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Motivating employees can be one of your biggest challenges as an employer, but learning how to inspire each individual — especially those with quirky personalities — is the key to a successful organization.

Whether it’s a raise, a promotion or simply the chance to work on a new project, all people are motivated differently, that is undeniable. People have different priorities in the workplace, the intern is hungry for experience, the young sales rep trying to meet goals for that juicy bonus, the VP struggling to balance home and work life.

Of course, money is the main reason we all get up to go to work in the morning, but even motivational theories such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs stemming back to the early 1900′s outline how so many other factors come into play in regards to motivating people. Unless you know your workers’ differences, the music they make together may sound more like a cacophony than a symphony.

Thankfully, modern research found six different segments in the American workplace. All workplaces, especially large ones, will likely employ some of each type of worker. The list includes:

1. Fair & Square Traditionalists - who want their work to provide stability & a secure future. Motivate them by;
- Asking for and giving them feedback
- Talking to them frankly
- Discussing the company mission and their role in making it happen

2. Accomplished Contributors - who prize team-work. Motivate them by;
- Nudging them toward team leadership roles
- Giving them specific measurements of their success and growth
- Asking them what they want to do next

3. Stalled Survivors -who see work as work, not life. Motivate them by;
- Focusing on work-life balance and what to do when one is out of kilter
- Putting them on teams that provide support, empathy and role models
- Helping them plan for their career future

4. Demanding Disconnects, your least satisfied workers. Motivate them by;
- Giving them non-routine tasks
- Discovering their strengths to use on the job
- Paying attention to their ideas

5. Maverick Morphers are enthusiastic and like trying new things. Motivate them by;
- Providing a congenial work environment
- Letting them know what’s going on
- Discussing their progress

6. Self-Empowered Innovators like work for the sake of work. Motivate them by:
- Giving them responsibilities that allow for learning and growth
- Ridding their path of obstacles
- Allowing them to stretch the company’s vision

Whether a leader, manager or supervisor, the key to motivating employees is to understand what drives them. We know that in many large organizations you may not have time to go through the above list when analyzing each employee. Therefore, our recommendation is simple: assessments.

Employee assessments will provide you with insight that could lead to higher productivity and job satisfaction throughout your organization. The information collected from assessments provides company leaders with perspective on the current reality in their organization’s workplace and highlights areas of concern affecting the total workplace experience.

With emerging trends and new technology today, leading an organization is no simple task. Ancient motivational theories such as Maslow’s will not suffice. Think of managing today as trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle with millions of tiny pieces. You cannot force the pieces together; you must examine each one to see where each fits in the picture. Your goal is not to finish the puzzle, because it is ever-changing; your goal is to keep putting the pieces where they fit.

If you need to help your managers better motivate their people and team, we suggest test driving our Management/Staff assessment – 100% risk free!.

Dr. James M. Wendling a Positive Moment Newsletter 12/8/2011

With the current times, each of us needs to understand the magnitude of social and economic change in the world. In the past, change in business and social life was incremental and a set of personal strategies for achieving excellence was not required. Today, in the knowledge-based world, where change is the rule, a set of personal strategies is essential for success, even survival.

Never again will you be able to go to your place of business on autopilot, comfortable and secure that the organization, state or government will provide for and look after you. You must look in the mirror when you ask who is responsible for your success or failure. You must become a lifelong learner and leader, for to be a follower is to fall hopelessly behind the pace of progress. The power brokers in the new global arena will be the knowledge facilitators. Ignorance will be even more the tyrant and enslaver than in the past.

As you look in the mirror to see the 21st Century you, there will also be another image standing beside you. It is your competition. Your competition, from now on, will be a hungry immigrant with a wireless, hand-held, digital assistant. Hungry for food, hungry for a home, for a new car, for security, for a college education. Hungry for knowledge. Smart, quick thinking, skilled and willing to do anything necessary to be competitive in the world marketplace. Working long hours and Saturdays, staying open later, serving customers better and more cheerfully.

To be a player in the 21st Century you have to be willing to give more in service than you receive in payment. These are the new rules in the game of life. These are the actions you must take to be a leader and a winner in your personal and professional life. By mastering these profoundly simple action steps, you will be positioned to be a change master in the new century.

Action Step Number One – Consider Yourself Self-Employed, But Be a Team Player. What this means is that you are your own Chief Executive Officer of your future. Start thinking of yourself as a service company with a single employee. You’re a small company that puts your services to work for a larger company. Tomorrow you may sell those services to a different organization, but that doesn’t mean you’re any less loyal to your current employer. Taking responsibility for yourself in this way does mean that you never equate your personal long-term interests with your employer’s.

