When discussing how to motivate employees, or let’s be honest even our children, I often ask this question – Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
“In order to be fair, I use the same rewards for everyone when recognizing good performance”
More often than not, people agree with this statement.
If you responded this way as well, then I’m sorry to disappoint but this is a trick question. If you try to motivate everyone in exactly the same way, you’re likely missing plenty of opportunities for motivating individual members of your team. The trick about the question is in the term “fair”. I think we’ve lost sight of the definition of this word. Webster’s Dictionary currently defines fair as “free from favor toward either or any side. “Fair” implies a proper balance of conflicting interests.
To be clear in the above situation, when I say rewards, I’m not talking about money (or at least not always). Here is a great article on this from Harvard Business School in regards to rewards for good performance.
As managers and as parents we strive to be fair. However, in doing so, we have also become impartial to individuals as a whole. We forget to think about what they really want. Which brings me to my main point that I want to get to today:
I’m a big believer in the concept “Trust, but verify”. My husband often jokes that if he tells me something new, I will need to find an expert to confirm what he’s already said. He’s not wrong. Behavioral profiles, and DISC profiles in particular have this same mentality for me. While I might know a person really well, I love being able to review their DISC profile to get a second look, an expert opinion so to speak, about the individual to ensure I’m communicating, managing and motivating most effectively with that individual.
I first took the DISC assessment back in December 2009. I found the report fascinating. It was like someone looked into a crystal ball and knew parts of me that I didn’t even realize. How in the world could I answer as few as 25 questions, ranking terms, and be given a report that so accurately describes my behaviors?
That’s where science comes in. For those of you who value the data, check out this research report by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
So how can DISC help your organization? As mentioned in one of our earlier blog posts here.
In personal and professional relationships, many of the struggles reside in wanting the other person to communicate in ways YOU understand; to communicate the way YOU would communicate. To complete tasks the way you would want them to be completed. How to handle a client, how to respond to an email, how to clean the dishes, etc. As managers, we often share OUR practices as THE practices, rather than allowing people to come up with their own.
How can we change this? By becoming more self-aware.
Here at Building PPL, we recommend employees go through some sort of behavioral profiling tool, such as DISC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Compliance), to get a full picture of their characteristics.
Why? We want people to understand their strengths, their values and their limitations.
Interested in seeing what your DISC profile has to say? Reach out to us at krysta@buildingppl.com and we’ll set you up with one today!
