What really motivates workers?

The reality is that motivating people is extremely simple. Psychologists and social scientists have proven time and again that the most powerful motivators of people are achievement and the recognition of that achievement.

It is important to note that these two elements cannot be separated. Achievement in the absence of recognition is rarely rewarding, and recognition in absence of achievement is empty.

However, when people are given the opportunity to achieve (win) and those achievements are recognised by leaders, amazing things happen. People who are being consistently recognised for their achievements report higher job satisfaction and perform at higher levels than those who are not. In virtually any organisation, leaders who consistently find ways to recognise the achievement of their employees through positive emotional experiences deliver superior results.

Recognition, to be effective, must be directed at achievement, big and small. Most leaders find it easy to recognise the big achievements. However, where the top leaders excel is in consistently recognising the many small achievements are required for big things to happen.

One of the easiest ways to motivate people for small achievements is to catch them doing something right and recognise them for it. The secret is paying attention.

Recognising small, everyday achievements is difficult for leaders who are under pressure to produce results because they are often so focused on delivering on plans, tasks, or fixing a problem that it is easy to forget to take time to pat people on the back.One leader admitted that although she knew it was important to consistently recognise small achievements, she found it difficult to remember to give those pats on the back. So she devised a simple trick.

Each morning she put a handful of chocolates in her pocket. Each time she recognised an employee for doing something right, she ate a chocolate. “It worked for me because I love chocolate and I rewarded myself for doing the right thing for my people.”

Another manager said: “I found  that on many days I would be working late after all my people had gone home. One night after a particularly hard week where my team had gone above and beyond, I wrote personalised thank-yous on sticky pads and stuck them on everyone’s computer screens. The reaction the next morning was amazing.

People were coming into my office to thank me. It meant so much to them. After that I made it a regular part of my day to recognise outstanding performance with after-hours sticky notes.”

When it comes to motivation, thoughtful recognition of achievement in real time will take you to the next level as a leader.

Certainly, big experiences, such as national sales meetings, president’s clubs, special recognition dinners, contests, trips and so on are appropriate opportunities to recognise and appreciate employees for big achievements.

However, in most cases small gestures carry far more meaning than big ones.

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