If managers are meant to motivate their teams, they are failing. There is an epidemic of low motivation and alienation at work. A 2020 Gallup survey of US employees revealed that just 36 per cent of staff are engaged at work, while 14 per cent are actively disengaged. This is a typical finding in my experience.
The problem is, you cannot tell people to be motivated, happy or positive. You can try reaching for a quick fix by hiring an inspirational speaker to create a sugar rush of motivation, but that will just evaporate on first contact with the office.
In fact, asking managers to motivate their teams is to ask them the wrong question. Increasingly, businesses are realising that motivation comes from within. The better question to ask is: “How can we create the conditions where staff rediscover their intrinsic motivation?” Lasting motivation comes from finding inherent satisfaction in work, not from the promise of pay or promotion.