Motivation is an inside job and so is Accountability

Wouldn’t it be great if all team members were inspired to achieve? That you knew you could count on each to do what they say they are going to do?  The workplace might feel a bit different, maybe a lot different.

Let’s take it out of the workplace for an example. Just last weekend a neighbor asked Audrey, my recently driving 16 year old, if she was up to a challenge.  He would give her a crisp $100 bill if she didn’t get a ticket in her first year behind the wheel. But, she would have to give him $100 if she got a ticket.  Her comment, ”What, you want me to be personally accountable?” That’s exactly what she said and she’s still thinking about the offer!

Well, yes I do want her to be personally accountable for the responsibilities that go along with safe driving. It’s appearing that the $100 isn’t motivation for her to commit. No surprise.

It’s from the outside and for motivation to be effective is must be from within.  Only Audrey can do that for herself.

This is what too often happens in the workplace. You know team members know what to do, they tell you they are going to do it, they might even have the best of intentions to try and do it…. and ‘it’ doesn’t happen.  Something was lacking, including the motivation.

Taking personal accountability to achieve desired results seems simple, yet so much can get in the way.

It usually stems from lack.  First there is a lack of understanding that accountability can be positive.  Second there is too often: lack of information, lack of clarity, or lack of understanding.  Third, there’s a lack of feedback and celebration.  Removing all these accountability road blocks opens the door for motivation and accountability to spring forth.

Yet, motivational accountability doesn’t happen in a vacuum.  There are external workplace variables and internal aspects that are both important. The good news is that there is a process to set yourself up for success.

Doing your best. Feeling good about what you do. Knowing you do what you say you are going to do.  Others knowing they can count on you, too. This just feels good no matter your age or focus. You, your team and your organization all massively benefit.

As for Audrey and that $100 challenge.  I think she’s good for it.  She has a track record of doing her best and feeling good about herself when she does.

Too often accountability suffers due to a lack of knowledge – team members don’t know how or what direction to take. The work place can feel like a maze in the unknown with people wondering aimlessly and guessing at what to do.

Let’s change that.

I’ve found that people like to do a good job, like to grow and like to develop their abilities to be the best they can. As Daniel Pink tells us in his book ‘Drive’, people are motivated in a work environment that offers autonomy, mastery and a bigger purpose. A culture of accountability supports this.

Here’s why. Accountability is all about setting people up for success in advance. It’s letting them know what’s expected, that there are resources, support is available along the way and there’s appreciation for a job well done.

There’s a simple 4-step process that when followed provides the clarity and infrastructure for everyone to thrive. With clarity of direction the internal motivation to excel is more than possible, it’s probable. Motivation is an inside job.  This cycle becomes self sustaining with consistent reinforcement.

The 4-Steps to Accountability include:

1.  Sharing the Big Picture – the overall company focus and specific goals. This way everyone knows, ‘how what I do every day ties into the results that must be achieved.’

2.  Setting Expectations – providing clear individual expectations and involvement encourages engagement.

3.  Monitoring Progress – manager monitoring and monitoring ones self provides opportunities to reinforce actions.

4. Providing Feedback – good performance = praise feedback, poor performance = corrective feedback.  Feedback drives performance.

Whether positive or corrective, feedback let’s people know how to shine and get that well deserved, motivational acknowledgment.

Accountability is also an inside job. It’s a personal choice to rise above circumstances and own achieving desired results. When team members are accountable to deliver results no matter the challenges or obstacles, and know they’ve done their best…. there is indeed a feeling of satisfaction from the inside out. Being accountable is motivational and the business results are quantifiable. This is the desired cycle in all business!

People today will tell you they have:  too much to do, too little time, too few resources.  Accountability to themselves and the team often takes a back seat as a priority.  Why?  There‘s lack.  Lack of understanding, involvement and feedback.  Lack of people doing what they say they are going to do.  So accountability gets a bad rap.  It’s not an extra activity, it’s doing things right.

