January 2009 Newsletter
Increase Your Employees Motivation

Most managers attempt to influence employee motivation using both positive and negative approaches. As a doctor and or manager, it's important that you understand clearly the four very different techniques used to influence the motivation of people in the workforce, and thereby, evaluate their pros and cons. By understanding the four primary ways leaders use to influence their workers, you will find greater opportunity to lead and bring about more positive results when it comes to revealing what motivates your employees.

As a manager, if you really want to influence your employees motivation, you have to determine their reasons for doing things. You have to question their purposes and their causes. Staff members generally will not be motivated for the same reasons you are. Employees ask themselves often, "what's in it for me?" Knowing this, it becomes your responsibility to figure out what motivates them, (other than their paycheck) and use that to take your practice to the next level.

Fear And Manipulation

When workers are motivated by fear and manipulation, they are not so much trying to achieve something as they are looking to avoid losing their jobs. This approach often leads to resentment of managers by employees, which then undermines communication and cooperation. The results of trying to scare employees to perform also typically won't last and eventually will almost always backfire on the practice and it's manager.

The Carrot On A Stick Approach

Known as incentive motivation. This technique can also eventually undermine performance. Sure, people will temporarily work harder to get the reward, but what happens afterwards? You will have to keep coming up with new and better rewards-sweeter carrots-because your employees will expect more and more to go beyond the minimum work required.

Empowering Employees

Let your employees feel powerful. If you really want to pump them up, then prepare to give your power away. Even before empowerment became a popular management tool, smart managers were already familiar with the basic concept. When workers feel strong, confident, and capable, they can accomplish more. Those same managers also know that when workers feel unappreciated or insignificant to the overall operation, and when they lack responsibility and authority, they tend to perform down to low management expectations. They also tend to whine and complain a lot.

When you give your power away, you are allowing your employees to share your responsibility and authority. They will find greater motivation in their work and little by little you will free yourself from the burden of using whips, carrots, or other extrinsic forces to try to influence them and their behaviors.

Self Motivation

When employees rely on themselves to stay motivated, rather than on others, they're accepting self-responsibility. To encourage self-responsibilities for motivation, give employees direct responsibility for achieving a specific task or project to make it their own, and give the full authority to do it their way. This will unleash tremendous energy and motivation among your staff. Remember, one of the greatest de-motivators is to assign responsibility to someone and then turn around and tell them how to do the job. Top managers won't make this mistake.