Energized Ignorance
I apologize for the sporadic posts lately. I have a bit more than usual on my plate and some things just get pushed down the list. Unfortunately, this site is one of the things that has to suffer.
I posted a few days back about "Energized Incompetence" and hopefully communicated that not only do you need to ensure people have a reason to change behavior but that they also have the skills. Without the skills they just run around looking busy and hoping something works. I've been pondering the whole idea of motivation and direction of effort after that post and I think we miss the real issue 9 out of 10 times.
The issue is this... engaged and satisfied employees (or channel partners and consumers) are just that - engaged and satisfied. They aren't necessarily motivated to do anything. Satisfaction and engagement are the requirements for motivation - not the cause. Ensuring your employees and customers are engaged simply sets the stage for motivation. They create a blank slate on which our goals and objectives are writ.
I think we just assume that if someone is engaged and satisfied they are motivated.
Tagging onto the "energized" theme - I thought of another one - "Energized Ignorance."
If people don't know what you want them to do - even if they have the skill and the motivation - the result still suffers. Energized Ignorance occurs when you provide an incentive to do something but your communication is garbled or confusing. Programs that include conflicting objectives - ie: increase customer service and reduce call time - create this state. Pair that with a lack of skill and you have a disaster in the making.
Our goal has to be to provide these engaged and happy folks with a direction and a plan that is clear and unambiguous. Without proper communication and training we do our audience a disservice. In addition, by launching a poorly designed and communicated plan actually reduces engagement and satisfaction - creating an unholy downward spiral. Unfortunately, most companies just increase the award value and hope to spend their way out of the problem.
Take a step back and look at your communications. Is it clear what they need to do? Do they understand the results you are looking for and are those results connected to behaviors they have control over?
There is an old saying that goes something like - "Don't try to teach a pig to dance. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Same goes for your incentive and reward strategies. Make sure you communicate clearly and the audience knows what to do. No amount of "incentive" can overcome those two hurdles.







Many (too many) times I have used the excuse when I forget a task that with all that's going on in the business world today that I "don't have enough available RAM (random access memory for those technically challenged.)" There are so many things that seem to be front and center in the ongoing activity of consulting and writing and thinking (oh my) that something is bound to slip through.
One of the things that is consistently tossed around in the incentive and performance improvement industry is the fact that the "new kids" that make up the participant base don't get it. I'm hearing that the programs being run don't work on them - they want instant, they want choice, they want freedom. What's wrong with an online catalog? Why do they need real-time standings updates - and on their phone?! How can we communicate with them if they spam block my program emails?
Sometimes I just love being a blogger. I love the fact that I can connect with someone I wouldn't normally connect with and see that that what I've been communicating has resonated with an audience member. 
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