Accountability thrives by setting people up for success in advance.  People need to be taught how to think and act to achieve the organizational goals.  Really.

For example, let’s take getting my 16 year olds to be accountable for their weekly responsibilities. I can:

•    tell them what to do (will they hear me?)
•    bribe them (will they do it more than once?)
•    force them (will they resist?)
•    or involve them (gaining mutual agreement for desired results works!)

What’s the style most prevalent in your organization regarding accountability for results? Involvement is key.  Think about it, without clear direction and expectations people are being paid to guess.

In my recent research it’s become clear that prioritizing accountability is a real game changer for the teams and organization.  Here are 3 specific reasons why you care:

1.     makes your job easier
2.    saves time
3.    makes more money

All good!

If you and your team are facing major challenges, dealing with extreme change or striving for extraordinary results then this is the program you’ve been waiting for. It’s results-focused, confidence building and filled with breakthroughs. Norvell will impart a powerful technique for focusing on what’s most important in your professional life, taking action to obtain results and following through for ongoing effectiveness.

You’ll learn the five-step ‘Core Process’ and experience the self-reliance that is available when perceived obstacles that impact your success are recognized and removed. You’ll achieve a new level of confidence plus have the opportunity to literally and symbolically break through a challenge of your very own! This session is not only powerful…it’s fun.

The outcome – proof that you can leap beyond anything to create greater results at work. This remarkable process is guaranteed to kick-off a whole new way of thinking…in 3-seconds!

Learning Objectives:

• Proactively recognize and define what is hindering progress
• Be able to apply the five-step ‘Core Process’ with any challenge
• Develop the ability to achieve greater results by focusing on desired goal vs. perceived obstacles

What if you could immediately improve your:

This innovative, proven program provides evolutionary training for managers and leaders in your business. It’s backed by years of brain research and quantum science for a solid neuroscience thinking base. You can expect to powerfully shift your thinking during and more importantly beyond this session.

Here’s what you’ll get to do:

• Remove your ‘energy zapping’ mental blocks
• Rewire your mind with proactive thinking
• Learn and apply the 6-Step System for ongoing daily progress

You’ll look at each step of the management process starting with daily operations through aligning the team and measuring results. Each manager has the opportunity to reach a whole new level… challenged managers find new abilities, good managers become great and the great managers set new standards!

As a property management consultant, I feel so strongly about each and every one of us making requests that our Rights of Requests should really be added into the Rites of Passage into adulthood! The process of making requests is a critical skill to master to achieve your desires and goals…it’s essential to ask for what you want. Don’t expect or assume that someone knows what’s important to you.

What’s a request? Formally or politely asking or expressing a desire for something. Often times this includes asking someone to start, stop or change a behavior. Making a request is a two-way street and requires open lines of communication with another to be effective. This can take courage.

So what holds us back? Why don’t we ask for more of what we want? Bottom line, asking entails taking a risk. It can feel like you are sticking your neck out and allowing yourself to be vulnerable to what someone might think of you. Often it’s because we do not want to be so forward, show that we need assistance or, that we are afraid of getting a NO…a rejection! But, think of it this way. What are they rejecting YOU or the Request? The request…it’s not personal! What a refreshing way to lower the risk factor.

Here are some request examples:

* Are you married or know someone who is? Didn’t one of them make a request? It usually sounds like ‘will you marry me?’ What a risk this questions is. The result…well…you know that answer!

* Most likely your company sells a product or service. The fastest way to profitability…teaching everyone to make selling requests or ‘ask for the sale’. I have a client in the multifamily/apartment business. Traditionally, only the office team rents the apartments. They taught their maintenance team members ‘sales/leasing’ techniques. The result is that now rentals come from everyone instead of just a few!

* Recently some friends went to Aspen for a romantic weekend. The non-refundable hotel room that they booked on the internet was inconsistent with their expectations. They had to make a quick choice: tuff it out or make a request? They choose to make a polite request and got their money back! The result was that they were able to get a ‘last-minute’ room at the only 5-Star hotel in Aspen for about the same rate.

