The following three-step approach can help you to tap into an employee's inherent motivation:

1. Flesh out your picture of the employee and the problem. Try to gain a better understanding of the issue. Attempt to see the situation from the employee's vantage point. Pinpoint any context or relationships that may be influencing his behavior. Consider these factors individually:
   • The person who lacks motivation. Through informal conversations with the employee and other colleagues, find out her drives and passions and what could be blocking them at your workplace. Ask yourself what could result if those impediments were somehow removed.
   • Yourself. Ask yourself how you might be contributing to the problem. Then ask the person in question and her colleagues how they perceive you. You may discover that you are the person's chief demotivator. Without knowing it, you might be putting her off by actions that make her feel that you don't care about her. Or worse, you may be engaged in a cycle of mistrust, micromanagement, and poor performance that sets the individual up for failure.
   • The context. Ask yourself if there is anything about the current situation that might be bringing out the worst in the person — or you. Is there something happening or that recently happened at your organization, such as a restructuring or a layoff, which may be adding stress?
2. Consider a range of outcomes. Actively switch your mindset from trying to achieve a single, predetermined "solution" to the employee's problem (e.g., he must improve his lackluster performance in a certain amount of time or he will be dismissed) to considering several different possibilities (e.g., he should be moved to a different department/function or he needs better coaching). Being open to changing your definition of what your solution looks like can yield surprisingly rich alternatives.
3. Meet to discuss the problem and reach a resolution. This process culminates in a face-to-face meeting with the problem worker, ideally held in a neutral space like a conference room. During the meeting, you should:
   • Affirm the person's value to your organization to get the meeting off on the right foot.
   • Describe the problem from your perspective and point out that it cannot continue.
   • Ask probing questions to test the assumptions you've made about the situation. Is the individual clear about his role or expectations? These questions will likely expose your differences but will also reveal areas of agreement.
   • Work with the individual to help him "solve" the problem. Invite the employee to suggest tactics for resolving the issue. Use the insight you have gained into what motivates him to guide the process. The resolution you mutually determine should play to the individual's drives.

While trying to turn around a problem employee takes time and energy, it is well worth the investment. The payoffs of using this method extend far beyond the situation and specific person involved; the method boosts morale and can help motivate others as well. In addition, your efforts will send the strong message that you are willing to grapple with difficulties head-on, instead of simply dismissing them.