The Next , Next Big Challenge
By Tim Ammon
In my past few columns , I have written about the challenges
transportation directors are likely to face over the next 12 to 18 months . These included continuing to respond to the pandemic through the 2021 school year , and the emerging budget challenges that districts will begin having to address . Add the fact that it is dark for most of the day to that list of miseries , and it can be tough to get yourself going on any given day . One of the most important and difficult challenges for managers over the next several months will be figuring out how to motivate your employees . types of motivation . There are two key types of motivation : intrinsic and extrinsic . Intrinsic motivation is when you do something because you find it rewarding and fulfilling and choose to act without a reward . Extrinsic motivation is when you do something because you want to earn a reward or avoid punishment . As a manager you will need to use both types of motivation to help your staff through what will remain difficult times . One of the most frequent failures of motivation is that it is reactive rather than proactive . The quote is almost standardized : “ Morale seems low . We need to motivate the staff .” Often the response is donuts or a lunch or an award ceremony . Those are all great things and can be very effective , but COVID has put a halt to those methods for at least a little while longer . Additionally , these tactics only address the extrinsic factors for motivation . Finally , managers must ask whether repeatedly using the same techniques will cause them to lose their effectiveness over time . The significant near-term challenges that transportation operations will face necessitate a more proactive and nuanced approach to motivation . Being proactive will require you to increasingly focus on identifying the intrinsic motivators for staff . Intrinsic motivators , while not necessarily better than extrinsic motivators , are certainly cheaper to implement and are likely more sustaining . Two immediate considerations should be focusing the organization and connecting daily activities to the mission . Focusing an organization on a specific mission allows people understand the reason they should and need to come to work every day . Establishing a through line that connects the activities of today to outcomes of
As a manager and leader , figuring out how to get a group of individuals to work toward a common goal is the most important and difficult task you must accomplish . Do you remember getting yelled at by a coach , or drill sergeant , or your parents ? Do you remember doing something just because you knew it would make you feel better ? In both instances , motivating you to do something was the goal if not the outcome . Understanding how to motivate your employees will be at least , if not more , important than being knowledgeable about how to design a routing system . The problem with motivation is that it is something that everyone talks about , but nobody is ever clear about what they mean . If we do not define motivation , how will we know if we are doing it right ? For our purposes , “ motivation ” will be defined as the social , emotional , and biological processes that cause individuals to do the things they do . While this may seem needlessly academic , it helps demonstrate that actually motivating people is a multi-dimensional process which requires a consideration of the person , the situation , and the methods . The science and research of motivation focuses on the interaction of theories and types . While the theories are clearly important ( remember Maslow ’ s triangle !), managers will more often focus on the tomorrow – and the tomorrows after that – can be a great place to start building opportunities for intrinsic motivation of staff . Motivating staff will be the leadership challenge for transportation mangers during the transition from COVID-dominated activities . Preparing yourself and your organization to work through the remaining dark days and budget challenges will require a focus on what drives employees to do the work necessary to support students . This will require managers to plan for alternatives to the traditional gatherings like lunches that served as key external motivators . Inevitably , and maybe serendipitously , this will mean finding a way to better connect our staff to the purpose of our organization and begin capitalizing more on intrinsic motivators . No other effort we undertake will be more consequential or more difficult , but it is a challenge the industry , its associations , and its partners are poised to meet . Let ’ s get started !
Tim Ammon (
tammon @ decisionsupportgroup . com ) is a co-founder of Decision Support Group . He has been providing consulting services to public and private sector clients for nearly 25 years . His special focus has been assisting organizations with issue identification and designing improvement strategies . Visit
www . decisionsupportgroup . com for more information .
12 | SCHOOL-BUSRIDE . COM | JANUARY 2021