I was in Poland last week delivering a workshop on motivation and influence. It is a fantastic topic to explore and we had an interesting day discussing how and what motivates us, who and what influences us and then turned it around to try and understand how we could motivate and influence others.
Given the choice of 5% increase in pay, 5% more time off work, 5% more recognition or 5% more control over your work, the groups could not all agree on the one to pick that would satisfy everyone equally. They all had reasons for their choice and didn’t want to budge on their chosen reward.
We all agreed that, as human beings, we have different things going on in our lives so, therefore, we need a variety of things to motivate us, at different times. Sometimes we internally motivate ourselves, sometimes we need some external support and other times we just get things done to get them done, with no real motivation what so ever!
When we try to motivate the unmotivated, it can be difficult, but it is not impossible. By understanding what makes people tick we can tap into something of importance for them and press the right buttons. Often though, we are too busy chasing numbers and targets, offering a bonus or reward to entice people to perform, without considering them at all.
I remember delivering a session at a conference and, as I prepared myself, the Finance Director was doing a round up about the previous years results. The company had done well, so, on his final slide, he shared their reward. It was a 4-day cruise for everyone in the room. I watched their faces and expected smiles and laughter, but that was not the case. People started to grumble about spending even more time away from their families and more time with their work colleagues.
It didn’t go down well for everyone and probably caused arguments and conflict at the office and, for many, at home. Some people were demotivated by this reward so it was a waste of money.
One of the best way to motivate others is to help them get what they want in life. For some it’s a promotion, others a bigger house, maybe money to spend on holidays, whatever it is, it requires a goal and a plan. The skill is to get them to recognise how something can benefit them and align it to something important for them.
Having coached many people, I know that when I get someone to articulate their wants and needs and help them create their action plan, they leave motivated to take action. The tough bit is to get someone to tell you exactly what they want, instead of what they don’t want!
I have set a goal to complete another cycling event next year (after saying this year “I’ll never do another one”) because it gives me something to aim for. It motivates me to get out cycling when I really don’t feel like it. Sometimes the idea of finishing motivates me but sometimes, normally the Winter time, I need to draw on the downside of not doing enough training and the consequences of that. I have to play games in my head to motivate myself.
On a scale of 1 – 10 where would you rate yourself, in terms of your motivation at work, home and in life?
What goals do you need to set to keep you motivated?