Commonsense Leadership

Chapter 10Motivate the Environment, Not the Team

As a leader, you must recognize the value of motivation. More important than the type of motivation that's used, timing is probably the most important aspect. When given at an inappropriate time, motivation is no more valuable than no encouragement at all. In fact, it may be more harmful to performance. In both the sport and corporate environments, I've always thought overcoaching is worse than no coaching at all.

Leaders shouldn't feel the need to coach people every day. That won't make you look more like a leader. True leaders understand when motivation is needed, when it's not, and when to let people do their jobs but be available if they need reinforcement.

Poorly timed efforts have an artificial air about them. To be effective, motivation must occur when the person will most benefit from a feeling of recognition, belonging, or success. It doesn't have to be some reward system that's involved.

As I've noted in other chapters, many times the activity itself will motivate a person. In sports, golf is a good example. Some people participate in golf not to compete but because the sport presents a challenge, every shot is different. One good shot will motivate players to continue to play. You often hear at golf courses that if you hit one great shot in a round, which may consist of 90 to 100 shots, that one shot will bring you back to play the game again.

The same can hold true in a corporate environment. You can have a pretty ...