100 Ways to Motivate Others

26. Hire the Motivated

The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

—Theodore Roosevelt

It sounds too simple. But the best way to have people on your team be motivated is to hire self-motivated people. There is much you can do to create this kind of team. Let’s start with the hiring interview.

As you conduct your hiring interview, know in advance the kinds of questions that are likely to have been anticipated by the interviewee, and therefore will only get you a role-played answer. Minimize those questions.

Instead, ask questions that are original and designed to uncover the real person behind the role-player. Ask the unexpected. ...