The first idea is resolving not to suffer the fate of those who lost their jobs and found their skills were obsolete. The second is to begin immediately the process of protecting yourself against that possibility – by becoming proactive instead of reactive.

Ask yourself these questions:
How vulnerable am I? What trends must I watch? What information must I gain? What knowledge do I lack?

Again, think of yourself as a company. Set up a training department in your mind and make certain your top employee is updating his or her skills. Make sure you have your own private pension plan, knowing that you are responsible for your own financial security.

Entrusting the government or an employer, other than yourself, with your retirement income is like hiring a compulsive gambler as your accountant.

You’re the CEO of your daily life who must have the vision to set your goals and allocate your resources. The mindset of being responsible for your own future used to be crucial only to the self-employed, but it has become essential for us all. Today’s typical employees are no longer one-career people. Most will have five separate careers in their lifetimes. Remember, your competition is a hungry immigrant with a laptop. Action Step Number One is to consider yourself to be self-employed, but be a team player.

Action Step Number Two – Be Flexible in the Face of Daily Surprises. We live in a time-starved, overstressed, violent society. Much of our over-reaction to what happens to us every day is a result of our self-indulgent value system, where we blame others for our problems, look to organizations or the government for our solutions, thirst for immediate sensual gratification and believe we should have privileges without responsibilities. This condition is manifested in the high crime rate and in the increase in violence in the work place where employees blame their managers for threatening their security.

I have learned how to be flexible in the face of daily surprises, which is one of the most important action traits for a leader. I really haven’t been angry for about 17 years. During that time, no one has tried to physically harm me or someone close to me. I’ve learned to adapt to stress in life and reserve my fear or anger for imminently physically dangerous situations. I rarely, if ever, get upset with what people say, do or don’t do, even if it inconveniences me. I do react emotionally when I see someone physically or emotionally abusing or victimizing another. But I’ve learned not to sweat the small stuff.

by Denis Waitley
The Wendling Group Newsletter 11/15/11

Initiate Change from the Bottom (or Middle) Up

Actually, I’m describing characteristics of a democratic workplace, and some of today’s most successful companies — such as Great Harvest Bread Company, Whole Foods, Linden Lab and Southwest Airlines — already operate like this. They realize it’s a powerful way to attract and retain top talent, stimulate innovation and boost the bottom line.

Admittedly, organizational democracy usually begins at the top. But what about those of us who are junior or midlevel employees working in companies that aren’t democratic? Can you bring democracy to your workplace, too? You may not have the power (yet) to turn your company democratic overnight, but there are some things you can do now to start creating change.

10 Principles for a Democratic Workplace
After a decade of research, here are the 10 principles I’ve discovered that all democratic companies practice, along with ideas for how you can implement them in your organization.

1. Get Naked
Be as authentic, open and as transparent as possible. In your next meeting, don’t have a “hidden agenda.” Be open and share what you might otherwise keep secret. Watch how it helps build trust with others.

2. Have a Conversation
Don’t perpetuate the dysfunctional silence that characterizes most companies. Invite people to engage in a dialogue about the issues that matter.

3. Loathe Rankism
Treat others fairly and with dignity. Forget the high school clique mentality of treating people like “some bodies” or “nobodies.”

4. Understand the Meaning of Life
Understand what your purpose and vision is for your life and make sure it’s aligned with the work you are doing. If it’s not, think about changing or finding a new job.

5. Point Fingers
Not in a blaming way, in a liberating way. Get crystal clear about who is responsible for what and then hold yourself and others accountable.

6. The Individual Is as Important as the Whole
Each person has unique gifts. Overcome the feeling of being a cog in the machine by recognizing the value each person plays in achieving collective goals.

7. One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Do what you can to make sure you and your colleagues have a choice regarding the kind of work you do and the schedule you work. Choices keep people from feeling trapped.

8. Have Backbone
Integrity is the name of the game, so make sure all work is done ethically. Freedom takes discipline.

9. Be Vain
Commit yourself to looking in the mirror each day and asking, “How can I be better?” Reflection leads to improvements that help you and your company perform on a whole new level.

10. Say No to Pyramid Schemes
Although there are times where we all want to pull a power-trip, don’t. Do what you can to empower your colleagues by distributing power rather than hoarding it.
Get a buddy, start practicing these principles and watch the results. The best way to win at work is to create an environment in which everyone can thrive. Find a way to make progress in a democratic direction each day, and your workplace will never be the same again.

By Traci Fenton – The Wendling Group A Positive Moment Newsletter 11/10/11