I was recently invited to do a podcast with Jerry Kennedy and Brad Trnavsky on a Sales2.0 blog. It was a fun discussion. We hit on a number of topics, including and old college story, I haven’t told in awhile. It made me laugh to revisit.

Motivating employees is the single most important thing we can do as leaders. Despite our own ego and what it tells us, we really don’t do much of anything. We get others to do it and this is no small feat.

In today’s NY Times there is an interesting article on Nancy Everett head of GM’s pension fund. I liked this quote about her:

“There is no such thing as an investment guru,” Ms. Handy said. “Your talent is in organizing the team so that they make the right decisions. Nancy is good at attracting talented people and retaining them and letting them make the right decisions.”

What makes this quote so poignant is it recognizes the key component to motivating people is empowering them with the autonomy to do their job.

During tough times companies tend to do just the opposite. They exert more control and give employees less ownership. This doesn’t serve anyone well.

Enjoy the podcast. I had fun doing it.