Don’t let The Office become your office

Just caught another great episode of NBC’s The Office and (business nerd that I am) it got me thinking about what motivates others and how that aligns with a company’s vision…

There are basically three methods to motivating others: 1) Delivering on their needs/wants 2) fear, and 3) intimidation. Certainly you can tell employees what to do, but if they don’t buy into your vision they will usually do the bare minimum required of them because they don’t have any understanding of where they’re headed, or why. And unless they do, they’re not exicited about their work. So you end up with a morose or frustrated bunch of people who need to be cajoled constantly to produce. Like the good folks at Dunder-Mifflin.

A better route to motivate is through a vested interest in your company’s direction. This can be done with all types of rewards, not just financial. 

How about a sense of purpose as a reward? Today’s professionals, especially in creative or rapidly changing industries and especially younger employees, need to know the work they are doing means something to them, their families, their co-workers and/or the world at large. For your vision to become reality, everyone in your organzation must share it. Create a vision and what it stands for, build trust, and outline the rule of the road to get there.

Otherwise, just move to Scranton and get it over with.