What are the common demotivating factors?
I am no HR or motivational guru, so the factors I am listing here are not based on any research. They are based more on my personal experience. I acted as a manager quite early in my career, and reached a conclusion that i would serve myself and the industry better by continuing my career as an engineer. Since, I have worked with the best known employers in the software industry. So, I have faced the motivational issues on either side, as an engineer who felt demotivated, and as a manager who is fighting to motivate the team. Many factors i mention below are probably specific to the Indian software industry, as it is dominated by low-end outsourced work, though it is changing for the better.
Key Demotivating Factors
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1. High degree of uncertainty/Lack of long term vision/goals - I am sure most readers are aware of SMART goals. Almost every goal setting document has a section on long term goals, but I have rarely seen a genuine interest on the part of managers to help the team members in meeting their long term goals. I think it is because often engineers become managers by virtue of the number of years they have put in, and are just not capable of thinking beyond running the business. In the absence of long term goals, any lull in the projects/work at hand leads to a high degree of uncertainty in the team - "What will i be doing 2 weeks from now". Note that this is not the same as job insecurity.
2. Loss of trust/Double Speak - I guess Microsoft would have lost quite a few senior engineers in the Internet division since it announced its intention to takeover Yahoo. I am sure even a month before the announcement, there would have been all hands meets where they would toast the successes, and paint a rosy future.
A common experience in India is - when big product companies set up shop in India, they would call it - "Centre of Excellence", "Centre of Innovation" - and tell you 10 great reasons why it is a great place to work. However, most of them often turn out to be job shops, with only low end maintenance work available. This inevitably ends up demotivating bright engineers.
3. Lack of visible leadership accountability - It would be preposterous to claim that there isn't leadership accountability. However, it can be demotivating an engineer does not see visible outcomes of a manager/leader not meeting expectations. Also demotivating is a perception that the manager is not accountable to the engineers for their growth.
4. Wrong fit - Hiring over/under-qualified personnel, no matter what the compulsions, more often than not leads to a demotivated workforce.
5. Micro-management - I think this one needs no elaboration
I am sure I can list a lot more demotivating factors. And these factors would certainly vary from person to person. Also, i am sure no manager intends to demotivate her own team members.
I think a sincere effort at identifying why a person is demotivated (when you find someone's motivation levels are low) - and it has to be aimed at each team member individually (as opposed to a why my team is demotivated approach) - goes a long way in coming out with an individualised motivation program - which could be :
- Individualised incentive schemes
- Finding a better fit in another team
- Reorienting long term goals
For this to happen though, there needs to be serious leadership commitment and initiative. As long as there are SMART goals (aimed at keeping the team motivated) that line managers are accountable for, motivation should come easy. Of course, this assumes that the engineer didn't make a short term call when joining the organization in the first place.
Key Demotivating Factors
-------------------------------------
1. High degree of uncertainty/Lack of long term vision/goals - I am sure most readers are aware of SMART goals. Almost every goal setting document has a section on long term goals, but I have rarely seen a genuine interest on the part of managers to help the team members in meeting their long term goals. I think it is because often engineers become managers by virtue of the number of years they have put in, and are just not capable of thinking beyond running the business. In the absence of long term goals, any lull in the projects/work at hand leads to a high degree of uncertainty in the team - "What will i be doing 2 weeks from now". Note that this is not the same as job insecurity.
2. Loss of trust/Double Speak - I guess Microsoft would have lost quite a few senior engineers in the Internet division since it announced its intention to takeover Yahoo. I am sure even a month before the announcement, there would have been all hands meets where they would toast the successes, and paint a rosy future.
A common experience in India is - when big product companies set up shop in India, they would call it - "Centre of Excellence", "Centre of Innovation" - and tell you 10 great reasons why it is a great place to work. However, most of them often turn out to be job shops, with only low end maintenance work available. This inevitably ends up demotivating bright engineers.
3. Lack of visible leadership accountability - It would be preposterous to claim that there isn't leadership accountability. However, it can be demotivating an engineer does not see visible outcomes of a manager/leader not meeting expectations. Also demotivating is a perception that the manager is not accountable to the engineers for their growth.
4. Wrong fit - Hiring over/under-qualified personnel, no matter what the compulsions, more often than not leads to a demotivated workforce.
5. Micro-management - I think this one needs no elaboration
I am sure I can list a lot more demotivating factors. And these factors would certainly vary from person to person. Also, i am sure no manager intends to demotivate her own team members.
I think a sincere effort at identifying why a person is demotivated (when you find someone's motivation levels are low) - and it has to be aimed at each team member individually (as opposed to a why my team is demotivated approach) - goes a long way in coming out with an individualised motivation program - which could be :
- Individualised incentive schemes
- Finding a better fit in another team
- Reorienting long term goals
For this to happen though, there needs to be serious leadership commitment and initiative. As long as there are SMART goals (aimed at keeping the team motivated) that line managers are accountable for, motivation should come easy. Of course, this assumes that the engineer didn't make a short term call when joining the organization in the first place.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Paul Snoep on -
What about fear?
I have had (in the past) numerous occasions where we all knew - and were convinced - solution A was the best and most suited for the company, where solution B was opted due to fear from higher management not daring to suggest the (more expensive, solution based on real assumptions etc) solution A to the board.
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Permalink Reply by Rajesh Tibrewala on
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Very true Paul.. "Group Think" and "Expert Think" are common infections in the best of organizations and often can be very demotivating.
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Permalink Reply by J. Scot on -
I think you knocked it out of the park on this, Rajesh... nicely done. All are scenarios I've seen over the years, and I agree that it's important to engage those that find themselves frustrated and/or unmotivated as each situation is different.
