Motivation Shots from The Doc

“How do I motivate my team?” That’s the question, I’m most often asked by frustrated managers. They want some instant fix, a ‘magic bullet’ that improves team motivation overnight. But as we all know, life isn’t like that.

I understand and appreciate why this question is being asked, I was a manager for fifteen years, I’ve felt the pain, and I understand the challenges managers face every day with their people.

The answer is – “You don’t motivate your team, you create the environment where they motivate themselves.”

Effective motivation is intrinsic, it has to come ‘from within’. There is no instant fix; it’s an ongoing day to day process of small actions that build a highly motivated team. It’s like pushing a heavy boulder, you need some initial effort to get the process going, but once you’ve done that, it takes a lot less effort to keep it moving.

There is no point in a football manager having a shouting session in the locker room at half time; at best, that’s only a short term fix.

So how do the good managers create this motivation environment?

I’ve spent years studying successful managers whether they were in business or in sport, trying to establish what makes the good guys good. I also thought about the managers that I worked for, and the ones I respected. And I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that these managers and coaches know:

1. How to do all the business parts of the job
2. How to do all the human parts of the job

A manager can have a certain level of success if they’re good at the business part of the job, but not so good at the human part. Some managers can go through their whole career by being competent in all the business and technical aspects of the job.

But to be a really successful Manager, and build a self-motivating team, you need to be good at the human part of the job.

Now you’re probably starting to feel a bit uncomfortable about all this ‘human, touchy feely’ stuff, and you’re not alone, many managers feel the same way. They’re terrified of being seen as a soft touch. But if you want to be successful; get over it guys n gals!

Let me give you some examples of what has been said about successful football managers.

I read a newspaper report about the Manchester United soccer player, Wayne Rooney and his relationship with his manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
In Rooney’s words – “Sir Alex is a hard manager and a tough manager, but he also gets on well with the players. The players can talk to him and that’s important. That’s all you need in a manager, to know you can trust him and turn to him when you have problems.”

Jose Mourinho, the new manager of Real Madrid, is the World’s highest paid football manager. In an interview for Men’s Health magazine, he was asked what quality was most important in contributing to his success as a manager. “I think its love,” he replied. “Love comes first, and because of love, other things arrive. I think without my love for my wife and for my kids, I wouldn’t be the manager I am. I think life is about that.”

Mourinho’s love extends beyond his family: his love applies to his players as well; Mourinho speaks of them like favourite sons. He has undoubted love for them, as they, quite obviously, have for him.

Now I know what you’re thinking – do I have to tell the people in my team that I love them, should I buy them presents? Somehow I don’t think so!
However you do need to:

• Spend some quality time with each of them
• Listen to them and really get to know them
• Coach them on the job, and help them find solutions to job related or personal problems
• Find ways to make their job more interesting
• Show that you appreciate them and have some fun
• Let them know what’s happening in the organisation
• Trust and believe in them, don’t keep ‘supervising’

You have to do, say or demonstrate behaviour to your team members that lets them know you care about them.

That’s what makes the good managers good, and if you want to join them, the question is: -

Are you tough enough to care?