[ryanburk]

the top answer is really well done, but lacks the gem from the second answer: "One of the major rookie mistakes I have made and see many others make is the assumption that human motivation is tied to economic outcomes"

put another way - you might have a personal ambition to have a title like "VP of Engineering" or make $500k a year, but most others don't. so if you project your motivations / world view on those who work for you, you will have a bad time building a great team with a great culture. knowing what your people value is really important and will help you get the best work from your team.

[jevanish]

One of the amazing things I've learned as a manager is how much you can get out of asking people what they want.

Many people haven't really thought about it and so you end up going on a fun journey helping them figure it out. Usually, you discover over time that there are a lot of things more important than money. Being the manager that helped them figure out what they really want (and hopefully get closer to it) builds awesome loyalty and motivation on the job.

Once you have the minimum amount to live comfortably (which in places like SF is actually a non-trivial amount), I've found raises and bonuses have only very short-term happiness that wears off in a week or two. It's feeling fulfillment in your job and making progress on your long term goals that really brings career happiness.

[ryanburk]

this is really good advice.

I learned from a superb mentor Laurie Litwack who was a great program manager at microsoft that you should learn about each of your reports "heart, tree, star".

heart: what do you love? tree: what / where do you want to grow? star: how do you feel rewarded?

especially in an environment where you can juggle awards, this can be really helpful, if someone values a bonus and someone else values titles & public recognition, you can balance them out and make everyone happy. and hit a budget. ideally...

[orware]

Interesting...I just ran a Google Search on that one (Heart-Tree-Star) and it came up with a SlideShare presentation from another Microsoft guy mentioning "Meng Phua" as the originator for him...seems like it was taught to quite a few of the folks there at Microsoft at one point perhaps?

http://www.slideshare.net/kaykas/career-planning-framework-h...

[ChuckMcM]

I've found its common in a new manager to assume that their people want the same things they want. Happens in relationships too, people act in a way they want to be treated, not in the way the other person wants to be treated.

[Confusion]

I'd say it's common in a many people, much of the time, unless they have been made aware of this and are capable, naturally or after training, to consciously think of how people may differ from you.

I'm still stuck at 'training'.

[btgeekboy]

Reminds me of this video, "The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc