The "10 Most Wanted" Motivation Killers
By Richard E. Clark, EdD, CPT

A number of polls have described a dismal level of motivation in many organizations. Eighty-four percent of workers in a variety of industries admit that they could work much harder. About 50% confess that they only work as hard as they must to keep their jobs. In the typical work setting, individuals contribute an average of about 30% less when they are on a team than they do when working by themselves-a phenomenon known as "social loafing."

The culture of most organizations rests on the implicit view that, "people are paid for a job, so they should be motivated to work," yet the most recent analysis of research on work incentives found that salary was the least motivating factor in all work settings (Condly, Clark, & Stolovitch, 2003). So, efforts to eliminate things that kill motivation have a huge potential to increase performance.

While effective training has been found to result in about a 20% increase in job performance, efforts to increase work motivation produce at least as much, and often exceeded the impact of training (Clark, 2003; Clark & Estes, 2001). Knowledge and skills give us the capacity to work smarter and more effectively. Yet, people with knowledge and skills often choose not to use what they know, or they lack interest in learning new things. Motivation provides us with the focus, enthusiasm, persistence, determination, and effort needed to go beyond what we've accomplished in the past. It gets us started, helps us persist in the face of barriers and distractions, and encourages us to be "mindful" and work smarter. As Calvin Coolidge, one of our past U.S. presidents, suggested:

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan, 'Press on,' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."

So, what defeats persistence, and what works to increase it? Some organizations have found that removing "motivation killers" is a very inexpensive first step. Here are 10 conditions found in many organizations that often damage work motivation. Most of them are easy to eliminate or change. Do they exist in your organization's culture or work processes?

The "10 Most Wanted" Motivation Killers

1. Telling Lies. There are no innocent lies when the misinformation reflects a topic or situation that is important to stakeholders in an organization. Trust is difficult to earn and very easy to lose. We must tell as much of the truth as possible and shut up.

2. Making Prejudiced Decisions Based on Stereotypes. In our diverse work settings, the exciting mix of nationalities, cultures, and race are terrific opportunities for creative ideas and for negative, hurtful prejudice. We must avoid the perception of prejudice in performance reviews, selection decisions, and even in jokes and informal exchanges. It is best to work to convince everyone that they have an equal chance to succeed and then do our best to make it happen.

3. Expressing Constant Pessimism, Cool Detachment, and Negativity. Depressed people enjoy saying and hearing depressing things. Negativity is sometimes fashionable, but it is a motivation killer. No matter how dismal the situation, cautious optimism and positive expectations will always be more productive than pessimism.

4. Focusing on the Facts of a Situation and not on People's Beliefs or Perception of the Facts. What people believe and perceive in any situation controls their motivation and their behavior. Confronting people with your version of "the facts" is simply not enough to change their values. Start by trying to understand others' values, reasons, and expectations.

5. Setting Vague Performance Goals. When work goals are vague, people substitute their own goals or assume that "anything goes." Provide goals that are clear, concrete, and challenging.

6. Being a Hypocrite. The most motivating leaders and mentors are those whose values, statements, and personal behavior are consistent.

7. Making Unnecessary Work Rules. Here are some examples of rules that alienate and de-motivate: Tell people they can't decorate their work space in open office settings because someone thinks that pictures of people's families wrecks the visual aesthetics the organization is trying to achieve. Don't let people listen to music while they work even if it does not interfere with their work. Make rules to let people know who is in charge.

8. Assuming that Others are "Like Me". Just because something motivates one person (no matter how powerful or successful the person), it most likely will not motivate everyone else. If we want to know what motivates people, we should ask them what they value and listen carefully until we understand it from their point of view.

9. When Frustrated, Getting Angry at Everyone and Expressing It Forcefully. While it feels "natural" for some people to express anger loudly and aggressively, it only affords a very small, short-term gain (through intimidation) but can lead to longer term motivational difficulty with people. Consider learning to delay expressing your anger in work settings. Say something like, "that IS frustrating" and then when you are alone, break something cheap while you shout at the furniture.

10. Catching People Screwing Up and Pointing It Out to Them. The more we focus feedback on the fact that a person or team made a mistake or failed to reach a goal, the less motivated they are to remedy the problem and the more long lasting the negative impact. We must catch people succeeding and remind them of past successes. If they fail, we should focus our coaching on developing or revising their strategies in ways that will help them succeed and ask them to work harder.

Reprinted from ISPI,  PerformanceXpress newsletter

Dick Clark is the principal of Atlantic Training Inc., a company that offers consulting on training design and performance improvement strategies. He is also a professor of Educational Psychology and Technology in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California where he serves as the mentor of USC's doctoral program emphasis in Human Performance at Work. Dick received the Thomas F. Gilbert Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement from ISPI last year.