Why Motivational Speaking Does Not Improve Culture
About Case Study Authors
Ibex Tactics LLC, was founded by Alex Bolowich & Ben Foodman. Before starting the company, Alex and Ben were working with athletes on an individual basis, helping them improve their mental performance using sport psychology-based interventions. While both professionals had incredible success working with some of the world’s most elite athletes, a significant portion of the time they were unable to help some of their clients due to the poor cultures these athletes were immersed in. As a result, Alex and Ben created Ibex Tactics LLC, which dedicated towards providing science-driven solutions to helping teams build resilient cultures.
Introduction: What Organizations Get Wrong About Motivational Speaking
Oftentimes, teams in sports and in the private sector want to find ways to spark motivation amongst their members. Understandably, one of the first resources these teams look into are motivational speaking professionals. What many people may not know is that their speaking fees can range anywhere from $10,000 to even larger fees for just one hour. While there are certainly some people who may benefit in the short-term from hearing a motivational speech, there is oftentimes very little long-term impact in terms of improving organizational culture.
The leaders within organizations that make the decision to go this route have good intentions, but the strategy is misplaced. One of our former clients had an experience with this and was able to provide us with feedback contrasting the difference between the outcomes of having a motivational speaker compared to using Tier 3 services. For this issue of Ibex Tactics case studies, we wanted to review why motivational speaking does not improve culture and why services like Ibex Tactics have better long-term outcomes in terms of impacting culture.
Part I. Small Midwest Bank Staff & Poor Motivational Climate
When Tom reached out to us, he was the manager of a small Midwest bank. The bank was in the early stages of growth and had just opened up their 3rd location in the region. Tom was close friends with the top ownership and was brought on primarily to help manage, recruit and retain high quality talent at the new branch. This was a pivotal moment for the entire bank, because if they could develop a successful 3rd location, this would bring in more investors and opportunity for growth. Tom was well known both in the local community and the industry as a leader with high integrity and had talent for making friends with just about anybody the first time he met them. In the early stages of the 3rd branch’s opening, things were going smoothly. The new employees seemed upbeat, and all critical responsibilities were being completed in a timely manner. But after about 6 months, Tom noticed an “energy-shift” throughout the location.
It first started with many of the new talent acquisitions taking different jobs at competing bank locations. To make matters worse, Tom found out that some of the former employees had even taken pay cuts at their new job. This was confusing because as far as Tom was concerned, everyone seemed happy at the branch. Tom also started to notice delays in responsibilities and project being completed. Tom had experienced this once before, and felt like the employees “needed a spark” to increase their productivity at work. The last time Tom went through something like this, the managers brought in a motivational speaker that seemed to boost employee productivity after the event. After speaking with some of his colleagues, Tom brough in a mental performance coach who used to work with MLB players and provided motivational speaking events. Tom got approval from his superiors to pay for the event, and ended up spending close to $10,000 for a two hour “workshop”.
Part II. The Results Of Motivational Speaking
After the conclusion of the motivational speech, Tom spoke with his staff to get their feedback from the experience. Tom was initially encouraged by the positive feedback he received from everyone, and was optimistic that he would see an increase in energy over the next few weeks just like last time he had been a part of a similar situation. But several weeks after the speech, Tom didn’t notice any changes and started to feel the pressure of not meeting the performance standards that the branch needed in order to make the higher-ups satisfied with Tom’s leadership. Tom needed to make a turnaround fast but knew that he was not equipped with the right tools to make the necessary changes it would take to get his staff motivated. That is when he connected with us to see if we could help turn his situation around.
After reviewing Tom’s situation, we determined that Tier 3 services would best match his needs. It was clear to all of us that Tom did not have a strategy around creating a clearly identifiable culture, nor enforcing a culture for the long-term. Tom realized that these were actually the underlying problems, and that lack of motivation was the manifestation of those issues. Tier 3 services were nowhere near the investment cost of the motivational speaker and Tom would actually have tools that he could use in the long-term to help maintain the culture he was trying to develop. We coordinated several times to meet with Tom and several of the other managers at the Bank to start teaching them the science behind culture, introducing them to the Tier 3 Pillars of culture, and provide them with introductory tools that they could start to practice with to create and enforce their bank’s culture code.
Part III. Why Tier 3 Services Are Smart Long-Term Investments Compared To Motivational Speeches
After we finished training Tom and his managers on what culture is and the introductory strategies to create and enforce culture, Tom and his staff got to work using the Tier 3 tools and lessons. Tom first began by scheduling regular meetings with upper-level staff to conceptualize what type of culture they wanted to have at their branch by using the Tier 3 pillars of culture that we reviewed with him. After they developed a plan that they were all in alignment on, they then decided to implement regular “check-in” sessions to use the Tier 3 enforcement tools to strengthen and maintain their alignment. Tom also set goals that both he and the managers would review on a monthly basis as a way to track if they were making progress. After just several weeks of implementing the Tier 3 strategies, we had scheduled a follow up call with Tom to see what his thoughts were on our services.
Tom opened up the meeting with the following statement, “I am filled with regret…regret that we spend all of that money on the motivational speaker when we should have implemented a plan like the one you gave us. There really was no plan with the motivational speaker, just hope”. We quickly reminded Tom that part of running a successful business is that we all make mistakes, and the previous investment in a motivational speaker is what brought him to us. Tom agreed and acknowledged that in order to build and maintain culture, like anything else if you are outside of your scope of practice, you need to bring experts in. Tom’s greatest strength was exhibiting humility and asking for help which will serve him well in the long-term. Many leaders make the mistake of thinking that they can never say “I do not know”, when the reality is that acknowledging this brings you closer to your real solution.
Part IV. The “Before & After” Of Tier 3 Services
Initially when Tom came to see us, he was seeing an unusual amount of turnover in his branch and low levels of productivity from staff. He tried to offset the negative momentum his branch was experiencing by bringing in a “motivational speaker” to rally his staff to increase their work effort and find an alternative method to discourage leaving for other positions at different branches. Interestingly, Tom noted that while they still experienced departures from some staff members, they were replaced with employees who more closely fit in with their branch’s culture and were more productive.
Tom was intrigued with Tier 2 and 1 services, but felt comfortable with the current system they had in place. Tom is a great example of a client who’s needs fit perfectly into an exclusive Tier 3 package. Tier 3 matched the financial and time investment that he and his staff were willing to partake in. For prospective clients who are curious if Tier 3 is the right match for your organization, we encourage you to submit the contact form below and schedule a free consultation session to see how Ibex Tactics can help you accomplish your goals of macro-level success!
NOTE TO READER:
Alex and Ben wanted to compile their expertise in the Ibex Tactics Case Studies to help teams in the sports and corporate sector better understand how many of the issues they are dealing with are more often than not related to culture. Most teams recognize that culture is an important component of their success, but do not always have the resources or expertise to analyze the complexity of culture. If you are interested in learning more about the services that Ibex Tactics offers to help with culture development, use the contact form below and sign up with your email to receive updates on new services and case studies!
Start your application today!
Are you looking for a way to enhance your organization’s performance outcomes? Are you curious to learn more strategies that can enhance your team culture? Use the form below to begin the application process to start the process of getting on our client list!
ARE YOU A PART OF THE HERD?!
Make sure you stay up to date on new case studies, services and relevant updates about Ibex Tactics! Don’t wait! Sign up below!
CHECK OUT THE PREVIOUS IBEX TACTICS CASE STUDIES!
