Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Motivating employees - Part 2 - The Steady Employee

I was reading recently about team building exercises and events designed to motivate employees. While I have nothing against martial arts board breaking, rock climbing, and other programs designed to strengthen teams and build rapport, these events can really fall flat if employees are in an environment where there is no consideration for their priorities.


While in Part 1 we talked about the Conscientious employee, here we want to talk about the Steady employee. Building an organizational culture and an environment where teamwork and collaboration contribute to their overall success can be a challenge for many leaders.

Our S-style colleagues place a great deal of emphasis on cooperation.  They are often most motivated by opportunities to assist or help others, and words of affirmation along with other exhibits of sincere appreciation are highly valued.

Want to totally freak out your S-style colleagues?  Create a fluid and unpredictable environment, push the pace regularly, offer little opportunity for collaboration, and fail to show reasonable consideration and appreciation.

The top three priorities for people in the Steady or S-quadrant are giving support, collaboration and maintaining stability.  As a result, these people may fear change, instability within the organization and offending co-workers or customers.  And while some may see these people as too indecisive or risk adverse, they can have a tremendous benefit to your work environment.  Their calm and patient demeanor brings a level of stability that most organizations need.

You will want to make every effort to be friendly and connect on a personal level with your S-style co-workers and employees.  They will respond positively if you are polite and do not get frustrated with their need for additional information.  Acceptance is a high priority for them and they will welcome your interest in their personal goals and accomplishments.

Every organization needs S-style people. You won't hear them say, 'It's not my job,' they will help rally support for organization objectives.  The S-style employees are typically very loyal and will see to support the organization's goals and objectives.  If you are clear about expectations and give them time to absorb directions and complete tasks they will be highly productive.

So, what about the Steady people in your organization?  Are you motivating them or frustrating them?  Perhaps you feel you need more information in order to better understand how to build a better team.  Why not consider attending an upcoming workshop on Building Great Teams @Work? Contact me via email at jvonthaden@solutions-industrial.com with questions or for a 20% discount promo code.

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