How to turn your managerial blindspots into strengths
When I took the Attuned Motivation Assessment for the first time, I wasn’t that surprised.
I’ve written about my high Competition needs previously, and I would have expected Social Relationships and Altruism to be key Motivators for me as well. I could also have guessed my bottom two, Security and Status, without too much trouble. In all the times I’ve retaken the assessment, these haven’t really changed.
So nothing too surprising there.
When I saw the main Motivators across the company though, I was blown away.
Financial Needs number one? Status number two?
That was eye-opening. I realized immediately that my view of our culture was somewhat biased based on my own Motivators. And while important factors for me like Competition and Altruism are also important and widely shared among my colleagues, there’s no doubt I was completely blind to a few others.
In and of itself, this isn’t really a problem. You can’t expect (and wouldn’t want) an organization where everyone has the same top Motivators. But, as a leader, manager, or influential team member, if my default thinking was completely missing key ideas or areas that were important to the majority of the team—well, eventually that’s going to create friction.
In recent blogs, we’ve shared ideas on how to improve communication with colleagues and how to create psychological safety in 1-on-1s, but let’s zoom out for a moment and look at how you can recognize and overcome your own blindspots. As examples, I’m using the four Motivators most likely to cause conflict: Rationality, Security, Autonomy and Feedback. Keep in mind: there are no good or bad motivators, so having a low/neutral motivator doesn’t mean that you aren’t good at tasks that require that trait.
Motivators that typically create conflict
Rationality
This is one of the areas in which it’s super important to remember that “low” doesn’t equate to “a lack thereof”. I have low Rationality, but I think the majority of the people I work with would argue pretty strongly that I approach problems in a very rational way.
There are a couple ways to interpret low Rationality. One is that, if we’re used to being in a high-Rationality environment, it might not display strongly as a need. Another is that we’re comfortable creating order from chaos. Whatever the underlying reason, it’s easy to acknowledge that most decisions in business should be based on a high degree of rationality, as opposed to emotion.
For high-Rationality managers with lower-Rationality teams:
Resist the urge to over-explain. While you might feel the need to walk people through your rationale on the way to a decision, it’s best to keep it simple and straightforward.
Build a culture of Rationality to get people comfortable making decisions based on discussion, debate, and data.
Don’t dominate discussions and leave room for other people to speak as it may take them time to work through their thoughts.
For low-Rationality managers with higher-Rationality teams:
Explain more than you think you need to; chances are your team wants to know how you thought through a decision.
During discussions, ask “why” more often. This lets others explain their thought process and gives you time to work through their ideas.
Use your team’s high need for Rationality as an advantage and delegate complicated projects that you yourself might not enjoy working through.
Security
Security can loosely be defined as having set rules or processes to follow. Before a trip, do you plan out activities and know exactly what you’ll be doing each day? Security is probably a need-to-have for you. At work, you’re likely most comfortable working within clear boundaries, with clear goals that lead to expected outcomes.
Then there are people like me, making it up as I go along and probably driving you nuts. And I’m likely frustrated with your lack of flexibility. That’s going to be demotivating for both sides.
The truth is, both styles are acceptable in the right situation. If I’m your company’s accountant, you probably don’t want me playing fast and loose with the rules. On the other hand, if we’re working on a new project without a clear outcome, seeing where things take us might be fine.
As a leader, you have to first understand how your high or low need for Security affects your decision-making and the people in your team.
For high-Security leaders with lower-Security teams:
Put minimal guardrails in place to keep things on track, but don’t over-administrate if possible.
Encourage team members to suggest process improvements, or give people a forum to discuss things that are slowing them down.
If a strict process is unavoidable, make sure the team fully understands the importance.
For low-Security leaders with higher-Security teams:
Be more specific than you are comfortable with. Remember, while you personally might not need or want that type of specific instruction, your team does.
Use the team’s Motivators to your advantage and brainstorm potential guidelines that will help the team increase performance or efficiency.
Be open and transparent about your “road less travelled” mentality and encourage the team to speak up when they are unclear on what they should be doing.
Autonomy
Similar to Security in some ways, Autonomy is the ability to make your own decisions. Giving people autonomy doesn’t mean losing control, but some people desire autonomy more than others.
To build on the previous examples, with high Autonomy you’ll want to know the rules (Security) and desired outcome, but you won’t be happy if those rules hinder your ability to work and make decisions on your own. People with high Autonomy might seem like the rebellious types, as opposed to those that always seem to go with the flow.
For high-Autonomy leaders with lower-Autonomy teams:
Don’t be afraid to direct when needed; your team won’t mind, and in fact may be uncomfortable if you leave too many decisions up to them.
Be specific about what you want or expect.
Create time and space for yourself (no-meeting days or GSD time) along with dedicated team-oriented time where you can be more hands on.
For low-Autonomy leaders with higher-Autonomy teams:
Focus on results and trust your team to find their own way there.
Be a coach during 1-on-1s, ask lots of questions, and guide rather than direct.
Think of team meetings as a chance to check in on other Motivators, rather than just discussing projects. Make sure your reporting processes are clear throughout the week, so that you don’t constantly need to check in on progress.
Feedback
Feedback might be the easiest Motivator for people to understand, but it’s also easy to miss the nuances.
For example, having a high need for Feedback doesn’t necessarily mean you appreciate criticism—constructive or not. And as a leader, there are times when you will have to give feedback, whether the person or team likes it or not. High Feedback needs can also reflect on people’s desire to give feedback, and their wanting to have a voice in the team.
For high-Feedback leaders with lower-Feedback teams:
Pick your moments and make them matter. A constant stream of feedback won’t be as meaningful as feedback that feels well-thought-out and impactful.
Ask for feedback from the team or consider implementing a 360°-style review that formalizes the feedback process.
Positive reinforcement is still needed, as aside from feedback you’ll also be appealing to other motivators like Status and Competition.
For low-Feedback leaders with higher-Feedback teams:
Leave room for feedback in every 1-on-1 and team meeting, and encourage an open exchange of ideas.
Say yes more often than no and make sure people feel their feedback is heard.
Listen, think, speak. In that order, all the time. This is just great advice generally, but when it comes to feedback it’s important that you are giving your full attention and not dismissing it before you’ve given it appropriate thought.
Shine a light on your blindspots
Attuned has changed the game by making blindspots visible for managers at a glance. And once you recognize the problem, you can start to address it. While I’ve provided a few of the most common issues and solutions, there are doubtless countless more that are unique to your organization. For me personally, I’ve had to improve my communication around Status and Financial needs. It’s forever a work in progress as those things just aren’t part of my default setting, but I’m learning to adapt my thinking to keep them top of mind. So while we can’t (and wouldn’t want to) change who we are, we certainly all have the ability to improve our leadership and communication.
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