Understand Styles for Better Motivation
Understand Styles for Better Motivation
Do you often wonder what makes people tick? Why some people are achievers and others need to be prodded into action? Understanding motivation styles can help you communicate in a way that gets others—and yourself—in action!
- Larks vs. Owls.
“Larks”—mornings—people naturally arise early in the morning and usually are full of energy. They are at their best until early afternoon, when their energy starts to fade. Make sure to schedule important meetings and creative activities early in the day.
“Owls”—night—people are slow starters. They do not reach their maximum until mid-morning and are at their peaks mid-day. Afternoon is their best time for important meetings, decisions and creativity.
- Toward vs. Away From.
“Toward” people like goals. They want to visualize the result of their efforts. The more richly the goal is described, the more motivating it is.
“Away-from” people are motivated by consequences of acting or not acting. They need to understand what would be lost by not acting. For example, a “toward” person goes to the dentist because they want healthy teeth; an “away-from” person goes to the dentist to avoid cavities and gum disease.
- Internal vs. External.
“Internal” people are motivated by doing a good job. They usually are self-starters and prefer hands-off managers.
“External” people need positive reinforcement that they are on the right track in order to stay motivated. They want feedback and encouragement in order to keep going.
- Self vs. Other.
“Self” people are motivated through personal achievement and recognition. They want to be rewarded and acknowledged for a job well done.
“Other” people are motivated by the team. They do not want to disappoint others and want to share rewards and recognition.
Understanding what moves people is a key skill that will help you get better results. Also, don’t forget about you – schedule your day around your best times and be positively productive!
Make the Most of the Phone
Most people know you from your voice on the phone. While a phone conversation is a much warmer type of communication than email, make sure your phone “style” says what you want it to say.
- Make sure your voice sounds friendly by smiling when you answer the phone.
- Speak clearly and pronounce every word precisely.
- Speak slower than you would if you were meeting in person. It takes most people longer to process what they hear over the phone since they do not have your facial expressions and gestures to enhance understanding.
- Use courteous and respectful language. No one has ever complained that someone was “too polite”!
- Answer the phone with a greeting such as, “Good morning, XYZ Company, Carol Barnes speaking. How may I help you?”
Make sure your voice mail message reflects you, your business and is working for you.
- Keep your voice mail greeting brief and update it, as necessary, so people know when you will return calls. For example, “You’ve reached Carol Barnes at XYZ Company. It’s August 22. I’m in meetings this morning and will return your call after 1 p.m. today. Please leave a detailed message and a number where I can reach you.”
- Ask that the caller leave a detailed message. That way when you return the call you are fully prepared and the call is productive. This will also help eliminate the need for additional calls.
- Do not record “cutesy” voice mail statements or greetings that sound unprofessional.
Voicemail can be a very productive tool if you use it wisely.
The Art of Giving Feedback
How you give feedback can make or break workplace relationships. You can use feedback to reinforce positive behaviors or correct negative ones. The goal is to give more positive feedback which will help people improve, develop and grow. Here are tips for giving effective feedback:
- Never give feedback when you are angry or upset.
- Be courteous and diplomatic. Remember, most employees want to improve, but may need help understanding how.
- Provide specific, meaningful statements and evaluations that encourage the employee to make positive changes.
- Present your points in a calm, clear, rational way.
- Use words that directly relate to behavior, not personalities.
- Paint a bigger picture by describing the effect of the employee’s work or behavior on you and your unit.
- Avoid making judgmental statements and never exaggerate.
- Ask the person’s opinion about how and where he/she thinks improvements can be made.
By giving feedback in a positive and constructive manner, you will help others understand their strengths and weaknesses, influence behavior and improve performance by increasing confidence and competence.
Look Before You Decide
We spend much of our day solving problems and making decisions. Often, we do this by reacting to a situation when we’re on deadline, stressed and short for time. This is often where people struggle. They react to what they think the problem is. Instead, try to understand if there is a problem in the first place! Change your approach and become more proactive by answering the following questions:
- What makes you think there is a problem? Describe what you think the problem is.
