Agile Know-How Magazine • Fall 2017
People do not
leave bad companies,
they leave bad managers
mance of individuals. The challenge becomes to create goals
and objectives people need each other to reach.
: In the Tribal Leadership 1 realm, this is the ultimate Stage 4
tribe. We have a common goal, objective or vision that
motivates and drives us. One that is bigger than what any of
us can achieve alone.
The corollary to this is creating competing goals. Imagine two
different teams with goals that compete with one another. If
one team reaches its goals, the other will fail. How could you
address this?
Motivation through opportunities
There is another way of motivating people that does not rely
only on money. What if as managers, we took the time to
listen more to our employees? What if we took the time to
understand what motivates them and what they need at work?
: To create this discussion, you can use the Moving Motivators 2
: game from our Management 3.0 3 course.
What if we were able to take some of these things we learn and
turn them into opportunities for them instead? People need to
be in the right chair doing the right things to light up and bring
their best work to the table.
For many people, work is not just about money. It is about the
opportunity to do something meaningful. It is also about being
able to work somewhere they feel respected and where they feel
they can grow.
Motivation through your leadership
What kind of leader are you? How do you inspire the people
around you? How much personal awareness do you have about
your impact on your people? If you did a reputation audit,
what would people have to say about your leadership style?
list? What is the impact of the things you are encouraging
and tolerating? How are the things on this list impacting your
employees’ motivation?
To see your part in the big picture, you can do this exercise at
the end of each day. If you try this, you can reflect on why you
are tolerating what you are tolerating. You can also reflect on
what you would want to do differently in the future about these
things.
Motivation through metrics
Motivation can be a very fickle thing. What motivates someone
today may not motivate them as much tomorrow. The impor-
tant thing though is to start bringing some focus and attention
to it.
Another easy way to keep track of employee motivation is to
use a metric tool like the Happiness Index. This is a simple tool
from our Management 3.0 course to help determine employees’
level of happiness and to make it visible. This way, you can
begin focusing on improving it.
To try it out yourself, imagine making a chart (see Figure 1)
over a week or a month that is rated from 1 to 5 each day, and
where 1 means you are not happy at all, and 5 means you are
very happy. Each morning, mark your level of happiness on
your graph.
What patterns can you see in your own level of happiness at
work? How can this be a useful tool for your teams ?
I read a quote once that said that people do not leave com-
panies, they leave bad managers. Another fun quote along
these lines is that leaders have the teams they deserve.
Happiness Index – Month of July 2017
When you look at your teams, what are some of their strengths
and weaknesses? How do you contribute to each of them?
Take a piece of paper and make a list with two columns. In the
first column, write down the behaviours you encourage. In the
second one, write down the various behaviours you tolerate.
Take a moment and look at your list. Reflect on how many
things you currently encourage or tolerate. How long is each
July
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Figure 1
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