Motivation on the Run

Lack of direction = lack of motivation 

Have you ever thought about the correlation between communication of company direction and its affect on motivation?

If employees aren’t part of the plan, they can’t be part of achievement. They must know what the goals and objectives of the company are before they can understand how they can help. Blind submission is a thing of the past—today’s worker wants to be a part of something bigger.

Compare it to a rowing team. The crew is going in the same direction (they’re in the same boat), but that doesn’t guarantee the team is pulling together. If each rower sets their own rhythm and tempo, they are out of sync with the other members. This causes misfires, incompatibilities, discontinuity, clashes, and loss of speed. In other words, they lose.

To overcome this, each boat has a communications officer, making sure each team member knows the direction and tempo ensuring the crew is working together. With the team working together, toward a common goal, the chances for victory are greatly improved.

Bringing employees into the discussion about company goals and objectives is critical to getting buy-in to accomplish those same goals and objectives. If they understand the bigger objectives, they see how they contribute to the solution, and ultimately, victory.

The opposite correlation is also true:

Communication of Direction = Motivation