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work seems appealing, or who seem to enjoy what
they do, and then ask them about it, visit their work-
place and read up about it.
 Look through  job wanted advertisements in local
papers and cut out three different types: those that
look or feel interesting, those that seem appalling and
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Unfulfilled people  % 179
those that they are not sure about. Then be curious
about what the advertisements in each of these three
piles have in common: this will inform them about
what in principle at a macro level interests them,
appals them or intrigues them a little.
 Get a friend or friends to help with each of these
tasks: it s much nicer and much more productive for
them to be able to talk through their thoughts and
have someone else ask them (non-judgemental) ques-
tions for them to consider.
 Be aware that this is likely to be a lengthy, step-by-
step process, and that that is just normal.
But it s too late to get it
When someone knows what they really want (eg to be a
champion sprinter), they might naturally feel disappointed
(eg at age 80) that this seems unachievable. So, let s dig below
the surface to find and then satisfy the WIIFM (What s In It
For Me?).
You could do this by asking them, say,  So, what would that
do for you, being a champion sprinter? and  if they are given
time to ponder, and think what else it would do for them  the
real reasons will emerge. For example, they may never have felt
they could win something. Or they ve always loved the feeling
of speed.
So now you can explore other hows to achieve the feeling of
winning (maybe you could explore different types of computer
games?, card games?, arm wrestling?) or the feeling of speed
(how about medically suitable and age-appropriate cycling,
roller coasters or speedboats?).
Another example might be someone who had always wanted
to be a medical doctor but who now feels it s too late to spend
several years studying. You could again ask them, for example,
 So, what would being a doctor have done for you? What
would that have given you? and  again if they are given time
to ponder, and think what else it would do for them  the real
reasons will emerge. For example:  I had a sick brother/sister
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180  % How people tick
and always wanted to help sick people might lead to working
in a doctor s office, or hospital, or hospice, and/or as a volun-
teer attached to one of these places, without their needing to
restrict themselves to the first job they had thought of.
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46
Unmotivated
people
who may Do the Minimum, Need Telling Every
Single Thing to Do, and also be Clock-watchers,
Demotivated, Disengaged, Uninterested, Incurious,
Lethargic, Reluctant, Slow, Timeservers,
Uninvolvable or Unwilling
What ticks us off
It s really hard to get some people interested in work. And
getting them interested is a necessary step towards getting them
motivated to work  which, in turn, is necessary to get them
engaged with their work. In desperation we may snap  Don t
you care about this?! , to which the neutral but honest response
will be  No. Not really.
Irritatingly, they may well be motivated by something or
someone else outside work, but at the end of the day it s down
to us to make the motivation happen in the workplace.
And yes, we might be able to stimulate a spark occasion-
ally, but it can seem to be up to us to keep their fire going,
whereas truly motivated people are able to keep it going by
themselves.
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182  % How people tick
How it can happen
Incuriosity
Some people lack curiosity about themselves. (It was said that
President Ronald Reagan lacked introspection because he was
incurious about himself.) Some people lack curiosity about
people around them, situations they are in, or indeed about life
in general. And, not surprisingly, some people lack curiosity
about their work, or the outcome of their work, or the use to
which their work may be put. Maybe they have been told, at
some time, to keep themselves to themselves ( Curiosity killed
the cat! , they may have been warned).
Perhaps they had expressed an interest in the past but had
had their spark extinguished by, for example,  Just get on with
your work and leave the thinking to me or  Don t go getting
ideas above your station.
Maybe there are too many other things going on in their life,
and since they are just keeping their head above water, taking
on one more thing might just be too much for them.
In a nutshell, no matter what the reasons are, they may just
feel  safer keeping themselves to themselves, holding their
tongue, keeping their head below the parapet, not playing with
fire, and following the many other pieces of  good advice that
they might have been given (and which may have been highly
appropriate in a specific situation, but have been generalized
out of all recognition).
' TI P
Tip for handling incurious people
How on earth can we make it safe for people to get motivated?
And to develop an inquiring mind, a hunger for learning, and
their own agenda? Simply telling people that we want them to
chuck away the habits of a lifetime, throw caution to the wind
and risk opening their mind again might be far too risky an
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Unmotivated people  % 183
idea for them. They might think we re deliberately setting them
up only to knock them down again. They may fear that they ll
be blamed.
Do as I do
The very best approach, as in most things, is not to tell them
what to do but to show them, as a role model. In a team, you
can ask open questions such as  So, what on earth do we think
might be going on here? and ensure that every possibility is
valued, not rubbished or yes-butted. And it s essential not to
force them to give opinions if they don t have any or don t yet
feel safe to voice them. Let them gradually take away from the
meetings the realization that you are genuinely not operating a
 blame culture that could catch them out. Picking on the quiet
people in a meeting is often recommended to ensure that
everyone has their say, but in my experience it can frighten
them further back into their shell and remind them why it s not [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]