Making requests is as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Get clear about what you want (this is critical).

2. Make the request appropriately (politely and timely).

3. Be willing to honor the others’ answer and be prepared to discuss (there is always another perspective).

While we have the Rights of Requests, the requestee also has rights. They have the right to: Accept, Decline or Counter! But first we must have the courage to ask and engage in the conversation. Stay tuned for further details on declining and countering with effectiveness.

The way to gain confidence in asking for what you want is to practice making requests throughout the day. Make it a habit, a custom, a tradition of making requests with both big and small impact. The better you get at making requests, the better your overall happiness and business results will be. And, most often we actually help other people at the same time. Have fun with it!

This may take a conscious effort and focus on your part at first. And, your associates will most likely wonder what you are up to. Take a look at what I mean by serving up Service as a Habit:

Who are you Serving: Most likely you are serving the needs and requests of your business owner, boss, team members, customers and yourself (that’s a lot of diverse service).

What are you Serving: Certainly your product, and hopefully good feelings, happiness, smiles and some fun in doing business with you! (sure beats serving up gossip, negativity and grumpiness)

Where are you Serving: Everywhere. Practice makes perfect! Why would you ever want to be stingy anyway?

When are you Serving: Always. Whenever you are interacting with people there is an opportunity to be of service. Even when you go to Starbucks and think that they are there to serve you, the customer, you have a chance to help make their day special, too!

Why are you Serving: Because it brings you feelings of satisfaction, fulfillment and contribution. It feels good (vs. just to get a paycheck).

Ahhhhh…Service! It’s common nowadays to complain about poor service pretty much everywhere. So as the saying goes, ‘Be the Service You Wish to Receive’ (Yes, I just made that up). Being of Service is indeed a mindset and a habit that can be developed with practice. Why wait? Start today. Lead by example and form this powerful habit that really will expand your business results. Yes, business results increase by being of service to ALL those around you. Good to know!

Just as there’s a difference in being a traditional consultant and a specialized property management consultant, there’s a difference between basic customer service and amazing multifamily customer service. Contact me for more information on how to stand out from the crowd.

PS: As my daughter wrote in her insightful poem, ‘Go Beyond Love’, I believe that Going Beyond Customer Service will assist each of us in serving up love, appreciation and business results.

Let’s talk about a too often trend in property management. Cutting back or cutting out training. Yes, training seems all too dispensable when budgets get tight.

As an industry, for too long now we’ve come to accept some myths about investing in training and development. You know what they are…thoughts like: there’s no change in performance with training, it’s a waste of money, it’s a nice day off of real work, It’s not anything new…they’re going to leave anyway, Show me the results…and then I’ll invest in my team!

Let me give you undeniable, bottom-line proof. There’s hard data that training, professional development really do determine your NOI!

The Facts: An Indiana property management company with a focus on employee development from 1999-2007 (over a 9 year period) was able to realize noteworthy results throughout their 16,000 unit portfolio. Specifically, a 20% decrease in resident turnover and a striking 44% decrease in employee turnover.

Over that same period their leasing consultants were able to increase their closing ratios by 21% and decrease their cancellations by a whopping 41%. Impressive results.

In 2007, they were able to compare and document the difference of approximately $400 per unit NOI …on two identical assets. Yes… $400 per unit! At a conservative 7% cap rate that’s a difference of $1.5 million in value!

Are you curious to know what the difference was? One manager had additional professional development and her CAM…Certified Apartment Manager designation.

Now were talking proof of performance through increased profitability…by investing in team members. Training costs are so small in comparison to the NOI results that are possible. Invest in your team, invest in yourself today! Call or email me to learn how to ‘think like an owner’ to create value everywhere!

Have you ever broken a board with your bare hand? No? Most people believe they can’t do it because a wooden board appears harder and stronger than your hand.  It looks intimidating. Many don’t believe that the feat is possible and have a hard time focusing on that outcome.

