Motivating Employees in a Lawfirm or Any Organization

I come at this question from both an evidence based and humanistic management perspective.  As I see it there are 3 keys to motivating employees in any organization.

 

1.    The work has to matter. It has to appeal to the moral imperative we all have. What problems are you solving? What happens if you don’t solve them? Why does solving them matter? And how does solving them help other people?  Is there a moral imperative to the work? Or is it just work?  Do your assistants know how what they do impacts the larger picture?  Or are they clueless about why you asked them to look up an obscure case?  Understanding why you are doing what you are doing and how it impacts real people – makes a difference.

2.    Is problem solving fun? Or frustrating?  All business solves problems. Lawfirms. Solve problems.  If everyone is oriented towards solving the same problem, work should be fun. If people are trying to solve different problems and they don’t respect each other – then problem solving won’t be fun. Or effective.  This is a leadership issue. How well does the team understanding the ultimate objective and is everyone on the team considered valuable? And able to give input?  Or are some people shut out because of their social position within the organization. There is nothing more demoralizing to an employee than having a great idea on how to solve a problem and having your managers ignore you or demean you for even suggesting an alternative. Be careful what you reward and what you punish. Which is why the third key is so important. 

3.    Is the work environment collegial – or is there bullying? It is pretty much impossible to be well motivated at work when you have a toxic co-worker. A bully in the workplace negatively impacts problem solving. Instead of working for the best outcomes, employees are working to protect themselves from the negative impacts of a co-worker.  Law firms are high intensity offices. It isn’t unusual for a pecking order to arise with the secretaries and paralegals and other assistants. Bullying, harassment, must be eliminated if you want highly motivated employees. Even if your work matters, if your workplace isn’t collegial and collaborative and if one individual is able to terrorize others, then you will never be able to create a collaborative and collegial environment where all employees can participate to their full potential.

 

Take bullying and harassment seriously. I teach how to make bullying and harassment stop using behavioral science techniques. I have experience teaching law firms these techniques. And offer MCLE and CE and continuing education for ALA (CLA) members. 

https://humanistlearning.com/

Work that has meaning

Work doesn't have to be life altering - to be important.

Was at the local UPS store today talking with the guy who runs it. The death of Russ Solomon (of Tower Records) came up because I used to work for Tower Records and Russ Solomon and yes - I did meet Russ. He advocated for me when I moved to Hawaii and made sure I was taken care of when I moved. He was a very loyal employer.

This guy, at the UPS shop, had worked for a completely different record store. He was just as upset as I was at Russ' passing, even though he never worked for Russ.

We chatted about our experiences working in record stores. I am still friends with the people I used to work with and he is still friends with the people he used to work with. It's not just that these were our first real jobs. It was the ethos of the stores we worked out.

The reason he feels as strongly about Russ as I do is because of the work culture Russ created. The work we did was fun. The work collegiate and collaborative. We all loved different types of music and had different knowledge bases and that was the point. Our job was to help people discover good music and between all the staff - we could do that regardless of the genre of interest.

Our job ... was to help people live life more fully through good music. What better motivation in life is there.  

On the subject of service to others

A good friend of mine sometimes posts biblical quotes to discuss motivation and morality. I find these fascinating because of the universality of the problem.

One time she didn’t quote the bible, she simply wrote something about the importance of not just service to others, but of selfless service.

Her post brought up the question of selfish service vs. selfless service.

I am a big fan of enlightened self interest. I do think doing good for others helps ourselves. But I also think there is value in acts of selfless service.

Selfless service is rare and always has been. Jesus’ story stands out because of his example of selfless service. Uncle Tom is a similar character. He’s not thinking of himself. He’s just giving himself over to the experience and helping without expectation of helping himself.

We are moved by these stories, but … almost no one actually lives up to the ideal. The most most of us can accomplish is selfish service. We do it to make ourselves feel better or to notch up points on our internal scoreboard.

So – is selfish service ok? 

There is nothing wrong with getting something out of service, but … you shouldn’t do harm while engaging in service either

The Humanist Service Corps wrote article about the principles they employ when engaging in service for just this reason. They don’t want to accidentally cause harm while trying to do good. https://appliedsentience.com/2016/01/22/secular-is-insufficient-how-hsc-differs-from-the-peace-corps/

Sometimes I think that maybe selfish service is part of the learning to be of service. Maybe people need to start with selfish service in order to learn selfless service?  I know that has been part of my journey. I’m curious about your own relationship with the concept of service to others and how you balance your selfish needs against the need to serve selflessly.

