Motivational Managers treat their team the way they expect to be treated

Let me tell you a quick story. A branch manager friend of mine, Jennie, was telling me about a recent meeting she had with her boss. After discussing some day to day issues he said, “Jennie, I have some good news; I’m sending you on another weekend team building event.”

Jennie’s heart sunk, she remembered the previous event where they spent the day swinging thorough the trees, falling in the mud, building rope bridges and generally getting wet through. Jennie isn’t particularly athletic and the aforementioned activities don’t exactly fill her with joy. She also has a husband and young children and she regards her weekends spent with them as very important.
Jennie is a very bright outgoing person however she isn’t keen to do much socialising with her work colleagues. She doesn’t attend social events or the Christmas night out.

She is however a very successful manager. Her team consistently hit their target and her branch is the most successful in the company. She runs a ‘tight ship,’ has a happy team with little absenteeism and is generally regarded as a first class manager.

Her boss believes that weekend team building events are good for morale, team spirit and very motivational. In Jennie’s case, it’s exactly the opposite; it’s totally de-motivational.

The Motivational Manager gets to know each individual member of their team. They are sensitive to how they see things and they know that they think differently than they do.

We all see the world in a different way based on our culture and how we were brought up. It’s very important to understand this, particularly when you give your people feedback, be it good or bad.

Last year I spent several weeks in a particular hotel running seminars and I started to get to know some of the staff. One day I noticed that Carol the conference manager had been named employee of the month and her photograph was displayed in the reception area. When I congratulated her on this honour, I was a bit surprised at her reaction - “I hate it, I’m so embarrassed,” she complained.

Carol didn’t like the attention she was getting and as a result, this recognition by her manager didn’t motivate her. Another member of the team could possibly see this completely differently and regard it as a great honour.

If you have good rapport with your people then you become sensitive to how they see things. The Motivational Manger understands each member of their team and doesn’t reward everyone in the same way.

I’ve often heard managers say - “I treat people the way I expect to be treated.”

The Motivational Manager says -
“I treat people the way THEY expect to be treated.”