Well, the board is actually a tangible analogy for whatever might be holding you back. Just like it seems impossible to break the board, it often seems impossible to overcome other challenges. We often feel that same level of apprehension when trying to effect change, when we feel stuck or at an impasse.

However, the power to break through any obstacle is within you at all times. It will be there when you are ready to trust in yourself and call on it. It takes a keen focus on what you want to achieve versus what is standing in your way. (Go back and read the previous sentence again…it’s very profound!)

Now imagine you are facing that wooden board, you take a deep breath, you raise your hand in preparation of striking, you can feel all of your energy, concentration and focus, you have nothing in your mind other than going beyond that board—going right through it like butter! And when you succeed, you feel the exuberance of success, the adrenaline rushing through your body, the thrill of victory! You did it!

And then, that quiet calm comes over you. You sense the meaning of what you achieved by doing something that only minutes ago you thought impossible. You just gained proof. Proof that you can also break through whatever challenges seem insurmountable in your life.

In a board-breaking exercise, the moment your hand connects with the wood is your touch point, your moment of truth.

If you are ready, willing and focused on going through that wood, then you will successfully break through! If however, you simply meet the wood or deliver a half-hearted attempt, you will not break through. You in effect have chosen to stop yourself, to not trust yourself at the moment when you are so close to reaching beyond what has previously seemed impossible.

When you are committed and more focused on what you want to achieve than what’s in your way, you will easily break through.

In my most recent surveys, findings indicated that the fear of failure is one of the most notable obstacles that people feel limit their success. This fear of failure shows up in many forms. It includes lack of self-confidence, holding back rather than speaking up, feeling insecure, and dealing with too much change.

Certainly our economic fluctuations are cause for challenges, many times our work and our families help us to see personal challenges, and with any new beginnings you may be anticipating challenges. Each of these concerns is like a board, an obstacle in the way of becoming who you want to become, performing how you want to perform and achieving what is desired.

Do you have any mental obstacles and challenges you are facing in your life right now? The physical process of breaking through that board with your bare hand gives you the inner trust and proof that nothing is impossible! How exciting to know that you have the personal power within you to accomplish anything you focus your mind on. You are very powerful indeed!

Warning: Do not attempt a board-breaking exercise on your own. There is more to this process than simply a piece of wood. To achieve the outcomes you want for yourself and your team plan to attend “Break To What Really Matters” on May 18, 2011. It’s one of the most powerful experiences you will have. Promise!

Terri Norvell is a break through expert and success master. She assists individuals and teams to be their best… to thrive with change, overcome obstacles and take targeted actions to achieve their goals. Participants in her sessions gain proof and confidence that they can achieve whatever they focus upon! She has a proven track record of success as vice president for a $1.2 billion property management and development firm, general manager for a $9 million temporary housing company and with many business start-ups. To learn more or to schedule a performance session for your team go to www.TerriNorvell.com or contact Terri at 303-439-0077 or terri@TerriNorvell.com.

 Bottom-line, your managers and teams are driving your business success. It’s essential that they look at it as ‘their business’ and think like a business owner thinks. It’s too often that team members get stuck in symptoms vs. defining the root cause of their challenges. Figuring this out requires a different perspective and way of thinking.

In this session your team members will determine their profit aptitude via an industry specific assessment. They’ll learn how to think about their budget (or profit plan) as a tool to plan on making a profit. And then how to achieve it. Overall, they’ll learn how to build motivation to solve challenges more creatively and expeditiously.

Emphasis is placed on bottom-line focused strategies and skill building. Specifically:

• Implementing profit opportunity thinking – everyday with everyone everywhere
• Using evidence-based management for trend interpretation
• Taking the fear out of mistakes and risk
• Using positive budget variances as motivation
• Teaching personal accountability for results with each team member

They’ll also have an opportunity to create solutions to their most pressing financial and professional development challenges. It’s results-focused learning that will ignite profitability in the entire team…like a business owner!