Nov 11

Don’t Pay Too Much Attention to Donald Trump

I have to admit, I have become an Apprentice viewer. I enjoy talking about it with folks at the local coffee shop. But, more than that - I like watching to see how much management wisdom is being employed by the hopeful apprentices, and by Donald and his team. The more I watch, the more I see a pretty simple approach - and I don’t mean in a good way. Of course, the great disclaimer here is, who knows what really happens during the actual tasks. The program is designed to entertain us, first, and inform us, second…or third. Hence, I can only comment on what is shown.

First, the apprentices themselves are a pretty unsophisticated bunch of professionals. They are a bunch, a group - they are far from a team. They are aggressive, back-stabbing, gossipy men and women I would not trust as far as I could throw them. I certainly would not put up with their adolescent behavior in my company. An assemblage of insecure, type-A personalities may make for good television (not really), but it makes for a narrow study in workplace performance.

Then there is Donald. (There is too much to cover in a short blog entry. But, don’t worry; there will probably be many more observations in these pages in the future.) I think we need to make a distinction between what makes a financially successful businessman, and (questionably) good television, from that which makes a highly skilled executive.

The Wiser Response
What am I leading up to? Last night, Donald asked one of the apprentices, “Why didn’t you motivate them? Why couldn’t you motivate your team to accomplish the task?” The apprentice, of course, gargled the marbles in his mouth trying to think of something to say. He went on to describe his teammate’s lousy contribution. Of course he did. This would not be The Apprentice if he didn’t.

But, here’s where he missed an opportunity. He should have sat quietly for a few seconds, reflected and said, “I doubt someone who is not intrinsically, internally inspired - or if you prefer - driven - to perform at the high levels you require can be motivated by someone else. They have to bring the motivation with them. Certainly I would not want to have to motivate everyone on my team. That would make me their daddy. And, I wonder if it’s not impossible, anyway. I want them to be self-motivated. Don’t you, too, Donald?”

I don’t for a second think this would have resulted in a silent, contemplative Donald Trump. He would surely go for being more right than his lowly apprentice. But, in my fantasy scenario, Donald’s apprentice would have been the bigger part of correct. One should not expect managers to motivate their teammates; the teammates must bring their own motivation.

True Motivation is Internal
Enduring motivation is not done to us, it wells up from within us - or not, of course. To expect a manager to “motivate” the men and women reporting to him is to ask him to do the impossible. A smart manager learns what naturally motivates a person and appeals to that. If doing quality work is not one of those motivations, she is in trouble.

The kind of motivation that results in sustained high performance is internal, in spite of what Donald, and too many managers in companies all over the country, think.

For a book-length, easy-to-understand exploration of motivation, pick up, Why We Do What We Do. It is sure to completely alter your understanding of motivation - at work, at home and inside yourself…if you are motivated to lead more wisely than before, that is. Hopefully, it alters your approaches to motivating yourself - and others. Of course, you can always call me, too!

Summary
Watch Donald Trump as a TV performer and not so much a good leader.

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