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CYCLISTS What can

MOTIVATE YOUR PEOPLE? teach you about how to


Strange question!

What do these people know about business?


1. They are probably in work. The majority are middle-aged men.

They come from all works of life and include CEO’s as well as hourly workers.


2. They know a lot about motivation. Cycling is one of the toughest sports there is.

You don’t race up mountains if you don’t want to do it.

Photo: Karin Schermbrucker

So what?

I don’t see what all the fuss is about motivation.

My people show up to work and get a bonus when they work well.

What’s the problem?

Well, you may be one of the few doing a great job.

The statistics are not pretty.

All the big HR consultancies regularly measure engagement (their word for motivation).

Here’s what Towers Watson found:

65%

35%

% of employees "highly engaged"

32,000 respondants Global Workforce Study, 2012

% of employees "unsupported", "detached", or "disengaged"

and here are Gallup’s findings:

47,000 respondants The State of the Global Workplace , 2010

% of employees "highly engaged"

89%

11%

% of employees "not engaged" or "actively disengaged"

Who cares if my people are “highly engaged” or not, so long as they show up and do a decent job?

You should.

Take a look at the difference in performance between companies with highly engaged workforces and those without.

Here is what AON Hewitt found in terms of total shareholder return*:

0%

-10%

-30%

-20%

10%

20%

-28%

22% High engagement (top quartile)

Low engagement (bottom quartile)

*expressed in % with respect to the average (2900 organizations)

Trends in Global Employee Engagement,2011

Productivity

Profitability

Quality

Absenteeism

Here’s what Gallup found in terms of the impact of superior engagement:

Meta-analysis (199 studies) The State of the Global Workplace, 2010

When engagement increases:

Gallup again: Financial Impact

The State of the Global Workplace, 2010

Earnings per share (EPS) of the top 10% for engagement:

> 4 x competition EPS

Engagement =

Motivation =

Performance

?

That might be a step too far…

HOWEVER

Are you going to bet against it?

If motivation = discretionary effort, don’t you want to get as much of this

as you can?

I thought this was supposed to be about cyclists?

OK.

So what do the cyclists have to tell us?

The research:

604 replies

45 000 words

91% M, 9% F

Average age 43

6500 km/4000 miles p.a.

These people are passionate!

Let’s do the math…

6,500 kms (4000 miles) per year

=

450 kms (330 miles) per month

In reality, weather conditions etc. mean an average of

1000 kms (625 miles)

per month through the summer

Or,

20 hours per week


We are not talking about riding to the cornershop!

Photo: Marvin Faure

People come from all over the world to test themselves on the mythical cols of the Tour de France

Col de la Madeleine – 1993 m (6538 ft)

www.climbbybike.com

"I rode from Grenoble to Cluses, alone, going over the cols du Glandon, de la Madeleine and des Saisies : 240 kms of high mountain passes. The next day I went up to the Flaine ski-station then the following day I returned to Grenoble by the same route : a total of 540 kms, 28h on the bike, in 3 days."

- A participant

? Where does this extraordinary

motivation come from?

There is no one single reason to ride a bike, but many different reasons.


From a list of 30 possible motivations, here are the top 6

#1

I just love riding my bike

94%

Source: Marvin Faure (The Motivation of Amateur Cyclists (2011))

#2

In order to stay physically fit, for my health, I feel really

good afterwards

93%


#3

A personal challenge, to push myself to the

limit, to prove something to myself

90%


#4

Time out for myself, away from day-to-

day stress

80%


#5

Camaraderie

66%

Source: Marvin Faure (The Motivation of Amateur Cyclists (2011)) Photo: DSO

#6

I am highly competitive and love the racing

57%


Let’s take a look at the list all together.

What strikes you about this list?


In order to stay physically fit, for my health, I feel really good afterwards

A personal challenge, to push myself to the limit, to prove something to myself

Time out for myself, away from day-to-day stress

Camaraderie



What is the source of these various motivations,

internal or external?


In order to stay physically fit, for my health, I feel really good afterwards

A personal challenge, to push myself to the limit, to prove something to myself

Time out for myself, away from day-to-day stress

Camaraderie


Internal

motivations

External motivation


You mean they put themselves through all this punishment for their own, internal reasons?


Yes sir. The racing is secondary: all but 2 or 3 have no chance of winning.


They do it for sheer fun and pleasure, because they want to stay fit and healthy, for the challenge of pushing their limits, to take time out and to be with friends.

Photo: Matthew Alexander

OK. I still don’t get what this has to do with motivation at work.

We’re getting there. We also asked the cyclists:

"What lessons can you draw from cycling for your professional life?"

“Determination , commitment, pushing yourself to the limit, finding new challenges”

“If you are determined, you can go way beyond what you think your current boundaries are”

“If you don't believe you can do it, you can't. Yet if you do, then anything is possible.”

“I can achieve anything I desire if I am willing to dedicate the time and effort.”

“Never give up!”

Photo: Matthew Alexander

OK. So now we’ve established these guys are super motivated to go cycling, and they have demonstrated some useful skills – tenacity, determination, perseverance… So how many of them are actually motivated at work?

49.5%

Are you kidding?

Half these guys are super-motivated cyclists, but as soon as they get to work their motivation disappears?

YES!

WHY?

To answer that, let me tell you a short story…

F ar away and long ago, somewhere

in the heart of Europe, a young lad

wandered around a building site in

the center of the town.

He saw three men that were

working with stone and went to ask

them what they were doing.

The first mason said:

"I’m dressing this

piece of stone. It’s my

job."

Photo: Trevor Newman

The second mason said:

"I’m the best stone

mason here. Look how

much work I have done."

He pointed to a large pile

of dressed stone.

Photo: Steven J. Lilley

The third mason said:

"I am building a

cathedral"

His eyes sparkling, he

pointed in the air to

where the great building

would stand, decades in

the future.

Photo: Marvin Faure

Very nice. Can you frame that for me so I can see how to use it?

Yes.

This, according to our cyclists, is what was missing for them to be as motivated at work as they are on their bikes:

Sufficient autonomy 54%

The possibility to learn and develop 57%

A sense of meaning, a higher purpose 60%

Source: Marvin Faure (Enquête sur la motivation des cyclistes amateurs)

These are the same three pillars of intrinsic motivation identified by Daniel Pink in the NY Times bestseller “Drive”:

1. AUTONOMY

Sufficient autonomy

2. MASTERY

The possibility to learn and develop

3. PURPOSE

A sense of meaning, a higher purpose

Source: Pink, D.H. (2011) DRIVE – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

According to Pink:

“The science shows that the secret to high performance […] (is) our deep-seated desire to direct our own lives, to extend and expand our abilities, and to live a life of purpose”


In many companies, the principle motivational tool is a bonus tied to the achievement of individual objectives.

This not only misses the point in terms of intrinsic motivation, it is often counter-productive.

This surprising statement is underpinned by numerous scientific studies, including our cyclists.


So what do you suggest I do?

Creating the conditions where people can be highly motivated at work involves five considerations:

First,

1. Hire the right people

2. Pay them well


Then,

3. Give them space (autonomy) Don’t micro-manage!

4. Help them become experts Focus, time, training

5. Ensure they find a higher purpose There must be a meaning beyond materialism


The only thing left to do: Hire some cyclists and get to work!

Photo: DSO


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Photo credits (unless otherwise stated): The Alpine Challenge 2011 by HotChillee, photography by Matt Alexander & Karin Schermbruker