Let's debunk the myths about employee motivation, engagement and involvement. You can't really motivate people. All motivation is a personal choice. However, leaders can influence the choices of their teams by the values and behavior they apply. What do employees want or need to be most effective? Answer this honestly, change your behavior as a leader appropriately and you will begin to manage a high performing if not an inspired team.

What are most workplace cultures really like today?

The workplace today in so many places has high levels of employee malaise, dissatisfaction and disengagement. See this chart from Gallup for the US. Globally it is worse. Notice there is a big gap of employees only somewhat engaged. Some say engagement is increasing. 34% actively engaged is pathetic really, and an unnecessary costly problem.

I say, why isn't "actively engaged" 90% or better? Do you agree?

Why does employee engagement stay this way? Consider, according to management derailment studies 60-80% of managers fail. Therefore, that's about around 400M or more managers worldwide. It's because too many companies lack genuine commitment to create great cultures. This leads to a lack of management support to help their employees succeed at higher levels. Too often corporate leadership practices are counterproductive to building trust, and employee loyalty. Unfortunately, their focus and goal is, most often, about expedient short term growth and profit.

Have you ever checked out these organizations that publish employee ratings of companies: Indeed, Glassdoor, Fairygodboss, CareerBliss, Vault and others. Notice the comments that former and current employees leave. Most of the comments are about incompetent managers, toxic cultures, lack of appreciation and the chaos of doing business. The end result of a poor employee scorecard is lower productivity, poorer customer service and inferior quality.

What really motivates employees?

What motivates employees? According to research seven key areas matter most: recognition, achievement, growth, advancement, learning, responsibility, and pride in doing their jobs well. Notice how this is different than what executives want. In addition, money is important for everyone. No one works for nothing. Money inspires when it is better than the market and generates resentment and poor productivity when it isn't fair.

The #1 key to employee motivation and engagement involves helping employees get what they want. Or, another way to say it is, the first and only rule of leadership is: it's not about you the leader.

Excellent leaders serve. Servant leaders care about the success of their employees and not just the company bottom-line. This value separates the best leaders in the world from the worst. The relationship is infinitely more potent than the reporting structure. Or, the team is more important than the task. Likewise, people are more critical than profit. According to research, leaders who take this approach are undeniably more successful over time.

In conclusion, the next revolution in leadership thought is underway: it's about service. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra said it so eloquently.

Want to gain fresh ideas for motivating others, check out the eBook: How to Motivate--No, INSPIRE--People: 10 Keys to Employee Engagement.

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