If you're a leader who has team members who are not doing what they're supposed to be doing, they're not lazy or apathetic. There are six sources of (in)action at work, summarized in the graphic. Humans take action based on personal, social, and structural drivers. Personal drivers are the ones in our heads, social ones are what we see in our communities or teams, and the structural ones are the ones imposed on us by our employer. There are two dimensions to each driver: motivation and ability, which gives us the six causes of (in)action.
If you see someone not getting things done, one of these drivers is either missing or even undermining the work getting done, and addressing it usually resolves the problem:
Personal motivation: why should I do this? If you hear “I don’t care” then this one is the issue. The fix: find a connection or meaning from the personal values to the work being done, or overcome any objections based on value
Personal ability: how do I do this? If you hear “I agree with you, I just don’t know how” this might be your root. The fix: training.
Social motivation: is everyone around me doing this? Going against the grain is hard, so asking someone to do a thing one way while everyone else is doing it another will probably not work. The fix: pave the way; find the boldest, loudest disruptors, and ask them to publicly do the thing first.
Social ability: am I getting the support I need? Most jobs are team efforts, and not getting the help you need is demotivating AND embarrassing. The fix: setting clear expectations, asking for help publicly, offering “buddy” systems and help.
Structural motivation: am I being paid for this? Or more accurately, am I measured on this? If the measures are not clear, or there is no incentive to meet the measures, then there will be little motivation. The fix: make sure incentives align with expected KPIs/outcomes/behaviors.
Structural ability: does the company structure support what I need to get done? Companies might have the best intentions: training, incentives, information, everything an employee needs, but have their teams or processes structured in a way to make hitting KPIs difficult. The fix: look at teams and processes and make sure everyone can get their work done.
The ideas above are adapted from the book Influencer https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/914211.Influencer
Have you had experience dealing with “stuck” employees? Share in the comments.
