How do I motivate them? The Irreplaceable.
What is it we give to our teams as leaders? Thoughts may turn to functional actions like direction, instruction, guidance, and insight. Or we may turn to the less tangible such as confidence, empowerment, inspiration, or courage. I am certain most would agree with all of the above plus some others unique to a given industry or company. Yet, the fundamental question of how leaders do this is ever present. We ask it of ourselves and of 'so called experts' regularly. If you are reading this you probably have a pile of unread (and read) books on the subject and have a steady stream of podcasts you listen to while commuting, gardening, or exercising.
I feel the 'what' and 'how' questions of leadership can meld into one answer. My observation from hundreds (if not thousands) of conversations on the subject lead me to one key element not be ignored. Leaders, in any context ultimately give their time. Like an amateur sportsman compared to an elite athlete, poor leaders tend to never have time. They are rushed, hurried, and panicked. Good leaders tend to have more time like graceful batsman such as Mark Waugh or Usman Khawaja. They are ready, calm, and relaxed with plenty of time to give or take for whatever the team or task requires.
There are a few examples in my own work that shows the value of giving and taking time to gain valuable outcomes. When I run training, mentoring, or coaching sessions I invite people into the space to...
NOT sit there and mindlessly listen to a boring bloke put them to sleep with a PowerPoint and workbook, but to instead,
STOP - put a pause on their life and slow down to a point of stillness. To simply 'be' as an alternative to being rushed or needing to be constantly 'productive'. We don't often get an invitation to stop because it is seen as a waste or a luxury we do not have. Yet, if we are continually rushing and moving, then when do we get a chance to plan, learn, or think?
THINK - it is weird how we think all the time but we were never taught how to think. Thinking is a messy business, and we rarely have an opportunity to order our thoughts or make sense of them. Even rarer is the act of doing this deliberately. What is it to think? A good starting point is to reflect on what has been.
REFLECT - reflection is a specific type of thinking. I find it to be a good (and easy) place to start when practicing any type of deliberate thinking. An equation from Ray Dalio's Principles is a healthy way to look at this; Pain + Reflection = Progress. I like to add to this that Progress + Reflection = More Progress. But, getting these reflection out of our brain is where true sense-making takes place
DISCUSS - talking things out and getting other's perspective, questions, and experiences helps us to take a big messy ball of thought and untangle them into a clear and useable thread. Capturing this in a notebook, a flipchart, or into a model/framework can help us tremendously to come away with an idea or concept truly helpful, and therefore valuable to us and our course of action.
Giving people time to stop, think, reflect, and discuss has proven to me to be the most valuable thing I can do as a leader of a group convened for education. I do not see it as too dissimilar for leaders of teams. All of this points to investing time into people.
If we are to invest more time into people then what would we actually do with this time. The simplest answer to this would be to communicate. I hear professionals of all kinds conclude that communication is the most critical thing in business. I hear it all the time that communication is the most important thing in team work, leadership, business, sport, and relationships. If communication is poor then everything else basically turns to shit. Instinctually, we probably all see a lot of truth in this. But it is a platitude we cannot do much with. It may be useful to look at the types of communication we can use as leaders to improve create motivation and performance in others. There are three areas I highlight in The Rhythm Effect:
Conversations - when reflecting on my 15 years of management experience I came to the realisation we were never taught how to have a conversation. We learn from our elders, and like when we learn how to drive we pick up many bad habits they unintentionally pass down to us. Conversational technique is critical and mistakes are made hundreds of times a day by all of us which generally undercut respect, trust, and motivation.
Coaching and Feedback - Being able to hold the space for these two conversations with craft and adaptability become the foundations of collaboration, problem solving, and teamwork. These two communication tools can be overlayed into most professional conversations. When we are highly skilled in them they are game changing for improving connection, critical thinking, and autonomy (i.e. they are capability drivers).
