form of recognition. But what I was really doing was showing recognition through this small gesture, and I overlooked someone thinking it didn’t matter. This was another great lesson.
The little things do matter, and not including
made her question my opinion of the quality of her rich data work. Leadership is complex, and meeting everyone’s needs is a difficult task, especially in a large organization. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try new things and be intentional and personal when we do it. Listening to people and caring about them is a great place to start. Along the way, it’s often the little things, like an ice-cold bottle of Pepsi and a sticky note, that have the biggest motivational impact. Brian Schooley is part of GovLoop’s Featured Bloggers program, where we feature blog posts from government voices across the country (and around the world!).