Answering the Question: Why?

We all struggle with motivation at times. Knowing WHY you are doing things helps break the motivation block and gets you through the tough times.

President Obama was interviewed and he was asked to share what he carries around with him. See video here:

In which President Obama shares with Ingrid Nilsen the stories of the things he carries with him that remind him of the people he's met: go.wh.gov/YouTubeAsksObama #YouTubeAsksObama
Posted by The White House on Friday, January 15, 2016

He carries things around to remind him why he is doing the job he is doing. The answer is because people are invested in him. This isn’t about him. It’s about the people who are hoping he will help make things better for them.

His motivation is beyond himself and that’s hugely important when times get tough.

If we are doing things only for ourselves, when things get tough, we will quit. It isn’t worth it to us so why bother. If, however, you are doing something for someone else, it’s much harder to quit.

I started my business to help people learn how to stop bullying. Starting a business is tough. Getting people to take a chance on you and give you a break is tough. I’ve thought about quitting many times. But I don’t. Why? Because if I don’t share how to stop bullies, who will? There is NOONE else out there teaching what I teach. I either do this or people continue to suffer. THAT”S motivation.

If you are struggling with motivation – ask yourself why. Why are you doing this? If you are doing it for yourself great. But if you can look beyond yourself to how your work helps others – even better. That way, whenever you need to ask yourself why – you will have an answer that is good enough to keep you motivated through the tough times.

Lacking Motivation?

Do you have things to do but can’t bring yourself to do them? Your problem may not be motivation.

We all struggle with things we have to do and don’t want to. We procrastinate.  And then we chide ourselves for not being motivated. But what if the problem isn’t motivation? What if the problem is understanding.

I am a big fan of critical thinking and one of the most important questions you can ask yourself when diagnosing a “motivation” problem is why. Why don’t I want to do this?  Why do I need to do this? Do I need to do this?

By asking yourself why – you will either figure out - if I don’t do this something bad will happen. Or if I don’t do it, nothing bad will happen.  I find that reminding myself about the cost of failure is an excellent motivator.

Sometimes, by asking yourself why you realize, nothing bad will happen if you don’t do whatever it is. And if nothing bad will happen, perhaps you can get away with not doing it at all!  There is NOTHING like taking an unnecessary task off your plate to make you feel better.

But what happens when you figure out – yeah – you still need to do it but you still aren’t motivated and fear of failure isn’t enough to get you moving. Well, you can then ask yourself another important question.  How can I do this differently? How can I get this done in a way that isn’t a drudge? Can I outsource this task? Can I get it done a different way?

I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I do know that asking them is the first step to solving the problem.

Critical thinking, it’s a practical everyday life skill. Learn how to do this better and to find more motivation in your life with the online course – Planning for Personal Success: A Humanist Approach.

Can We Build This?

Yes we can! Powerful motivation from Bob the Builder

A wonderful blog called, Barking Up the Wrong Tree – had a post on motivation – how to go from dreaming to doing. (see: http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/10/dreaming-to-doing/)

I liked this post and wanted to share it because, as you know, I am not a huge fan of the positive thinking movement. Why? Because positive thinking isn’t enough. If you want something to happen, you have to take some action. Plus, if your positive thinking is delusional – well, don’t get me started.

The article starts out by explaining the WOOP system– which is an acronym for Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan.  Which is that – if you want good things to happen, you have to wish – yes, but don’t stop there. You have to understand what the specific outcome is that you want to achieve, you have to consider what the obstacles are that will prevent that from happening and then you have to plan HOW you are going to overcome those obstacles.  Then, you have to do it.

All good so far. What I want to focus on is the part of the article about Bob the Builder. I loved this show when my son was watching it pretty regularly (don’t judge).   Anyway – the point is that Bob the Builder is a very positive show. It teaches kids to be optimistic and to take on tough projects and get them done.  Good old fashion hard work and stick-to-it-iveness.

The difference between delusional positive thinking and optimistic motivation is that instead of declaring that we will be successful, as if declaring ourselves successful will give us magic powers to succeed, we instead ask ourselves a question. We doubt. Can we do it?  And then answer that question – with a YES WE CAN!

It seems strange that doubt can help us find the motivation to try, but it’s a really powerful tool. It’s not negative at all. When we ask – can we do something, we doubt, but we also are forced to consider our problem realistically. And it’s precisely because our plans are based in reality that we are more likely to be successful and motivated to take on the project in the first place.

So the next time you hear a new age guru telling you to think positive – bring up an image of Bob the Builder instead and ask yourself – can I build this?  Yes you can.

