Hill - The inspiration code : secrets of unlocking your peoples potential

The Inspiration Code

First published in 2016 by

Panoma Press Ltd

48 St Vincent Drive, St Albans, Herts, AL1 5SJ, UK

www.panomapress.com

Book design and layout by Neil Coe.

Printed on acid-free paper from managed forests.

ISBN 978-1-784520-82-3

The right of Terry Hill to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright holder except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Applications for the copyright holders written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publishers.

This book is available online and in bookstores.

Copyright 2015 Terry Hill

Morale is low... as usual.

My people want more money and promotions but I cant give either.

I pay my staff well but most leave within two years.

I gave my star performer everything, she still left and for a lesser job!

I cannot inspire my team to step up in the face of tough competition.

We need to transform our game but the guys just dont get it.

Id love to be a transformational leader but Im not really that charismatic.

One negative member of my team is dragging everyone down.

Im confused by all the motivation theories out there. Just give me something that works.

Every so often a book comes along that you just cant put down, a book that changes the way you see the world. Terry Hill has crafted such a book with this challenging, informative and above all practical roadmap to help you navigate through the tricky field of leading both yourself and others.

Steve Clarke,
Commercial Director, Pharmaceutical Industry

The Inspiration Code is a valuable guide for leaders of teams who are looking for ways to build consistent high performance. Terry draws on his experience and expertise in this area to skilfully cover many insightful aspects of motivation in a way that is readily accessible and encourages practical application by the reader.

Graham Franklin,
former Director of Sales

This easy-to-read-in-one-sitting book will take you on a practical, thought challenging yet reassuring trek through the minefield of motivational theories to lead you to the holy grail of thank heavens for the choice of pragmatic solutions I can really get my head around and use moment!

Sandra Whitehead,
Director of Training

An accessible and informative read, with a set of easy-to-apply tools for todays busy leaders. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to understand what drives people to achieve higher performance, and how they can accomplish this.

David Bobs,
National Training Manager

A few thanks are in order for this book. I begin with my tutor Matthew Jellis at University of Worcester who supported me with the original research project that ultimately led here.

For the production I was fortunate to have not one but two amazing book coaches in Mindy Gibbins-Klein and Kate Keenan. Through their fantastic know-how and regular prodding, I actually got things done to plan, to a higher standard and on time.

I mustnt forget Barbara my dear wife for all her valued support and patience during this time.

Some of my corporate colleagues deserve a special mention, particularly Steve Clarke, Graham Franklin, J C Barland, Sandra Whitehead, David Bobs, Sandra Du Cros, Brian Green and Fiona Mack.

These guys had all the experience and expertise to help me ensure it was all readable, practical and actually helpful for all you leaders out there finding your way through the minefield that is motivation.

Thanks everyone!

Terry

Pharmaceutical Industry

For the past 30 years in progressively more senior commercial roles I have had the pleasure of working alongside many great people as both a leader and a follower and both can be equally difficult! The one thing both activities have in common, however, is the unleashing of potential when both leadership and followship combine. To my mind, leaders must obsess about one thing: the realisation of what can be and how to turn an individuals and a teams potential into reality!

Theres nothing wrong with being a manager, indeed managers are required more than ever in dealing with todays challenges. However, they deal with today whereas leaders focus on tomorrow and search for ways to unlock the potential that exists in themselves, their teams and ultimately the environment they are working in. Failure to focus on what could be means people stand still and if people stand still businesses dont progress.

Terry has managed to create that rare thing a book that will challenge the way you look at yourself and those that you work alongside. If on your leadership travels you are used to looking out of the window at the way others are behaving, this book will challenge you to look in the mirror first and take stock of your own actions to understand how best to unleash the potential in others.

Enjoy the Journey!

Steve

Thank you for choosing this book. Its roots go back to the late 1970s. As a new psychology graduate wanting to inspire others, I spent two agonising years in teaching. Motivating reluctant teenagers is still the hardest job I know. I moved quickly into retail management and even more quickly into pharmaceuticals where I held a number of sales, management, training and coaching roles in some market-leading organisations.

The pharma industry was a truly inspirational place to be. We were well paid, well treated and we could really make a difference. I worked with some great people managers but alas some that just didnt get it. The bad guys were much fewer and usually weeded out, but their impact was profound and lasting. They taught me what not to do with my people.

Motivation is one of those elusive things that even the most enlightened companies get wrong. Great leaders know its the soft stuff that really counts. But hard data pushes out soft data and the job of getting the troops onside gets shelved. More urgent but less important business takes priority. Meanwhile the cost of workplace disengagement is huge and the most effective remedies cost little.

I saw the human cost of getting it wrong when it was easier to get it right.

Ive seen the cost of employees who were passively or even actively disengaged effectively saboteurs in their own organisations. Ive seen the trails of destruction they leave and those of the managers that created them. I witnessed incentive schemes that only sowed discord, goal-setting exercises that crushed the will to work, formal appraisal systems that set colleagues against each other, employee engagement surveys that failed to capture what was really important. We now know much better.

Having made my mark in sales and uncomfortable with formal authority, I sought leadership positions that depended on persuasion rather than position. My most enjoyable and successful role was in performance coaching. There I learned that the motivation behind peak performance is never something we do unto others. The most powerful motivation comes from the inside, waiting to be unlocked by the leader that holds the right mindset and asks the right questions.