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- We all need 3 things to feel alive at work: to use our strengths as much as we can, to be able to experiment and learn, and to have a feeling of purpose and meaning.
- Lack of engagement isn’t a motivation problem. It’s a biological one.
- Do more of what you do best.
- Learning goals are more effective than setting performance targets.
- Purpose can only be felt.
Scroll all the way down if you’re a doer rather than a reader for some actionable advice and exercises you can do as an employee, leader, or HR professional.
#1 — Lack of engagement isn’t a motivational problem. It’s a biological one.
Imagine you hear your alarm clock in the morning, and after some snoozing, you get out of bed and drag yourself to your (home office) desk.
The only things getting you through the day are the repeated intake of caffeine and the Slack messages of your work-bestie.
This could be what the life of a disengaged worker looks like (only 39% is currently engaged, how are you doing?).
Organizations are desperately trying to increase engagement through all kinds of new programs — but they’re completely missing the point:
A lack of engagement is not a motivational problem, it is a biological one.
Human beings are designed to explore, experiment, and learn. These activities activate our seeking systems, which release dopamine (a neurotransmitter linked to motivation and pleasure), making us want to explore even more.
When our seeking systems are activated, by experimentation, the ability to express ourselves, or finding a sense of purpose — we feel more motivated, purposeful, and zestful. We feel more alive.
#2 — To feel more alive, do more of what you do best.
If you want to feel more engaged, motivated, and alive:
- Know your best traits;
- Work with your strengths;
- Focus on your passions.
Most of us try to make up for our shortcomings and insecurities. We ask for feedback on what we should do better. We focus on what we’re not doing well enough.
However, when we use a strengths-based approach to coaching, leading, and doing our jobs, it enables us to do more of what we do best.
This will activate our seeking system, resulting in better physical & mental functioning and higher performance.
As a company, this is how you win the current war for talent amidst the Great Resignation: unleashing the enthusiasm that is already within your employees and enabling them to work with their strengths so they can be their best selves at work.
#3 — Learning goals are more effective than setting performance targets.
We all use performance targets and metrics to track our progress. We think we need SMART targets to increase our performance and be the best we can be.
But, what if we have it all backward?
It turns out, that when innovation and agility are what we’re looking for, performance targets are actually counter-effective.
By framing tasks or goals as learning opportunities, you trigger curiosity. And when you give your people a safe space to use their curiosity, to experiment, fail and learn, you enable them to do their best work.
#4 — Purpose can only be felt.
So the first mistake we make is to overly rely on the effect of setting performance targets.
A second mistake we make is that we try to motivate our employees to achieve their targets (that we maybe shouldn’t set in the first place), by promising them money and rewards when they achieve those goals.
It is much more powerful and effective (not to say less expensive) to motivate your people intrinsically with purpose.
When people have a personal experience that lets them develop a narrative and purpose about it, it activates their seeking system and makes them feel more alive and motivated.
However, the tricky part is that purpose is a very personal and emotional thing. It is so difficult for leaders to instill it in others. Simply telling people that their work is meaningful will not do the trick.
It’s like telling someone about a good book you have read. Even if it’s good, they probably won’t recommend it to their friends until they have actually read it themselves and experienced it firsthand.
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