We can learn a lot from the management style of Elon
Musk. Although he can be considered one of the most successful entrepreneurs on
the planet, his management style has cost him and his company dearly according
to this
article in Wired magazine titled DR. ELON
& MR. MUSK: LIFE INSIDE TESLA’S PRODUCTION HELL.
As I read the article I could not help to think how
his management style is driven by his human type. In my video I explain Elon
Musk’s type based on what I learned from reading the article and my knowledge
of types from the work of Fritz Glaus
who trained me on his approach.
Fritz wrote a fable CrazYZoo,
Know Thyself Made Easy, that teaches the reader about
types of people and has them discover their own type and combined type as they
go through the book.
Fritz also created a training program on leadership
and another on team
development that incorporates the types of
people approach.
Leaders, managers and team members who understand
themselves and others better using the types of people approach can be much
more effective and build better relationship with others.
I
encourage you to check out the article on
Elon Musk and the book
CrazYZoo.
Everyone has both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation when it comes to life and work. Some employees are more driven by internal factors (intrinsic motivation), while others are more motivated by external factors (extrinsic motivation). Everyone though has both but to different degrees depending on a variety of factors.
Last week I published a video
telling the story of a young lawyer working at a large law firm and being paid
very well. However, he was feeling a great deal of pressure to produce billable
hours and this caused high stress. He decided to take another lawyer job where
he could work normal hours with much less pressure. The job pays a considerably
lower salary, but he would rather earn less money to have better work/life
balance and feel happier.
Is this person motivated intrinsically or extrinsically?
From my perspective his motivation is intrinsic, it is driven by having
personal balance and happiness. For him that was more important than good
wages.
Is it better to have employees that are intrinsically
or extrinsically motivated?
Intrinsically motivated employees want to perform well
because they enjoy the work and the want to feel good about their own
accomplishments. Extrinsically motivated employees on the contrary want to
perform well to achieve external rewards or status.
Having intrinsically motivated employees is preferred
because they are self-motivated and need less external stimulation. However,
that does not mean you can ignore the accomplishments and performance of this
type of motivated employees. Giving positive recognition and feedback, which is
a form of external reward will add to their feeling of personal accomplishment and
drive their internal motivation.
Extrinsic motivation can be driven by fear of
punishment and that can create a negative and controlling workplace. People may
perform to minimum standards just to avoid the negative outcome rather than
wanting to achieve excellence on their own.
Extrinsic motivation puts more power and control in
the hands of the manager and causes more autocratic style of leadership. An
intrinsic motivation approach trusts that people want to perform well and are
motivated to do so, thus promoting a participative style of leadership, which
today is much preferred and recommended.
I have created a motivation worksheet that promotes intrinsic employee motivation that you can download from my website or on Eloquens.
Employees can be divided into three categories related
to employee performance. This is called the rule of thirds for employee
performance.
One third of employees are above average performers,
one third are average performers and one third are below average
performers. Of course, this is a general
rule but if you go through the process of evaluating each employee using my employee
performance evaluation grid worksheet, you may find this to be true.
The goal is to break the rule and move your average
performers to above average and eliminate the below average employees either
through training, finding a better fit for their skills or ending their
employment if possible.
Above
Average Performing Employees
You want to maximize the talent and skills of this
group of employees and do what you can to retain them. You need to keep close
contact, so you have a good sense of their job satisfaction and the type of
challenge they need to stay engaged. Invest time and money in these employees
as they often produce more quality work than the other two thirds combined.
Average
Performing Employees
This group of employees get the work done satisfactory
and are productive but have lots of room for improvement. You need to get to
know them and their core talents and skills. Find out what motivates them most
about the job and see where their motivation and their talents align. Create
more opportunities to use their talents more fully and provide the training and
support they need.
Below
Average Performing Employees
These employees are either in the wrong job,
have lost interest or need to be confronted about their performance. If they
are in the wrong job and cannot be transferred to a new role, they need to
leave. Keeping employees who do not fit
or enjoy their work is not helping anyone.
If they have developed a negative attitude or
resentments causing them to underperform, they need to be confronted and given
clear consequences if they do not modify their behavior. Rigorous follow-up and
feedback is required by the manager so they know if they are on track to keep
their job.
Training
and development can help with below average performing
employees but first you need to find the root cause of the problem and see when
training might be part of the solution.
Evaluate
and Act
Download my
employee performance evaluation grid worksheet now and use it to assess each
employee. You will then see who falls into which category and then you can
follow the recommendations above to act and move more employees into above
average performers and break the rule of thirds.
Forms, templates and worksheets are available from my website or from Eloquens
