To Create a Happier, More Successful Workplace – Stop Demotivating Your Employees!
Leaders ask me all the time, “What does it take to motivate my employees? Do you have some tips, some tricks on how to keep employees motivated?”
On this topic, I think most leaders, and most organizations, get it wrong. You don’t need to start motivating your employees. You need to stop demotivating them. You need to stop doing those things that are driving them insane, that are making their heads explode, that are making them talk about your workplace in a not very nice way on a Friday afternoon in the bar. You need to stop doing those things that is getting in the way of their natural desire to want to show up on a Monday morning, and contribute their best, and contribute their ideas and their passion in a meaningful way.
You need to stop demotivating your employees.
Stop Demotivating Employees! (Video Transcript)
Leaders ask me all the time, “What does it take to motivate my employees? Do you have some tips, some tricks on how to keep employees motivated?”
On this topic, I think most leaders, and most organizations, get it wrong. You don’t need to start motivating your employees. You need to stop demotivating them. You need to stop doing those things that are driving them insane, that are making their heads explode, that are making them talk about your workplace in a not very nice way on a Friday afternoon in the bar. You need to stop doing those things that is getting in the way of their natural desire to want to show up on a Monday morning, and contribute their best, and contribute their ideas and their passion in a meaningful way.
You need to stop demotivating your employees.
You need to stop doing things like micromanaging your employees. Micromanaging drives people nuts. In surveys, it’s one of the things that drives employees most crazy. It does nothing to build trust in a workplace. In fact, it destroys trust. It doesn’t empower your employees. It doesn’t contribute to great customer service usually. It does nothing to build your next generation of future leaders. You need to stop with all the rules and regulations. Don’t punish everybody because one person screwed up! I see this all the time. Somebody screws up, suddenly there’s a new rule, a new policy in place. Where everybody, all the employees, end up getting punished because of something Bob did. Have a conversation with Bob. Don’t punish everyone. How about stop with the excessive red tape and bureaucracy? It’s bad enough that so many organizations are drowning their customers in paperwork and process. Let’s not drive our employees nuts!
How about let’s stop with the too many meetings? Now I’m a big fan of meetings when they’re purposeful meetings, when they have a reason for being, and where people are getting together and contributing their ideas and their passion. I think meetings are brilliant when they’re done effectively. Meetings for the sake of meetings, when you have too many meetings, go on a meeting diet. You’re demotivating your employees possibly with too many meetings.
How about change for the sake of change? Yes, we’re in a world of change. I talk about it all the time. How we need to be changing all the time. However, there are types of change that sometimes organizations do that they don’t really need to do. Change that is the window dressing kind of change. Change for the sake of change is a hugely demotivating factor in so many workplaces.
How about not listening to your employees? If you want to demotivate your employees, just don’t ever listen to them. Or on that note, how about never asking your employees for input? One of the most effective ways of demotivating your employees is to never ever ask them for their ideas. How about stopping with the non-communication? I have never met an employee who says, “You know, I’m just too informed about what goes on in my workplace.” Not communicating with your employees is a huge demotivator.
How about taking credit for other people’s ideas? Taking credit for your employees’ ideas and not acknowledging them, not recognizing that they came up with the idea. Brilliant way to demotivate employees. Well, sadly, that is probably just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, I’m sure you have some suggestions on what you would like your leaders, your organization to stop doing. If you have something that drives you nuts, that makes your head explode, that is demotivating you, that you think is demotivating your team, drop me a line or comment below. I would love to hear about it!
Michael Kerr, 2018. Michael is an International Business speaker and trainer and the author of six books, including The Humor Advantage:Why Some Businesses are Laughing All the Way to the Bank
