I had an interesting conversation the other day surrounding the idea of increasing incentives for leasing consultants. In that same conversation we talked about increasing incentives for prospects at the time of move-in. And the conversation got me thinking about work place loyalty and motivation. I know; weird direction…
What motivates you?
The real genesis of the conversation centered around a property that is struggling for occupancy. So on one side; the answer is/was throwing a bunch of stuff at the problem. And on the other side; the answer is/was throwing a reason to believe at the problem. That is to say – a born leader and lightening rod for motivation; all on the premise that people work for people not companies. In many cases (gut science) people get results for people – not companies. People rock for other people – not companies. People keep working at companies because they love the person they report to and they love the work they do for that person – not the company.
During this conversation, I asked the question – do you work for Mills or do you work for your supervisor? Without a seconds worth of thought the answer was – my supervisor!
My speculation in a word – loyalty. Why? LOVE.
What motivates you and makes you loyal to your work – it’s either money or the love for what you do. I want the second type working for me all day long. And guess what if you love what you do and you do it well the money will follow as sure as day follows night…
What is the answer for a property with struggling occupancy?
It’s very likely a bit of both but I would argue against throwing stuff at the problem…
Your people rock other people Multifamily Maniac,
M
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Good Question. I’ve thinking about this since it first came across this morning. Given who my superisor is I had to put some thought into my answer. I work hard for myself and my company, but not for money. To explain that further my current superviosr is extremely inspiring to me, but I’ve worked hard for people who weren’t so much, Instead of looking up, I looked sideways, found others who inspired me. My current position would not exist without the growth of the company and so their success is my success. I am very loyal and I feel like my company breathes opportunity, the more they grow the more everyone can feel that opportunity.
I think there are two (maybe more) types of people. There are those who are motivated by money and you can throw money at them and you can get results but it is a pony show. They will give up growth and personal opportunity for the sake of more in their pocket in that given month. You cannot inspire these people with leadership. The money has become a drug and they need every more of it to stay satisfied. Short sighted they lack vision of the future.
The second group is motivated by opportunity and success (defined by being excited about what you are doing and excited to do it every day) these are the people who are motivated by great leadership. The people you can rally behind an idea, a vision, a mission or a goal. The people who feel a deep sense of accomplishment at a job well done. These people will seek out people who inspire them, companies who inspire them and they will remain loyal to those companies and people. They can feel opportunity before it is even clear what that opportunity is.
Bevity is not my strong suit, but the answer is that it is not the type of motivation you are trying to give, it is finding the right people to motivate. Throwing money at a problem is a band-aid fix.