That said, it's possible to motivate teams and realize leaps forward in productivity by focusing on the contributions of each team member so that everyone recognizes not only their own contributions, but also the contributions of others. Sure there are people who don't work well with others, or who just aren't a good fit --- get 'em off the team if you can't find a suitable spot for them.. but ensure everyone understands where they fit in, and how they're making a difference.
As you might have guessed, team structure and highly resolved job descriptions are critical. Put all the best players in the NFL on the same team, and they'd loose every game if they didn't have the right structure (i.e., a quarterback, a wide receiver, etc.).
Would love to hear what others think.
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Permalink Reply by Rajesh Tibrewala on
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Hi Scot,
I agree.. Focusing on the strengths and contributions of each and every team member would certainly help motivation.
The NFL analogy is also very apt - i have seen a very high profile-high budget project make very slow progress because there were 7-8 architects on the team at the conceptual architecture and design stage - a certain recipe for disaster. While NFL may perform with the right structure, i think a structure based on the surgeon's model may work better for a majority of IT teams.
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Permalink Reply by Neil Hopkins on -
I would add undervaluing or under appreciation. Upper management often view IT as a cost center, a bitter pill that must be swallowed. I once had a VP tell a room full of IT people that technology didn't matter. That sort of attitude goes a long way toward demotivating individuals.
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Permalink Reply by Capecoder on -
Good list, Rajesh, and the comments are thoughtful as well.
I think "politics" and managerial egos are the big demotivators. Kindness and civility go a long way. The manager who needs to look like a tough guy in front of other people in the company or who picks on a scapegoat will demoralize a team in about 5 seconds. Or consider the manager who has made the team afraid to be open, honest, even witty and enthusiastic, in group meetings - I mean, G*d forbid that someone in addition to the manager should have something to offer.
One such horrible person in my acquaintance recently retired and moved out of state. I hear the work place is infinitely better now and can only imagine that the team breathed a sigh of relief when the malevolent old monster left.
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Permalink Reply by Rajesh Tibrewala on
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Couldn't agree more Capecoder...
If the manager always wants to have the upper hand, I think teams and individuals no longer feel empowered, which ultimately can lead to indifference, and even irresponsible behavior.
I personally think such behavior from managers has its roots in one of two things - lust for power, or insecurity. I guess individuals and teams can help themselves when faced with such managers if they can figure out what is the motivating factor in their specific situation.
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Permalink Reply by Faye on
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SMART goals - Managers don't always make sure an employee understands circumstances and time frames. They may end up with unrealistic expectations based on badly communicated plans.
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Jenkins on -
Hi Rajesh,
We are slowly transitioning over to a new platform with must better design and functionality. I would like to get some of the better content here migrated over before announcing the new site. I was wondering if you would be so kind as to copy your article over there. I do not think the signup process displays other countries yet so just choose any location for now and you will be able to reset it in a few days. Thanks! Kevin
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Permalink Reply by Kevin Jenkins on
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I forgot to tell you the address ... http://www.tech-pro-motivation.com. thanks.
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Permalink Reply by Rares Marian on
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My worst experiences have been entering a project to find it completely undocumented or worse documentation that is nothing but filler (and only for a couple rows at that). Files and files of "this class has 74 functions". Second to that are jobs that are either someone else's train wreck, code that is worse than the employer realizes, or a janitorial or theme tweaking job masquerading as a design job. It's one thing to get to know the main codebase for an application, but I get very demotivated when I have to go babysitting the CMS and template system so a logo can blink or something of that sort.
Another is the backwards design of many job sites. The economy of code works like this: Either you pay me mucho and you get the rights to the code or you pay me much less and I can sell the solution over and over. The best I've seen is Topcoder and rentacoder (charges 15% of your take, total DEMOTIV right there). Topcoder actually let's you own your code. Unfortunately many sites don't recognize this stituation exists. Instead they allow a downward arms race in bids while allowing buyers from 2 weeks to over a month to make a decision.
The sheer number of frustrations makes me want to build a site myself, even though it feels a bit like giving up.
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Permalink Reply by Charmaine Anderson on
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I think some corporations may not put enough emphasis on the human emotions of employees. If managers were encouraged to make more effort to ensure employees felt that they are appreciated and valued then they would remain motivated. Most employees are bright enough to understand goals and objectives, its the personal touch that makes all the difference in the world. Let people know you genuinely care about them.
I used to work at Intel and one of the nice things they would do for employees when their budget could allow it was to have team building events off site at fun places such as a waterfront cruise in downtown Portland, or we would go to pubs after work or dinner after a face to face meeting. This did a lot of good for morale. I suspect this type of thing is even more important during the economic downturn even though it may be viewed as a frivilous business expense, but when weighed against the cost of low morale may have on productivity, perhaps it can be justified as a worthwhile expenditure. I don't think a company can effectively use marketing campaign to motivate employees, it has to be real, not a slogan. It has to be role-modeled by managers through genuine appreciation even if its only small gestures of public and private praise or even just buying someone a cup of coffee or telling a joke. Team building events don't have to be expensive either, it doesn't cost much to play a ball game after work or have a pot-luck luncheon on site and share fun games that allow attendees to share their knowledge or test their wit.
Unfortunately though sometimes the problem is the manager or his manager who may not be well equipped to realize that to lead doesn't mean one has to use intimidation to get results, if a group isn't comfortable challenging ideas for fear of losing their job, innovation has no hope of succeeding which will ultimately impact impede the success of a company if this behavior is encouraged by senior management.
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