Meetings - Meetings are one of the biggest opportunities (and cost centres) in our modern workplaces (Shocking Meeting Statistics, 2020). Meetings are important, and in fact I am deep believer they are sacred and we generally do not treat them as so. People coming together has been a ritual of humans throughout our history and if we can uphold and respect them they can become a source of strength, solidarity, unity, and invigoration for our people and organisations.
To conduct any of these communication skills well we need to invest time. Time is the one currency which either creates or degrades the value of communication. If we have quick/abrupt/adhoc conversations with our team the meaning people attach to this may include things like...
"we are not important to you"
"you don't care about me/us"
"others are more important to you"
See The First Lever, 2020 for insights into why our brains react like this. Conversely, when we take the time with our people to discuss with them our plans, or to coach them through their struggles, or to simply meet and listen to them we send a very different signal. A signal of care, attention, importance, and recognition. These are powerful signals to gain trust and connection in our people. This is so powerful as explained by Alex Pentland's extensive research in this area at MIT Human Dynamics Labs. His work tells us that people require a feeling of belonging to be motivated (Calibration, 2021). By deliberately carving out some time for others we can have these conversations and in turn, get the best out of people because they feel safe, included, and a part of something bigger than themselves (i.e. they have purpose attached to their work).
Ironically, to get farther faster, leaders are required to go slow. By slowing down and using the one resource that cannot be replaced (time), a lot more can be done in a sustainable fashion. By explaining our decision making we can educate our people so they have more confidence to perform their tasks and communicate with their clients/stakeholders. By coaching people to find their own solutions we are developing critical thinking and problem solving skills so they become more autonomous. By planning our meetings better we set them up to be structured, focused, and inclusive so everyone walks away with benefits rather than bemoaning another waste of time. We may instinctually know this but the forces around us (as well as inside us) constantly stray us from being able to execute these skills and techniques. So what can we do...? Here are some of my thoughts:
Awareness is the first step
Our time is precious and irreplaceable so let’s use it as so. Let’s use it sparingly on tasks of little impact and devote more to people that deserve it, like those in our team and people we are partnering with (like clients, colleagues, contractors) to get the job done. By keeping these ideas front and centre in our mind we can intentionally decide on what we will do and who we will seek out. Underestimating the power of this intention is a mistake made all too often.
Go to school
If you don't know how to cook then get a cookbook and follow a recipe. If you don't know how to dance then go join a dance lesson. If you don't know how to plan, communicate, or execute as a leader then go and learn. I know the problem with this is that there are so many options out there, so be distinctive on what you want to learn, why you want to learn it, and the mode of learning most appropriate for your personality, budget, and context. The key thing is to ensure another year goes past without taking action. If in doubt, invest in learning the skills of coaching and facilitation - they are the go-to skills for collaboration, with many other skills springing off from them in most leadership roles.
Get Deliberate
I teach 100's of professionals every year in the art and science of team leadership and team performance. Our feedback tells us people enjoy the experience in these sessions and gain a lot of tools and techniques from them. But, the impact from these sessions is always enhanced by putting learnings into practice. When coaching others to coach, the first request I have for them is to fail a coaching conversation at least 10x before we meet again. The reason for this is that people must practice, and when doing things for the first time it is likely they will trip. My message to these people is to get up, keep practicing, and experiment until you find your way with it. Much like a footballer goes to training 2-3x a week between matches, so must a professional leader practice technique on a daily basis. By setting out a deliberate plan and committing to taking action we have a chance of the action coming to fruition. If we know spending more time with our people and listening to them, talking with them, and developing them makes a significant difference to their motivation and ability to perform then we had better plan to allocate this time for doing it! Think about where you can spend more time with a team member. Write a note, put it in your calendar, or just commit to putting your phone in your bag during an upcoming meeting. If need be, voice your commitment to a buddy so they can keep you accountable. Here are some more thoughts on the subject: The Beginners Guide to Deliberate Practice, James Clear. Whatever way you can devote time to your people, be sure to think about it, plan it, and do it as frequently as you can. Deliberate Practice creates habit and eventually the action becomes a part of us.