- Where is it happening? Is it isolated to certain people or areas? Is it pervasive?
- When is it happening? Does it seem to arise at intervals or at certain times?
- With whom is it happening? Does the problem arise from a conflict between personalities? Work styles? Does it seem to center around one person or department?
- Why is it happening? What might be the contributing factors to this problem? The environment? Lack of training or preparedness? Differences among team members?
Describe the problem using a gap analysis. Describe what is happening, then describe what you want to happen. The difference is the gap that needs to be addressed with a plan to get from where you are now to where you want to go.
Color Coding as a Tracking Tool
Color coding helps you find what you need when you need it. It provides a quick, easy way of seeing status, controlling assignments, and saving time when retrieving and filing paper and electronic data. This can be especially helpful when dealing with large file categories, such as clients, vendors or projects. Determine the assignments, reports, files, etc., you need to colorize and assign a specific color to each grouping. For example, you could assign blue for customer categories, green for financials, yellow for vendors and orange for forms.
If you report to more than one manager or support more than one person, you can also use color coding to easily recognize documents from each. For example, you could assign green to the finance manager, red to the facilities manager and so on. This will make it easy to quickly recognize their work—even from a distance.
Keep your use of colors consistent throughout all filing areas of e-mails, electronic and paper files.
Use Email “To”, “Cc” and “Bcc” Appropriately
To ensure proper delivery and a quick response for your emails, make sure you send them the right way. Here are some quick tips for using To, Cc and Bcc correctly.
To: This is for people you are directly addressing. When people are directly addressed in an email, make sure they need to do something—take action, make a decision, review or approve something and so on. If they are receiving it for information only, use the Cc or explain early in the email why it is important for them to know this information.
Cc: This is for readers who do not need to take action. You are sending the email to them for their information only. Use this judiciously. Copy only people who need to be copied. Keep in mind, people who are Cc’d may not read the email and may either immediately file it or trash it.
Bcc:Bcc addresses are like Cc addresses except only you know who is being Bcc’d. This information is not visible to the To’s and Cc’s. Use Bcc if you are sending the email to several people, and you do not want to share everyone’s email address. If you do this often, it is more productive to create email groups using a group name, such as Payroll Project Clients. Usually, when you enter the name of the group in the To area, the email goes to everyone in the group, but recipients see only the assigned group name.
Organize Emails for Quick Response
Do you find people are slow to respond to your emails? If so, here are some quick tips to make it easier for people to read and reply.
- Write from the Top Down. Start with the most important piece of information the reader needs to know and end with the least important. This is called the inverted pyramid. It ensures readers will get what they need to know even if they stop reading.
- Use a Dynamic Subject Line. The subject line is the most important part of the email. Make sure it indicates the content of the email, highlights any urgent matter and sets the reader’s expectations.
- Use a Keyword in the Subject Line. A keyword is the first one or two words of the subject line that tells readers what you want them to do. Some keywords are: Decision Needed, Review by [date], Approval Needed and Action. The rest of the subject line expands on the keyword.
- Use a Signature Box. The signature box tells the reader who you are and adds to your credibility. Unless your department wants anonymity for employees, make sure your signature box has your name, title, phone and fax numbers for additional information.
An Easy Morning Starts the Night Before
There are few things as frustrating as a disorganized morning. Do you find yourself running around the house trying to get ready for work, fix lunches, get the kids out the door on time while hunting for your keys and briefcase, only to arrive at work and discover the flash drive with your presentation is sitting on your dining room table? If so, you need the key to a good morning–an evening routine!
- Create a Reminder List. Create a list of everything you have to take with you the next day and post it where you will see it before you leave the house in the morning.
- Pack Lunches and Snacks. Save money by bringing food from home.
- Set the Table before Going to Bed. A table ready for breakfast is one less chore in the morning.
- Choose the Next Day’s Wardrobe. Do all the ironing and coordinating the night before. No need to spend time doing this in the morning.
- Create a Space for Items You Need to Remember. Put anything you can in your car the night before. Put all other items together so you can grab and go in the morning.
Plan tomorrow tonight and have a positively productive morning!
