We all like to feel driven and motivated, so what’s the best kind of motivation? Self-motivation of course!
Doing something for its own sake and for your own purposes is likely to be more fulfilling, enjoyable and successful than doing something to meet external standards or to please others.
How can we improve our ability to inspire or motivate other people?
We need to understand what motivates us and others at work. You’ll notice that you are first and the reason for doing so is that we use ourselves as analogies for understanding others. ‘No person really knows about other human beings’, said the novelist John Steinbeck. ‘The best he or she can do is to suppose that they are like themselves’. If you have an accurate picture of what motivates you, you will be in a far better position to understand what motivates others.
We need an AWARENESS of both the general and the individual dimensions of motivation.
In motivation theories, you can learn plenty of generalisations about people, including ‘individuals. These are useful. But they are only half the story. Think of yourself – both complex and how unique you are. To motivate anyone beyond the ‘stick-and-carrot’ level means you must know him or her as an individual person by name.
We need to develop our SKILLS as a leader of others.
As a manager you are called now to be a leader, and leadership includes the ability to motivate and inspire others. How do you do it? What you are and what you know matters, but what you do as a leader in those three-circles of team or organisational need – task, team and individual – is vital. For high motivation, like happiness, is largely a by-product. Hence the considerable overlap between leadership and motivation.
See our very popular Managing & Leading Teams course if you are looking for a great foundation in the core principles ‘getting the best out of others’. For any further information, please get in touch, 01623 409 824 or info@futureproof-training.co.uk.