What Will Matter?

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It happens by choice.

Michael Josephson of the Josephson Institute, an ethical organization, has a great statement about What Will Matter.  This is used to help teach children the importance of ethics (see:  http://charactercounts.org/pdf/WhatWillMatter.pdf)

The document talks about priorities and what matters most. Not how much money you made, but how much you gave to others. It’s not how successful you are, but how you actually act and whether your actions matter to others or not. That is what matters.

In order to live a life that matters, you have to choose to live such a life. You have to choose your actions so that they don’t just benefit you, but that they benefit others as well.

This is a central part of the humanist mindset. Yes, we want to be happy. But we recognize that to be truly happy, we can’t just focus on ourselves. Our words and our deeds must help others too.

To succeed, we have to consider the impact we have on others and we have to take care to make sure that impact is good. How can we help others. How can we share our happiness and ensure others are helps as well. How can we make life better.

It’s about choosing to live a life of service to others, to the extent that you can and are able to. Make helping others an integral part of your motivation in life and you will help ward off any pending midlife crisis, because you won’t wonder what it all is for. You will know.

What are people afraid of?

Want to know what motivates someone - learn what they are afraid of.

Dealing with a difficult interpersonal issue?  Have no clue why someone is behaving the way they are?  Are they crazy? Perhaps. But it’s more likely that they are just scared.

Consider how you behave when you are afraid of something? Are you at your most rational best when you are afraid? Of course not.  To people who don’t share your fear, you seem a bit crazy.

So the next time you find yourself wondering why someone is behaving the way they do, find out what they are afraid of. Not to use that to manipulate them. But in a compassionate way so you can understand them and help them and by helping them, help yourself.

You may just find that the more you practice compassion towards others, considering their fears as the reasons for their motivations, the more you understand how your fears impact your own behavior.

When you can see your own fears more clearly, they impact you less and you are influenced by them less. Humanism is a personal practice. Compassion for others is a personal practice. Yes, you are considering others compassionately, but by doing so, you often find more compassion for yourself.

Meaningless slogans

Why having a slogan for a mission statement won’t help you create an effective strategy.  

Consider this a lesson in Humanistic Leadership. In order to lead, you have to know where you are going and more importantly, why you are going there.  Having a mission statement or goal is a good way to direct your activities towards achieving your goals. The problem is that all too often groups create a mission statement that is more of a slogan that an actual statement of their goals and objectives.

The reason this is a problem is because without an actual mission, you can’t create an effective strategy to get there. I am working with a group right now that has a great slogan for a project they are working on but it’s empty. No one can tell me what they are trying to accomplish with the project. Sure, they have a catchy slogan, but not much else. They can’t even tell me what the slogan means. As a result, none of the activity they are doing is even remotely related to their slogan. There is a disconnect and it’s impacting their ability to connect with their members and fans effectively.

There is a huge different between having a slogan and having a strategy. Don’t make the mistake of creating a meaningless mission statement. Spend some time thinking about what you really want to accomplish and more importantly why you want to accomplish it.

The why is your real mission. When you understand why you are doing the things you do it becomes easier to do them and you can better focus on that which accomplishes your true mission and avoid activities that steer you off course. Understanding your real mission or goals provides clarity and helps people rally to your cause because they understand what your cause is. In short it helps you to be more strategic in your actions instead of doing something and hoping for the best. And that’s always a good thing.

I keep saying this but it doesn’t seem to stick. Critical thinking isn’t just for debunking religion. It is for helping you solve your problems more effectively by helping you not only define what your real problem is, but also it helps you find solutions that will actually work so you don’t waste your time on activities that don’t work. This is just as true for business strategies as it is for scientific endeavors.

So please don’t create meaningless slogans because it is easier than doing the hard work of actually thinking strategically about who you are and what you really want to do and accomplish. The hard work of thinking through your objectives on the front end will save you a tremendous amount of wasted time and energy that doesn’t accomplish anything because it is ultimately directionless because your slogan was just that, a slogan and not a call to action.

We’re all going to die!

Why mortality is inspiring!

There is a great video from Richard Dawkins reading from his book Unweaving the Rainbow in which he says “we are all going to die and that makes us the lucky ones.”

I don’t know a single Humanist who doesn’t agree with that sentiment. It’s not that we want to die. We want to live life fully. It is just that we recognize how incredible it is that we are alive at all. Our birth was not inevitable. It was a matter of luck and chance.

