Jim Collins — the author of the legendary Good to Great and co-author of the new and equally compelling Great by Choice— has an insightful 3-minute Big Think video describing three ways organizations demotivate their employees.

Watch it below or view it on Big Think. Then send a copy to your boss.

** BREAKING NEWS: Collins will be our special guest on the next episode of Office Hours. Mark your calendars for Tuesday November 8 at 11am Eastern. Call in details and passcode are here.

7 Responses to “Jim Collins on 3 ways to avoid demotivating people at work”

  1. Alton Reynolds says:

    I think that people, bosses, perceive a loss of control when employees are given the opportunity to have meaningful impute into what a job design is going to be and how it is to be performed. I think many bosses continue to attempt to frighten employees into doing a job in the way the boss thinks it ought to be done. When an employee has little to no sense of ownership of a job, the outcome usually leaves a great deal to be desired, by all the stakeholders.

  2. The floggings will continue until morale improves. Unless we expose our horrible bosses. http://www.ourhorriblebosses.com or email: [email protected]

  3. Well said.
    The idea that superiors some how need to motivate subordinates fundamentally stems from the notion that “we lead, you follow.” If that’s your mental structure of leadership then the results are these naturally demotivating behaviors.

    If, on the other hand, we think in terms of leaders and leaders, I realize that I don’t need to motivate you, but I do have the ability to demotivate you.

  4. Educational Pundit says:

    This short video provides an interesting opportunity to critique the province of BC’s New Educational Plan for the twenty-first century:

    1. Confronting Reality. I’m amazed that George Abbott and the Liberal government would present a “dream” vision of education in the province during a major dispute between teachers and the province. George, you have 40,000 disgruntled teachers you are going to need to implement this dream: pay attention to reality.

    2. Being Heard. 40,000 teachers were never made aware of this revamping of the way BC approaches education. But teachers have been told that they will be re-trained. 40,000 left “unheard”.

    3. Tangible Results? Who has implemented technology or individualize learning successfully? Where are the numbers? Where is the proof that this might work? Or, is there any tangible evidence that an under-funded system can actually support this new “modern” approach.

    Using these three points in the above video, I think it is safe to say that the BC Liberals and the accompanying educational “leaders” in BC are not actually “leading” so effectively.

  5. Rob Carty says:

    Looking forward to that interview! Two of my favorite thinkers on the same line.

    Not demotivating employees should be on the radar for managers concerned about organizational health. A case I studied at a leadership seminar presented an employee who worked part time in two different organizations. In one, he was a superstar. In the other, he was what they called a “saboteur” – so demotivated and mismanaged he was intentionally undermining the organization’s mission. Same employee under two different management styles.

    Looking forward to the discussion!

  6. Thank you for sharing this pretty good video. Fascinating so simple facts but it seems everyone makes the same mistakes all the time, calling meetings to announce decisions, etc.
    I’ve recently read: “Read this before your next meeting” and it was really iluminating. When I watched the video, Mr. Collins reminded me how crucial is to stop demotivating employees with meetings.
    cheers,
    @RolandoPeralta

  7. Darren says:

    I’m really excited about this office hours talk. Dan, I applaud you in your effort and ability to get some truly fantastic speakers for your blog.

    I felt exactly like this less than a year ago, incredibly demotivated, tired of having to listen to someone try to externally motivate me when I strongly felt I didn’t need anyone pushing me to be good at my work.

    I have since left that business and am working on my own thing, which gets me up excited every day to work towards something truly meaningful.

    I can honestly say that some of this was attributable to figuring out a purpose statement and writing down what keeps me up at night and what gets me out of bed in the morning. All 3 answers of which, sit on my night table and on my computer wall paper all day, every day.

    This is by no means all that I’ve taken away from your work, but perhaps the most impactful.

    Thank you,

    @darren_beattie