How to motivate the unmotivated?

How to motivate the unmotivated?

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The best approach is to start with carrots and move to using a stick only if carrots bring no results. But since your team is up against the wall there's no time for just carrots. Senior management has already threatened the stick, so your job at this point is to be fair but be firm.

Because research shows that only seven percent of workers know how their work contributes to the big picture, let's start there.

A. Hold a meeting to connect their work with the big picture.

1. Remind people of the vision / mission of the company and that everyone in the company is on the same team.

2. Inform them you've personally observed unacceptable performance and that it's these types of actions that give them their reputation as a "toxic energy dump."

3. Ask them to think through their near-term future. Do they want to work elsewhere, or do they want to be part of the company team and its vision and mission? Don't worry if people opt to leave. If they won't support the company, they shouldn't be there.

4. State that people not dedicated to the company vision and mission will be identified by the quality of their work. Those people will be asked to find work elsewhere.

5. Ask what the department can do as a team to help the company achieve its goals. Write down what they say, as this begins to form goals for your department.

6. As a team, turn these ideas into SMART Goals with specific actions and deadlines.

B. Select your best people and put them in charge of tracking progress on the goals, one person per goal. They should be 100% responsible for ensuring those goals are met. Make progress and achieving those goals part of those employees' performance reviews.

C. Revisit and rewrite job descriptions for all employees in the department. Then use those job descriptions to train people and also for evaluating them .

Motivation is fire lit from within. You can't light that fire, but you can create the conditions for that fire to burn brightly.