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Engagement.

June 30, 2018 by Heidi Frye

Have you ever driven a zero-point-turn mower? I was recently and reluctantly granted permission to use my dad’s coveted mower while helping my parents manage their five acre yard due to Dad’s health issues. As a kid, I loved driving…anything – tractors, minibikes, motorcycles, snowmobiles, cars, and horses (technically you ride a horse not drive it, but you get my point). And now I was going to add zero-point-turn mower to my list. I anticipated I would put my earbuds in, enjoy the sunshine, and have a relaxing uneventful ride. Well, that was my intention anyway.

I didn’t realize it was initially going to be such a challenge! Full engagement!! This machine required my full attention, so no earbuds. You see, the clutch, the power/gas, the steering wheel, and the gear shift/neutral are ALL maneuvered from the handles…separate right and left handles – requiring supreme coordination. God forbid you itch your nose while driving, and end up veering off in the wrong direction…oops, was that a strawberry plant?

In the first half-hour of my grass-cutting adventure, I could not stop thinking about all of the leadership metaphors! Primarily centered around engagement. I was so “in it to win it”. My senses were heightened. I was excited. I was challenged. I wanted to do a great job for my parents and prove myself worthy of the task, and that meant taming this beast. How silly that I could be having so much fun cutting the lawn?!  But I was!

I realized all three of the factors from Daniel Pink’s book DRIVE were fulfilled – Mastery, Autonomy, and Purpose. Mastery: My desire to learn, master, and quickly conquer this machine was off the charts. Autonomy: My dad had given me a quick lesson while still parked in the barn, covering the basic mechanics and some trouble shooting, and then I was off to figure it out on my own.  Purpose: All of us, my sisters, and spouses included, were helping out during this rough patch with Dad’s health. Taking care of the yard was important to him, so it was important to us.

Engagement is a huge topic in business as the estimated and conservative costs of disengagement are 10-20% of revenue according to the forbesbooks.com article, “The Real Cost Of Employee Disengagement”. And, based on the Harvard Business Review “Disengaged Employees? Do Something About It” article, only 30% of employees are engaged, which means 70% are disengaged! The impact on business is substantial. What to do?

Some of my aha’s:

  1. The challenge of learning something new is/was fun! When’s the last time you were engaged?
  2. Basic training followed by the freedom to figure it out and work out the kinks…mistakes included, was critical.
  3. “Goldilocks” feedback is a critical step in the engagement process – not too much, not too little…training/guiding/tweaking while encouraging.
  4. Mastery takes time. Period. Get out of your head and cut yourself some slack. I know I didn’t do a perfect job, but for a first timer, I did do a great job. [NOTE: I see this with many clients who step into new roles…they berate themselves for not being immediately accomplished and go into “giving up”/disengagement mode very quickly. Incredibly self defeating. Do yourself a favor and discuss and set realistic expectations]
  5. Some people enjoy the challenge of learning something new, some people enjoy the perfection of a job well done, some people want the praise from a respected leader, etc. etc. Learn what your constituents need and want. Find ways to engage them.
  6. My first few rounds were slow. Be patient with yourself. I couldn’t have gotten up-to-speed as quickly if I hadn’t taken time to learn on the front end.

All said and done, it was great to be so engaged in something! My ultimate test was the last section right behind the deck (short up and down turns) …with my father watching. My absolute best and tightest turns of the day. I got the nod.

Filed Under: Development, Leadership, Life, Motivation, Uncategorized Tagged With: autonomy, Bad Boy mower, Daniel Pink, disengagement, Drive, engagement, leadership, mastery, purpose, S&H Farm Supply, TSC, zero-point-turn mower

Motivated or Disengaged? Using a M.A.P. to Find Your Direction!

February 1, 2015 by Heidi Frye

MAP

As I work with business leaders, I am always trying (I say trying because my stack of books is very tall!) to stay on top of current business theories and books. A couple of topics that are extremely motivating to me are “Motivation” and “Engagement“. So I was very excited to pick up Daniel Pink’s book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us!!

Based on the evidence he offers in this book, our business model might need an overhaul if we want to continue to grow and thrive as a society. People are dis-engaging at an alarming rate and Pink offers some excellent insight. Here are a few of my take-aways:

Carrot/Stick Motivation only works for simple, linear tasks.

Carrot & Stick motivation is “if you do X, then you’ll get Y”. Our entire economy is built around this concept of “extrinsic motivation”. Think about it, what doesn’t work this way? Well, OK maybe some of those software developers…. Personally, I spent plenty of years selling. and understand this model well. Granted, it is important to have a fair compensation structure in place – without it, any type of motivation will be challenging. But studies show, the typical carrot motivation actually demotivates individuals in more creative, “heuristic” job functions. Why? Well, it gives us short-term thinking syndrome, hyper-focusing on the reward. Matter-of-fact, studies show extrinsic motivators decrease our depth of thinking; diminish performance; reduce creativity; and welcome short-cuts and unethical behavior. Enron? Cheating on Final Exams? Finding clothes, books, and toys stuffed in a closet when your son/daughter is told they can go outside and play once their room is clean?!

A newer, more sophisticated motivation system must be in place to drive performance for more complex, creative jobs.  Carrot & Stick motivation might work in the short run but not in the long run (I think this is a factor in why sales people burn out so quickly….).

Type X vs. Type I:

We have all heard of the Type A personality, right?  Driven, aggressive, impatient, intense.  And of course the counter to Type A was/is Type B.  However, the new motivation research requires we redefine the behavioral “types”.  Welcome, Type X and Type I.  The Type X person, is the one motivated by the “X-trinsic” rewards, less focused on the intrinsic rewards. Intrinsic satisfaction is great but definitely secondary to the primary, extrinsic motivator. The Type I person is more motivated by “intrinsic” rewards than extrinsic – like freedom, challenge, and purpose. The extrinsic rewards are great but not the driving force.

  • Something to keep in mind about Type I’s:
  • Type I’s are made, not born.
  • In the long run, Type I’s almost always outperform Type X’s.
  • Type I’s do care about money – for Type I’s fair compensation is a requirement so they can focus on the job at hand.
  • Type I behavior leads to better physical & mental health – studies show focus on intrinsic motivation leads to better self-esteem, relationships, and overall well-being. Studies also show Type X focus on money, fame, and beauty, promotes poorer psychological health.

MAP

To really motivate people, we need to make sure they have MAP incorporated into their jobs.

  • M=Mastery – People need to be challenged, have the ability to grow, and be better…to strive toward Mastery.
  • A=Autonomy – People need to have some sense of ownership and accountability over their jobs.
  • P=Purpose – People are motivated when the have a sense of passion, or purpose about their job, they understand how it fits into the bigger picture.

So how do we start this shift toward intrinsic motivation? One way is to tap into the Type X boss who is in control. They would need to change their Type X ways and move into the Type I model. A couple of ideas are to involve people in goal setting; use non-controlling language; hold “open office” hours.

Personally, this research helps me understand my own career and how I have evolved. I’m sure I would have been described as a Type A, and then a Type X person back in my previous life…but something didn’t feel right. What was missing was “MAP“.  And without my MAP, I lost my direction….but since starting UPwords Inc. and focusing on my own intrinsic satisfaction, I have found my way!

Filed Under: Leadership, Motivation Tagged With: autonomy, carrot/stick, Daniel Pink, Drive, engage, engagement, mastery, motivate, motivation, purpose, strengths, The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Type I, Type X

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