Employee motivation is one of the biggest challenges that leaders face.
What motivates an employee or team member? The answer is not a simple one. It depends.
Motivation is diverse and very personal. But is this something we are mindful of when we manage others? Or do we assume that what motivates us also motivates others?
Do we project – usually unconsciously – our personal assumptions and biases onto those we manage and lose the opportunity to understand and truly motivate them?
A common example that we see all the time is the manager who is highly motivated by accomplishment, challenge, and career aspirations. Let’s name this person Mary.
Mary believes that all her team members share her strong drive to succeed. Why wouldn’t this be the case?
Because not everybody is like Mary.
Of course, Mary’s bias isn’t her fault. It’s the result of a cognitive bias all humans have – a mental shortcut our brains take called “the false consensus effect.” This shortcut overestimates similarity. It happens below the level of consciousness and assumes that most people share our beliefs, values, preferences, and opinions.
But what is the real impact of this problem and how does motivation affect goals?
Every one of your team members will pursue goals based on their unique motivational profiles – not yours. When there is a mismatch, negative outcomes like disengagement, lower performance, professional malaise, absenteeism, and higher staff turnover increase. Alignment may not always be possible as employees are often unaware of what their profiles are. They’ve probably never had an activity or conversation that safely allows them to explore and articulate this.
And let’s not forget that motivations change over time as individuals change.
So, how can you avoid the trap of your own biases, discover what really motivates your team, and catalyse maximum performance?
While there are many motivation factors to consider, paying attention to the role of emotions is one of the best employee motivation strategies you have.
Research into what motivates an employee consistently confirms this as well.
To explore others’ motivation, we use the Emotional Culture Deck, a versatile and powerful tool. It takes the guesswork out, allows you to build transformative dialogue, and truly understand what motivates your team.
Tools and Ideas for Staff Motivation: Using the Emotional Culture Deck
“Emotions can either energise you or de-energise you”
Mavis Mazhura
What Is the Emotional Culture Deck?
The emotional culture deck is a card game based on business research that has proven that employee satisfaction, teamwork, burnout, financial outcomes, and absenteeism are all impacted by the organisation’s emotional culture. It’s a fun tool that nurtures strengths and empowers conversations that build lasting organisational change.
How We Use the Emotional Culture Deck
Here’s one of our favourite ways to use the deck with individuals and teams:
- We start by showing cards that indicate positive emotions (appreciated, energised, proud, welcome, etc.).
- Each person chooses three cards that represent their definition of motivation. What will spark their motivation? What emotions do they want to experience?
- We examine the emotions they chose. We explore what actions and behaviours make them feel these emotions. Which emotions are driven by them, and which are driven by others? How can the individual communicate these emotions and influence the appropriate actions and behaviours from others?
- Next, we repeat the same steps but this time, showing negative emotion cards (afraid, powerless, incapable, judged, etc.).
- Each individual picks the three emotions they don’t want to feel in the workplace.
- Just like the positive cards, we examine the emotions they selected. We take care to explore actions and behaviours that provoke negative emotions, whether those are driven internally or externally (i.e. from others), and how to communicate them safely and proactively.
- Once we understand the emotions working behind the scenes of tasks, behaviours, or events at work, we can begin identifying the tasks and projects that serve as high motivators for everyone. We can also problem-solve around the must-do tasks or projects that demotivate them, and try to find approaches that re-energise them, all based on what resonates with them.
Final Thoughts
This tool is effective with both individuals and groups and the activity is incredibly helpful in clarifying what motivates someone. It creates understanding, reduces conflict, enhances emotional intelligence and awareness, and strengthens collaboration. These are all key conditions to inspire staff motivation, high performance, empowered workplaces, and sustainable success.
Change Aligned, strategy consultants in London, coaches and inspires emerging and senior leaders who want to develop leadership qualities that matter. We leverage years of working with senior executives to help you clarify your unique vision and style, energise your team, and activate a winning strategy.
