Motivating employees will always be an uphill battle if leaders don’t understand these 2 truths

Motivating people is a common problem for business leaders. Workers who need reminders about meeting deadlines and always striving to give their best effort can be a detriment to the team.

Before you deal with problem employees, it’s essential to understand the limitations of motivating other people. You’ll waste less time and expend less energy if you’re realistic about motivation.

Here are the two most common “myths” about motivation:

1. ‘Leaders motivate people’

This just isn’t the case. Motivation, drive, the “inner fire” – that comes from within the individual.

Of course, an inspired speech at the right time can help. But external motivation has its limits. Over time, you can’t be the one pushing people to succeed.

People have to motivate themselves to work hard and solve problems every day on the job. Often it’s a grind to do that every single day.

What you as a leader can do is help create a positive environment where staffers feel appreciated and empowered. Some key tactics that work in any environment:

• give verbal and written praise for a job well done
• be willing to let staffers solve problems on their own and lead projects, and
• pitch in on unpopular jobs when you can.

This last point is one many managers don’t understand (or don’t care about). Employees appreciate managers who’ll roll up their sleeves and help out with the grunt work when things are piling up.

Reason: You send the message that daily tasks are important, honorable and not beneath you.

2. ‘Money is always the No. 1 motivator’

Study after study shows that a person’s salary or weekly pay rate is not a day-to-day motivator. That’s because most folks rate their pay as “about right.” They might think their profession as a whole is underpaid, but they’re less likely to think their employer is underpaying them based on their profession and skills.

One caveat: Pay increases and bonuses do affect a person’s motivation. They make an impact at performance review time. And dissatisfaction over not getting a bonus can make someone stew about it and look for their next job.

But again, money is not a primary day-to-day motivator. This might partly explain why worker dissatisfaction is on the rise despite the fact that many companies are paying more to keep talent on board.