Welcome to Merge's Monthly Mega Minute - a bite-sized, yet substantial and practical, nugget of information that you can use immediately to enhance your professional and personal success.

One size doesn’t fit all

Before Mary Kay Ash founded Mary Kay Cosmetics in the early sixties, she worked as a salesperson for Stanley Home Products, and she recalls that she won a prize in an internal sales contest. While she appreciated the recognition, she was not entirely thrilled with her prize. “It was a flounder light. Something you’re supposed to pin on your hip boots when you fish at night!” She remembers, “I was devastated. What a terrible thing to give any woman. You can tell it was a man who was awarding those prizes.”

While this faux pas may have occurred over sixty years ago (and it is likely that some women appreciate fishing gear), its message is still timely to leaders and managers. Basic motivational theory says that employees do what they see is rewarded, and what motivates one employee may not necessarily be a motivator for the next.  Successful leaders and managers know there is no such thing as “one size fits all” when it comes to recognizing, rewarding and motivating employees. It is critical to understand employees individually, and to tailor the reward to fit the employee. In Mary Kay’s case, not only was the flounder light not a motivator, it actually became a de-motivator!

Take the time to understand what drives each of your employees (and in some cases, your coworkers). Some people thrive on public recognition, others value private acknowledgement. If you are going to offer a token of your appreciation, don’t give tickets for a baseball game to someone who would prefer to attend the opera. Yet others see greater responsibility as reward, while some value an afternoon off to run errands. Remember, tailor your rewards to fit your employees.

So how are you adapting your approach when it comes to motivating your employees? Perhaps more importantly, what are you doing to ensure that you understand your employees’ goals, hopes and aspirations? I’d love to hear more about your experiences. Please share your thoughts by adding your comment directly on the blog at www.turningmanagersintoleaders.com/blog.

Team building tools for leaders – a new video tip series for 2024

Every year, Merge creates a new set of video tips on a topic that is near and dear to leaders’ hearts and minds. Each tip is designed to be short, actionable, and highly relevant. Last year, Merge gave you 18 strategies on how to create a compassionate workplace. This year, her focus will be on team building tools. The kick-off video will launch next week (January 17) on the blog, so be sure to visit then. If you have any specific questions or issues, let us know, because Merge will likely cover it in a future episode.

Turning Managers Into Leaders

• Video: Compassionate leaders recognize the signs of employee burnout. Here are the most common symptoms of employee burnout, and what you (as a leader) should do if one of your staff is at that point
  

That Merge is celebrating her 10^th anniversary as a columnist for The Globe this month?

Yup, that’s right, ten years!! Since January 2014, Merge has been a regular columnist for The Globe and Mail's Report on Business section, penning articles on a wide variety of leadership topics, all under the umbrella of Leadership Matters. Her first column – How to be the boss when your co-workers are your friends – ran on January 23, 2014, and later this month, her 84th column will go live on The Globe’s website!  Sneak preview: It’s titled 10 Key Indicators of Professional Potential that Point to the Leaders of Tomorrow, and in it, Merge lays out how to recognize and nurture talent on your team. Don’t worry, we’ll let you know when it goes live!

You can peruse all her past columns in the Article Archives at our website. They are sorted into categories for easy searching.