Effort Isn’t a Motivation Problem

Every month at least one broker-owner tells me, “I have people who just won’t do the work.”

Sometimes it’s an agent. Sometimes it’s someone on staff. Either way, the diagnosis is the same: they aren’t motivated.

Angela Duckworth, the Penn professor who wrote Grit, offered a better diagnosis. Full effort depends on four thoughts:

My work is interesting.
This matters.
I can do this.
I know what to try next.

Miss even one and effort drops. Not because people are lazy, but because something specific is missing.

You lead two very different groups, though. The test works for both. Your role doesn’t.

With staff, you build the job

Your TCs, office manager, marketing lead, and front desk work for you. You set the tasks and the priorities, so most of the four thoughts are yours to supply.

Interesting. Forty files a month will numb anyone. Ask your TC to redesign the one step that frustrates her most. Ownership is interesting.

Important. Staff rarely see the closing table. Bring it to them: “Your catch on that file saved a first-time buyer’s deal.”

I can do this. Train before you delegate. Nobody feels capable in a system they learned by watching someone else click.

What to try next. When every answer is “ask the boss,” people stop trying. Give them a lane and the authority to decide inside it.

With agents, you build the environment

Independent contractors are different. You don’t control how, when, or where they work, and you shouldn’t. You can’t assign the four thoughts. You can only create the conditions for them.

Interesting. Agents burn out on the grind, not the business. Help them find the niche they’d work for free, and build their plan around it.

Important. Tie the work to their why, not your production report. A goal they wrote beats a goal you handed them.

I can do this. Belief comes from reps. Role-play the listing presentation. Sit in on the first appointment. One small win does more than ten pep talks.

What to try next. This is where most agents stall. They know they’re behind. They don’t know the next step. Every coaching conversation should end with one action, not a list.

The honest part

Of the four, “what to try next” is the one leaders supply least, and it’s the easiest to fix. It costs one question and five minutes. In the 8 D’s of Agent Movement, that’s Development in its simplest form.

Try This

Score your staff. List each person, mark the thought you think is missing, then ask them. You’ll be wrong more often than you expect.
End every agent one-on-one with one question: “What are you going to try next?” If they can’t answer, you just found your coaching agenda.
Add the four thoughts to your next stay interview.
Pick the weakest thought across your office. Work on it for 30 days.

Question

If you asked your best agent and your newest staff hire which thought is missing, would they give the same answer? Would you?

Resources

Grit by Angela Duckworth.

Motivation is a feeling. Effort is built.

Win the day.

Framework: This post is part of Action Produces Data, the coaching framework for consistent production: take the next right action, track it and let the results, not opinions, guide what you do next.