{"id":2552,"date":"2012-12-17T14:59:13","date_gmt":"2012-12-17T20:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/?p=2552"},"modified":"2024-05-27T13:55:36","modified_gmt":"2024-05-27T18:55:36","slug":"help-our-people-are-unmotivated-idiots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/help-our-people-are-unmotivated-idiots\/","title":{"rendered":"Help! Our People Are Unmotivated Idiots"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"bsf_rt_marker\"><\/div>\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2552\" class=\"elementor elementor-2552\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2156132 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2156132\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7ff133d\" data-id=\"7ff133d\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cc10452 elementor-widget elementor-widget-template\" data-id=\"cc10452\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"template.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-template\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"section\" data-elementor-id=\"12411\" class=\"elementor elementor-12411\" data-elementor-post-type=\"elementor_library\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1255d61 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-content-middle elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1255d61\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6264de3\" data-id=\"6264de3\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-61125fc elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-title elementor-page-title elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"61125fc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-title.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Help! Our People Are Unmotivated Idiots<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c1117e elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-post-info\" data-id=\"2c1117e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"post-info.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-inline-items elementor-icon-list-items elementor-post-info\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-fcfa45b elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/author\/lbwebmaster\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-far-user-circle\" viewBox=\"0 0 496 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M248 104c-53 0-96 43-96 96s43 96 96 96 96-43 96-96-43-96-96-96zm0 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href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/2012\/12\/17\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-calendar\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M12 192h424c6.6 0 12 5.4 12 12v260c0 26.5-21.5 48-48 48H48c-26.5 0-48-21.5-48-48V204c0-6.6 5.4-12 12-12zm436-44v-36c0-26.5-21.5-48-48-48h-48V12c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12h-40c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v52H160V12c0-6.6-5.4-12-12-12h-40c-6.6 0-12 5.4-12 12v52H48C21.5 64 0 85.5 0 112v36c0 6.6 5.4 12 12 12h424c6.6 0 12-5.4 12-12z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-date\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time>December 17, 2012<\/time>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item elementor-repeater-item-9c8288a elementor-inline-item\" itemprop=\"commentCount\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/help-our-people-are-unmotivated-idiots\/#respond\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-far-comment-dots\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M144 208c-17.7 0-32 14.3-32 32s14.3 32 32 32 32-14.3 32-32-14.3-32-32-32zm112 0c-17.7 0-32 14.3-32 32s14.3 32 32 32 32-14.3 32-32-14.3-32-32-32zm112 0c-17.7 0-32 14.3-32 32s14.3 32 32 32 32-14.3 32-32-14.3-32-32-32zM256 32C114.6 32 0 125.1 0 240c0 47.6 19.9 91.2 52.9 126.3C38 405.7 7 439.1 6.5 439.5c-6.6 7-8.4 17.2-4.6 26S14.4 480 24 480c61.5 0 110-25.7 139.1-46.3C192 442.8 223.2 448 256 448c141.4 0 256-93.1 256-208S397.4 32 256 32zm0 368c-26.7 0-53.1-4.1-78.4-12.1l-22.7-7.2-19.5 13.8c-14.3 10.1-33.9 21.4-57.5 29 7.3-12.1 14.4-25.7 19.9-40.2l10.6-28.1-20.6-21.8C69.7 314.1 48 282.2 48 240c0-88.2 93.3-160 208-160s208 71.8 208 160-93.3 160-208 160z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text elementor-post-info__item elementor-post-info__item--type-comments\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNo Comments\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a17d19d elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"a17d19d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"text-align:center;\u201d>\r\n<span class=\"bsf-rt-reading-time\"><span class=\"bsf-rt-display-label\" prefix=\"Reading Time\">\n\t\t<\/span> <span class=\"bsf-rt-display-time\" reading_time=\"2\"><\/span> \n\t\t<span class=\"bsf-rt-display-postfix\" postfix=\"mins\"><\/span><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-70a0327\" data-id=\"70a0327\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-228f411 elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-featured-image elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"228f411\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-featured-image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/point3-qon9i9mnpwbayaupqirl6dofsnuryo9cy0yethbqio.png\" title=\"point3\" alt=\"Point\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4207fca1 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4207fca1\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-60e3449a\" data-id=\"60e3449a\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6709172c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6709172c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOnce upon a time, I met with a frustrated business owner who confided that his people were <em>&#8220;unmotivated and incompetent<\/em>&#8220;. They routinely failed to follow instructions and struggled to think for themselves.\r\n<h3>Where Do We Start?<\/h3>\r\nHe wanted to know if I thought I could help to improve <em>those people<\/em>. He seemed pleased when I told him I could. Then he asked <em>&#8220;Where would you start?&#8221; <\/em> I realized that he was the one signing the checks and that he had his own ideas. But I know that&#8230;<em>\r\n<\/em>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-837 size-full alignleft\" title=\"point\" src=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/point.jpg\" alt=\"Pointing\" width=\"195\" height=\"196\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/point.jpg 195w, https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/point-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 195px) 100vw, 195px\" \/>Whenever you point a finger at others, there are always three pointing back. So I believed then (and now) that improvement efforts are most effective when you address the root cause. And I recalled the words of cartoonist Walt Kelly:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>We have met the enemy and he is us.<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">________<\/p>\r\nAt least he asked. I courageously suggested that we start &#8220;at the top&#8221; with the management team. He was surprised. He wondered if I wasn&#8217;t listening and reiterated that the problem was with their people.\r\n<h3>Ah-Ha!<\/h3>\r\nThe rest of the discussion went like this&#8230;\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Tom:<em> &#8220;Help me understand. Who who hired these idiots?&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t<li>The Owner:<em> &#8220;I did&#8221;<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong><strong>Tom:<\/strong> <em>&#8220;Whose responsible for training these people?&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t<li>The Owner:<em> &#8220;I suppose it&#8217;s me and my managers&#8221;<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong><strong>Tom:<\/strong> <em>&#8220;Who&#8217;s responsible for motivating these people?&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\r\n \t<li>The Owner:<em> &#8220;Well, management&#8221;<\/em><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong><strong>Tom:<\/strong> <em>&#8220;So, do you have any more questions about where we need to start?&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-2285 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/mirror-ms.jpg\" alt=\"Mirror\" width=\"120\" height=\"155\" title=\"\">And so we did start at the top. And we succeeded in increasing the perceived IQ of their previously mismanaged workers. As they gained guidelines, criteria, and were challenged to think for themselves they gradually learned to figure things out.\r\n\r\nSo the next time you&#8217;re about to point your finger at the alleged incompetence of your people. Consider looking in the mirror first. You might avoid <em>throwing the baby out with the bath water<\/em>.\r\n<h3>Related Articles<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><a title=\"Are You Playing The Blame Game?\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/are-you-playing-the-blame-game\/\">The Blame Game<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a title=\"Delegation and the Power of \u201cWhy\u201d\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/delegation-and-the-power-of-why\/\">Delegation and The Power of Why<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a title=\"Delegation: Skill Set or Mindset?\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/delegation-skill-set-or-mindset\/\">Delegation: Skill Set or Mindset?<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a title=\"Herding Cats\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/herding-cats\/\">Herding Cats<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li><a title=\"The Ant, The Lion and The Airline\" href=\"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/the-ant-and-the-lion-a-management-fable\/\">The Ant, The Lion and the Airline<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once upon a time, I met with a frustrated business owner who declared that his people were &#8220;unmotivated and incompetent&#8221;.  They routinely failed to follow instructions and struggled to think for themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Help! Our People Are Unmotivated Idiots.\r\n  http:\/\/wp.me\/p1I2Yr-Fa","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[124,11,29,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-decision-making","category-delegation-skills","category-leadership-development","category-motivation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/point3.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1I2Yr-Fa","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chicagoexecutivecoaching.com\/smartleadership\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}