The current Harvard Business Review has 10 breakthrough ideas for the year.  Number one is what really motivates workers.

http://hbr.org/2010/01/the-hbr-list-breakthrough-ideas-for-2010/ar/1

Managers ranked the top 5 motivators in order as:

1. Recognition

2. Incentives

3. Interpersonal support

4. Clear goals

5. Support for making progress

Unfortunately, the managers had it wrong on the rankings.  The people who worked for them said progress was number one.

That is good news.  It is less expensive than elaborate incentive systems.  It is very controllable.

The other 4 items are good, but it says people really want is to be part of a winning team.  Incentives, recognition, interpersonal support and goals have diluted value if the company performs lousy.

I have been fortunate to have been part of 3 companies that grew very rapidly after losing serious money early and rebounded to become very profitable.  The energy was incredible.  Even when I run into alumni of those firms years or decades later, they still talk about the great times and what we achieved.  It was a highlight of their career.

I have seen companies put in very elaborate incentive programs, set clear goals, and do a great job of recognizing stars.  However, they don’t invest anywhere near as much time removing roadblocks which impede progress and keeping people from succeeding.  That can make matters even worse.  The people are fired up and want to do well, but the way the company operates holds them back.

Suppose you wanted to lose weight.  You set a goal for how many pounds.  You promise to reward yourself with a nice trip when you hit your target.  You get your spouse and close friends to support you.  You get set to track and recognize your progress. 

But despite all this, you are stuck at the same weight.  Incentives, goals, recognition and support were all good, but you didn’t work on what really held you back.  It could be a number of things- not joining a gym, needing a personal trainer, the wrong food in the house, or just not enough time.  

You feel discouraged, because no progress is being made.  Were you starting to see the pounds melt away, you would be much more motivated to keep going.

Your team might be in that same boat.

A company had a number of sales people.  The GM came from a sales background and considered them a key part of the firm.  They put in place a powerful incentive system.  They did a terrific job of recognizing top performers each month.  They also provided one-on-one training.  4 of the top 5 incentives were covered very well.

But sales did not grow as much as they wanted.  To the firm’s credit, they listened to the sales force and worked on a number of roadblocks.  They moved to smartphones so the sales team could keep in touch faster with customers without pulling over and firing up their laptop.  They installed a CRM system.  They invested heavily in their website to help the sales team keep customers up to date.  They looked at their sales and customer service processes to eliminate steps that diverted sales people from selling.  

Progress is the big motivator and all these steps gave the team a big lift.

The article mentions that negative forces which hold back progress can overrule positive motivators.  Look for things like indecision, bureaucracy, forever changing direction, poor systems and holding up resources.  Get these roadblocks out of the way and then get ready to celebrate and recognize progress!