Every leader usually deals with employees or teams in a daily basis. Although people use to be motivated, sometimes we find as leaders employees that lose their motivation.
We know what does mean. For sure sometimes we suffered of this bad situation. When people lose motivation, it is hard for them, and they are disengaged from work and their productivity goes down very strongly as result of these feelings.
However, as leaders we must be empathetic with our people. Human beings need to be motivated to face the challenges they face on their jobs and at the same time to find meaning in the things they do. Some of us have developed more certain parts of our brain and we have a growth mindset that permits us to pursue to learn new skills and meaningful targets. However, all those with a fixed mindset also have the opportunity to develop and learn those skills (see Muvens.com).
Pursuing a learning path, we will obtain a good portion of dopamine. What is really dopamine? It is a biogenic amine neurotransmitter that is used in multiple circuitries in the brain. One of the circuitries used is the mesolimbic system and is involved in behavioral motivation for reward and reinforcement.
At the end with this flux of dopamine we will engage more and better in those activities.
As I mentioned before, we have different mindsets and although growth mindset people are more used to follow a learning path to discover new skills exploring, discovering, learning and experimenting, there are others with a fixed mindset less given to those activities. Organizations must develop the conditions to encourage employees to do so.
This encouragement is possible to do it motivating employees without big changes in the organizations by learning their strengths, experimenting, and helping them to find a clear purpose of the work.
One of the ways we can activate employees is to value them for their virtues or character strengths. This will make them to show their values of self-expression. Self-expression will vary depending on your location and the culture you are steeped in and it can be defined as Judith Glaser said, as the most important way for people to connect, navigate and grow with each other.
Other way to activate employees is when we offer the possibility to our employees to experiment in a “safe zone”, where experimenting is an activity that give them the freedom to make mistakes without any fear and without consequences for them.
Experimentation will pushed also creativity and lacking challenge or struggle will permit a better life for our employees opening their minds to innovation and creativity.
A third way is instilling a sense of purpose in our employees. The purpose must be customer oriented, and it must stimulate the commitment of people. Purpose becomes relevant when it is not only authentic, but also connected with a corporate strategy that generates a sustainable competitive advantage. Purpose – not only ESG factors – becomes a driver of positive change while ensuring that companies continue to create economic value.
At the end all above it’s a habit, a way of being, a style of existing.
