How do I motivate them? The Vibe.
Latest research tells us the workplace of tomorrow will be full of Artificial Intelligence (AI), more dispersed than ever, and will probably be spent in the meta-verse for most of the working day. A lot of it feels unrelatable to our current experience as many businesses try and pull people back to offices or on-site. But, on the other hand, technology tends to creep up on us - reflect on the phone they had in their pocket in the early 2000's. We couldn't imagine the power and functionality of our current phones back then, so in these terms the big launches forward in our day-to-day lives may be closer than we realise.
So, how do we prepare to lead our businesses into the future and ensure we don't get left behind? In the now (and not too distant future) one of our constants will be teams of people working through a constant and rapidly changing environment (A Futurist's Guide to Preparing Your Company for Constant Change, HBR 2021). No matter how many jobs are lost to robots there will always be teams of people behind the robots and working in teams with them! And, no matter how good the technology gets, it will be a long time before consultants in sales environments, teachers in education environments, or trades people in any environment become completely redundant.
People are central to our future. So, we had better focus on how we can work with them, lead them, and motivate them in a ever-faster-changing world. So far in this series we have covered money, recognition, time, energy, purpose, clarity, and safety. All are opportunities with costs and complexities., especially when adapting to individual scenarios and personal styles. Another factor to think about when preparing to motivate our people tomorrow is to hone our leadership towards a key element that motivates all of us - today. Or, more specifically how today looks and feels for our people.
Environmentally, there are a few considerations we can consider. The physical environment is important - we have learnt this about the Work From Home (WFH) explosion and how this it has been good for some and not so much for others. Companies have invested heavily in hot-desk office designs and then decided to scrap them as it turns out they tend to harm productivity (Jeff Pochepan, Inc.com). These factors contribute, but I feel they are ultimately cosmetic and reflect what is sitting deeper in respective cultures. The real game is played in the day-to-day human experience and exposure people get in their work. These are the environmental factors which signal one of the most motivating and enjoyable experiences we can be involved in - community.
We do people donate their highly valuable time and skill to create content for Wikipedia? How is it certain charitable movements like Movember go global while others representing just as noble causes do not (or even dissipate into extinction)? If we see these entities as tribes of people we can start to understand the mechanics behind the ones that flourish and the ones that do not. There is a tribalism associated with our workplaces, and tribes are funny things. According to Dave Logan, contributor to Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization, small groups of humans (a.k.a. teams), can go through five distinct stages:
"Life Sucks" - no matter who you are or where you sit, life in general is rubbish for me, you, and everyone else. This is where people are hostile and have a mindset of despair.
"My Life Sucks" - generally, people are judgy, sceptical, protective of their position, and are victims to whatever circumstance or challenge is before them.
"I'm Great (But You're Not)" - it is survival of the fittest. Adversarial behaviour is common where sharing and collaboration is low. People are working hard and have competence, but feel as though they are too busy with little support.
"We're Great (But They're Not)" - a leap forward from Stage 3 where the tribe unites against a common exterior adversary. Office politics, personal agendas, and destructive conflict melts away as the tribe becomes a distinct part of the individual's identity.
"Life is Great" - potential, play, and problem solving dominates the mindset. Innovation and meaningful progress is associated with Stage 5 Tribes.
So how do we take a stage one, two, or three tribe and convert it into a four or five? The answer requires context to each situation, however this idea of building a tribe is based on what author and branding expert Dan Gregory would call "Start with Who". When I was in the audience for one of Gregory's brilliant talks he referred to the cultural element that come before asking or finding our 'Why'. The 'Who' question refers to knowing and understanding values - a fancy way of saying, 'What do we stand for? What do we believe in? and What do we prioritise?' By crystallising and identifying our ingredients of our 'who', we can then easily identify the people we basically want to hang out with, i.e. colleagues and customers alike. This is a smart thing to do when recruiting and building your culture, and I have found it is never too late to start this process. It is a clever strategy to get this stuff clear in our minds as recruiting staff, customers, investors, and suppliers will all become easier and most probably lead to less headaches down the track.
There is another element worth highlighting. By knowing our 'who' can attract people with similar values to work with us in all sorts of ways. IKEA, Lego, DeWalt, and DHL are a few examples where customers are co-creating with companies to great effect (Jonathan Livescault, Braineet). When people value the same things they tend to find it easier to behave in the agreed ways rather than being rebellious towards them. If we can garner a day-to-day experience that is fun, rewarding, and appropriately challenging then becoming a Stage Five Tribe is a real possibility. Can we dispense with the aspiration for ping pong tables and bean bags and replace this with an aspiration for agreeing and living what's important to 'us'? I have nothing against nice offices, and any business that creates aesthetically pleasing office spaces and workspaces. I have worked in designer offices before and they are super cool and feel great to be in. They can make us feel better about ourselves and how we see ourselves. The big mistake is many senior and middle-managers feel this will do the job for them in terms of culture and behavioural expectation. But, it just doesn't work our like that.
Source: BrickNerd
This reminds me of a client I used to work with that ran the spa in one of the most luxurious and high end hotels in the world. Every time we spoke, the surroundings were lovely but the conversation was dominated by stress and strain on her and her team. The restrictions placed on her by the company in almost every way possible along with the lofty expectations were soul destroying. Staff turnover had a churn rate double of the industry standard. Fancy stuff by itself is nice, but it is not the decisive factor in motivating people through environment. What tends to stick is the vibe. In my world, the vibe is created by a few distinct ingredients:
We know who we are (identity) - the things we enjoy, think is important, they way we act, possibly the standards of dress, and definitely how we treat each other. What is appropriate in one workplace may be considered disgusting in another. Easy examples include swearing, wearing of uniforms, and the requirement for 'cameras on' in zoom/teams meetings. Get this stuff straight and cut out the ambiguity so a course can be set for getting things done without the annoyance of trying to pull people into line.
We believe in you (exposure) - having aligned people means the question of 'do they even want to be here?' is off the table. Now, we can invest in improving them, supporting them, and giving them opportunities to grow. By giving people new stimulus and opportunities to grow fills them with confidence, empowerment, and independence. People want to learn and contribute, and if they know we are there to catch them if things go sideways then they will fly. They'll take this signal and do the same with their subordinates, colleagues, and clients and reciprocate wherever they can. Good vibes are felt and momentum can build swiftly.
We are translucent (vulnerable) - by showing people you are not perfect, that you don't have all the answers, and that you may be fearful/uncertain/intimidated by challenges being faced we show people that it is okay to be human. People then feel safer to share their concerns/questions/perceived inadequacies and a whole raft of great vibes emulates through the place. An honest and high-trust environment creates an amazingly positive experience for everyone involved. Our workplace becomes a wonderful place to work and we have created an environment money simply cannot buy.
In the war for talent, salary and benefits will always be a factor. But, it is not sticky. If the vibe is off people sense it as early as the interview stage. If talented people do come and work for us then it won't be long until rubbish cultures are felt and our new hot recruits will be on Seek within a few months. Invest in your vibe and your people will respond by being happier, less distracted, and contribute in all sorts of ways to improving the business. And, if you are thinking your team is just a little cog in a huge machine, then I encourage you to focus on what you can control. Your portfolio of clients, your contractors, your team... these are small groups we can all apply these principles to and create mini- or sub-vibes within larger organisations. As technology evolves and drastic global and local challenges hit us at accelerated levels I am convinced it is the workplaces with great vibes that will sustain and thrive.
