Part 1, An Employee Perspective

Earlier this week, I couldn’t help but notice an air of sluggishness all around me…

• The lackadaisical grocery store cashier, checking her nails and staring off into space as the little old lady in front struggled with the credit card machine.
• The Jimmy Johns delivery driver, arriving 30 minutes late for a scheduled delivery without an apology.
• The DMV main desk staff, chatting about their bowling league and need for an afternoon soda with a line of a dozen people waiting to be helped.

Is it the winter weather? Maybe. The end of the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years/Valentines Day “holiday high”? Possibly.
These few observations, all occurring in a work place, got me thinking. Of course, I wondered where their managers were. Did they know that poor customer service was happening right under their noses? Did they mind? More importantly, why did these employees seem not to care? Where was the motivation??
Enter, a friendly Twitter and Facebook poll. We asked our fans and followers about which motivates them more, a coach or a manager, and why. Here are a few of the responses:

• “Coach, because compliance will never take you where commitment will.”
• “Coach for support, manager for decision making. Both are valuable, equally as circumstantial.”
• “Coach, because that is what leading is all about- coaching for success.”

What happened next? Well, we asked around our own office and shop to see what a few of the ETE team thought and if they trended with the social media responses.  To see their personal opinions, check out our video below.

Let’s take a look at motivation and where it comes from, according to our social friends and employees:

1. Coach or Manager – A coach is willing to interact and mentor while a manager is task/results-focused. Can the same person be both? Usually not.
2. What’s In It for Me? – Raises, promotions, extra vacation time. Employees want to perform, especially for a reward.
3. Different Strokes for Different Folks – The motivation style that works for each employee varies. The same approach for all won’t guarantee the same result.

At the end of the day, we couldn’t help but feel like the employee perspective was only half of the story. Want to know more? We did, too. We asked the same questions of managers, so tune in next week to watch and read Part 2.
In the meantime, have a conversation or two with your own employees about what drives them, especially if you’ve noticed a lack of motivation. Their answers and what you think you already know might just come as a surprise.

Every superhero has a support staff – and Captain Reman’s team is no exception. Jennifer Porter (aka “The Woman Behind the Curtain”) steps into the limelight this week with her very first Reman University article.