Leadership Inherently Means Dealing with People Who Don’t Care

How I’ve handled leading teams diverse in motivation

Whether the organization you are a leader of is comprised of volunteers, people who were hired, elected, appointed, people paying to be there, or individuals who self-selected into joining the cause, there will always be some people who don’t care to be involved.

Or, more accurately, there will be some who care more, and some who care much less, than the average member.

As a leader, who inherently has more stake and emotional/physical investment in the organization, how do you handle this dichotomy? We don’t always have the choice to fire those whose motivation we disagree with. We have to find ways to adapt.

Even if everyone has the same basic unified goal, individuals often have different ambitions. How do we navigate this variation?

Through my time on executive boards, as vice president of a service organization, and as a captain for my sports team for 4 years, I’ve found some ways to adapt to this perpetual issue.

Use Those Who Care

This doesn’t mean that you ignore everyone who doesn’t seem to be ambitious. It simply means that you should fully utilize those who are clearly passionate and dedicated.

If you have a resource at your fingertips, it would be silly not to utilize it.

On my colorguard team (a combination of dance and spinning flags, wooden rifles, and sabres) I had fellow captains as well as equipment managers in official leadership positions. However, I also had members of the team who were clearly passionate, always at practice early, and always ready to volunteer when something was needed.

I utilized that. I said “yes” when they offered to help, and wasn’t afraid to ask when we needed extra hands to complete a task like cleaning out our storage room.

It goes without saying that you should show your appreciation to these people but I need to make it clear. Say thank you sincerely and frequently. Make it clear that you are thankful for the dedication of these members and appreciate their commitment to the organization.

Don’t Take it Personally

If there are some, or even a lot of people in your organization who don’t seem to care at all, that doesn’t mean you’re inherently a bad leader. It just is evidence that you’re dealing with people. And people are diverse.

Don’t beat yourself up and don’t take it personally when not everyone in your organization is as passionate as you are. You were selected as the leader for a reason.

It is something that every leader deals with. What makes you a good leader is recognizing the diversity of your team and using it to your advantage. The goal is not to duplicate everyone and have them act exactly as you do. The goal is to understand their differences and adapt your strategy accordingly.

One of these differences will inherently be differences in dedication. And there are ways to make this easier.

Lead by Example

Just because there will inherently be people who don’t care, that doesn’t mean you should stop caring.

It also certainly doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t continue to try to nudge people toward the type of dedication you want to see in your organization.

Leading by example is a cliche phrase, but it’s been used throughout history for a reason. In a lot of ways, people are simple creatures. They follow the people around them who are getting praise, being successful, or seem to be well liked.

Whether or not this replication is conscious or subconscious, it happens, and you want to ensure that what you are emitting is what you want copied.

Make Expectations Clear

This needs to come at every stage of the process. Before someone is able to join, be hired, or be elected to a position, they need to fully understand what is expected of them. This should be done both verbally, and through written instructions.

Don’t leave any room for interpretation.

For example, when I was vice president of a service organization, I made the following aspects very clear-

• Annual dues
• How many events each member was expected to participate in throughout the year
• What constituted required attendance at meetings
• Protocol for missing events/meetings
• Protocol for signing up for events
• Expected time commitment to be a member

Now, making expectations clear will not ensure that everyone will listen thoroughly or comprehend them, but it’s a necessary step. Say it clearly and often.

For instance, when I was on leadership for the marching band in college the time commitment was explained on the website, on the Facebook page prior to auditions, in a packet mailed to prospective members during the summer, and even on the class description when students signed up.

We also verbally explained the time commitment at auditions and called each prospective member personally after they had been told they had made the team to explain everything again and see if they had any questions.

Every year we still had members quit the first week. And as the season went on it was always clear that among those who stayed, there were those who didn’t want to be there. At that point, you may have to get creative. But at least you know you have mitigated some of the issue by minimizing the number of people who weren’t committed who joined in the first place.

Recognize Burnout and Get Creative to Combat it

After rehearsing in the hot sun 5 days a week for two months straight, I think some people were just burnt out from marching band. It happened every year and It’s when this happened that we would get creative.

Midway through the semester we would have “Olympic” games where we had obstacle courses and relay races to add some fun to the rehearsal. We also had spirit days, allowing members to dress up in clothes they wouldn’t normally be able to wear for rehearsal.

We even had social events outside of rehearsal like an ice cream eating contest and movie nights.

Find what works for your organization, company, or business, and work to boost team morale. It could be something as simple as buying lunch for your team one day or bringing in coffee. Maybe you let everyone go 10 minutes early one Friday afternoon. You’d be surprised at the small things that can boost your team’s mood and subsequent work ethic.

Remember Everyone has a Different “Why”

You might think some people don’t want to be there, but in actuality- they just want to be there for a different reason than you. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have the same unified goal that brings the organization together. Maybe these individuals could participate in a different way than what is the standard and through this different methodology, still support the organizations mission.

As a captain of my colorguard team, I had to understand that not everyone actually loved the sport as much as I did. Some wanted to be a member because they loved the social aspect and traveling to competitions. Some just wanted to put some type of extracurricular on their resume.

At the end of the day, specific motives don’t really matter. We can’t look at someone and see why they’re participating. But what we have to understand is that these motivations will alter nuances of participation. Use these differing passions to delegate tasks, and enforce expectations accordingly.

The Takeaway

You cannot alter anyone’s innate motivation. But you can make your expectations clear, and be creative in how you utilize different members of your organization.

Every company and every year of every company will look different. People are diverse and although diversity is beautiful, it’s frustrating when it negatively impacts motivation. What is essential to realize is that everyone has something that they are passionate about within the field. Capitalize on this.

Dealing with unmotivated team members is never easy, but it is a perpetual issue. Be clear in your expectations from the beginning, creative in your responses, and be sure that you are both fully using, and fully appreciating, those who have the same level of dedication you exemplify.

A leader cannot always change their team members, but a good leader can adapt to each diverse team in a way that can still support the mission and ultimate goals of their organization.

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