Dave knew that when he told me I couldn’t do something, I’d work even harder to prove that I could do it.  He was a great supervisor.  It was easy for him to motivate me because we were cut from the same cloth.  That was lucky for Dave, it worked.  Most new leaders fall into the trap of making the same critical assumption errors as Dave.  Sometimes it works, sometimes not.  What are the assumption errors?

• We assume people like what we like (motivation, rewards, etc).

• We assume people know what we know.

• We assume people know how well they are doing.

How do we combat making these critical assumption errors?  Stop, ask, and tell. 

Stop what you’re doing and take a moment to talk to your people.

Ask them what motivates them.  Ask them what says “reward” to them.  Ask them if they understand what it is they’re doing and how they fit in.

Tell them how they’re doing.  Not only what they are doing well but also what they can improve upon.

It is easy to motivate when your team is just like you, however, that’s rarely the case in today’s increasingly diverse workplace.  Stopping, asking, and telling will help you leverage the best asset you have….your people.