Knowing that it’s amazing that I am even here, why would I waste this opportunity? Even the bad bits are worth savoring as an experience. Though, admittedly, there are experiences I would have preferred not to have gone through, they do make up who I am now.

Yes, I’m going to die at some point. We’re all going to die. The question is, what are you going to do in the meantime? Continue through life on autopilot? Or embrace life fully?

Here is Dawkin’s We’re all going to die video – enjoy and be inspired.

Accept people for who they are

For me, part of being a Humanist means that I accept people for who they are, not who I want or might need them to be.  This is what “the inherent dignity and worth” of each human means. It is also important to me because embracing reality is important to me. I know that in order to solve my problems, I first need to understand them.

Many or most of our problems have an interpersonal dimension to them.  In order to solve our problem we need other people to help us. And in in order to get them to help us, we need to understand how to motivate them to help. And to do that, we need to understand what actually motivates them.

And here is where people go wrong. They assume that other people are motivated by the same things they are. Someone who is motivated by money, tends to throw  money at the problem hoping that this will motivate other people. Others might be motivated to help the environment and so trying to give them money to agree with you isn’t going to work, just as an example.

In order to be successful, you need to take the time to accept people for who they are and not as who you assume them to be. 

You Ain’t Leading

Do you even know if they want to cross the bridge?
Renjith Krishnan/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

File this under Humanistic Leadership. Lots of people like to think they are leaders, but if no one is following you, you ain’t leading.

It’s amazing how many leaders don’t get this. They get mad at people for failing to see how brilliant they are or how important the work they think needs to get done is. If people aren’t following you, the problem must lie in the stupidity of the followers who are refusing to follow. Right? Wrong. If people ain’t following you, it’s your fault. And launching ad hominen attacks on the people you would like to have follow you isn’t going to endear you to them.  

If you want people to follow you, you first need to take the time to find out what it is THEY want to accomplish. They could care less about what you want. What they want to know is how you are going to help them accomplish what THEY want. But unless you are willing to find out what THEY want, you aren’t going to be able to help them see how your plan of action will help them. If you want people to follow, you need to step back, consider the problem from their perspective, and help walk them through step by step how what you are proposing is going to help them and you get to your shared goal.

Never underestimate the intelligence of your followers. They aren’t stupid if they aren’t following you, they are just being skeptical, and that’s a good thing. If you want to lead people, you first need to give them a good reason to follow you.

(If you want to get more information on Humanistic Leadership - visit http://humanisticleadership.com/ )

The Practical Humanist: "Live in joy, in love, even among those who hate."...

Today I'd like to share a post from my friend the Practical Humanist.

My favorite part:

"Living in love does not mean living without anger or hurt or frustration. Living in love entails shaping and working these natural feelings into a force for positive motivation and change in my own life."

Well said and very moving.

The Practical Humanist: "Live in joy, in love, even among those who hate."...: "Live in joy, in love, even among those who hate." from Dhammapada , Teachings of the Buddha. In a world of Facebook pages and Web-page ...

You Know What Matters

My friend Steve Gibson over at Truth Driven Thinking posted a wonderful article today On Becoming a De-Motivational Speaker.  It's a great essay and I encourage everyone to read it. The point is that while we are all so busy motivating ourselves to do more, we are often forgetting that what makes life worth living is our relationships that matter.

As he says so eloquently, you already know what matters.To quote Steve:

"I am convinced that the greatest meaning we can derive from life would not exist but for our relationships with each other. And for that we don’t need more things, motivation, achievements, or distractions from life; we need fewer! We need to experience life. Honestly, is our behavior and “motivational” mindset teaching and affirming what we value most? Our connectedness? Our social time in the village? Or do we favor emails, toys we don’t have time to use, cottages that sit empty, and more keys and responsibility to more locks and obligations than we could ever possibly use?"

This isnt' to say he is anti-motivation. He's simply advocating that we treat ambition for what it is.

"Perhaps like many sides of our human nature, ambition is an evolved trait—like egoism; self-centeredness; self-confidence; in-group, tribal bias; or being horny—which can present both a beneficial side, and a darker one. Maybe it is a trait that must be tamed and transcended in order for us to truly be all that we can be as people who are complete, whole, rounded, centered, loving, feeling, compassionate, alive, and fulfilled in our potential in the truest sense—not just the conventional and social sense."

Again, it's a great essay and I highly recommend that you read it.  If the above link for some reason didn't work, you can also view it at his old blog:  http://wp.me/puZtC-bW  Also, Steve has a book out - A Secret of the Universe: A Story of Love, Loss, and the Discovery of an Eternal Truth. I recommend you check that out as well.