My brother was an all-state basketball player as a young sophomore, and pretty cocky. One day at the start of practice the coach yells out "Ok...Whoever scores the most points in practice today will start in tomorrow's game!" Seems like a pretty good incentive metric to get the boys to practice hard right? ... So my Brother stayed only on the offensive side of the court, never bothering to go and play any defense. After a few minutes of this the coach got ticked, blew his whistle and screamed at my brother "What the h*ll are you doing!" My brother simply replied back "I want to start tomorrow night coach. Scoring points will get me that right?" (The implication being that according to the metrics set up by the coach himself, defense was worthless) As in all things, there is a danger of overshooting though and throwing out all measures altogether. Finding the "correct" measure is the secret sauce of success.
I learned that if you want to get people to do something, you’ve got to help them understand why they’re doing it and to how it will benefit them.
When I labor in the kingdom of God, I labor for my own dear self, I have self continually before me; the object of my pursuit is to benefit my individual person; and this is the case with every person who ever was or ever will be exalted.
There is a reason why the other man thinks and acts as he does. Ferret out that reason and you have the key to his actions, perhaps to his personality.
When you’re trying to influence people who need motivation, but not information, don’t offer more information. Instead, use questions to create a safe environment where they can explore motivations they already have.
Trust Yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.
If there is meaning to be mined in the work you do, and if you are willing to put the interests of your people on par with the interest of the company, you have every possibility of retaining your morality while engaging your people in the work you do.
Once a team has been formed and given its task, managers sometimes assume their work is done. A strict hands-off stance, however, can limit a team’s effectiveness when members are not already skilled and experienced in teamwork—a not uncommon state of affairs in cultures where individualism is a dominant value.
Having clear direction helps align team efforts with the objectives of the parent organization, provides members with a criterion to use in choosing among various means for pursuing those objectives, and fosters the motivational engagement of team members. When direction is absent or unclear, members may wallow in uncertainty about what they should be doing and may even have difficulty generating the motivation to do much of anything.
It is a near impossibility for members to learn how to interact well within a flawed or underspecified team structure.
Effective coaching interventions address issues that are naturally alive for the group at the particular time when they are made. Those that ask members to consider matters that are not salient for them at the time may do little other than distract the team from getting on with its work.
It is well established that people do not learn well when they brim with anxieties, including those that have to do with getting a piece of work finished on time and well.
In the locker room before the game, coaches tend to focus on matters of motivation, establishing that the contest about to begin will be quite challenging but that the team has a real chance to win if members play hard and well. Halftime, back in the locker room, is a time for consultation, revising the game strategy for the second half of play based on how things have gone thus far. The next day, when the team has gathered to review the game films, is the time when coaches focus on education, helping to build individual and team proficiency in preparation for the team’s next contest.
No matter how well-designed, well-timed, and well-executed coaching interventions are, they are unlikely to be of much help if a team’s overall performance situation is poor. If members are unclear about what they are supposed to accomplish, if the team or its task are badly designed, or if the surrounding organization places obstacle after obstacle in the team’s path, then a leader would be well advised to focus first on solving these more fundamental problems.
I can predict with a high degree of certainty that there will be many times in your post-graduate life when you will face decisions that will ultimately be determined by whether you are motivated by pride and riches on the one hand, or whether you are moved to act consistent with truths that resonate 'in your heart and in your mind' on the other. My simple promise to you is that if you choose the latter over the former, your life will be more joyful, more fulfilling and more eternally productive.
Identify why you aren’t enthusiastic.
Like to do your work as much as a dog likes to gnaw a bone and go at it with equal interest and exclusion of everything else.
To try and skill up the unmotivated is a waste of time and resources. To motivate the unable only creates depression, not progress.
Responsible leaders care about their people—the one and the many. They don’t callously fire individuals, nor do they allow a single employee to disrespect, abuse, or negatively impact others. They don’t demand change without helping people have the means to change and reasonable time to do it. Responsible leaders give actionable feedback and recognize progress. And they follow through.
Many leaders assume the problem with poor performers is they lack motivation; therefore, the obvious way to fix the problem is to motivate their employees. However, motivation is only one of three possible causes of poor performance. It is also possible that the employee wants to perform but is unable to do so because of a lack of skills, knowledge, or resources.
All text, no title, no author. Hey Thoughts. Thanks for the ideas, but I totally got this.
Just Try It. One of the first principles in motivating someone to change their behavior is to have him or her gain direct experience and/or generate different data.
To be aware of your body is the beginning of self-love. When the mind goes home to the body, the mind and body are established in the here and now.
Through Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice, we can experience a mighty change of mind and heart, bringing a fresh attitude, both toward God and toward life in general.
Her rebirth was stunning – she lifted herself up from the depths of despair, grasped her dreams, embedded them in her heart, and walked forward into a future that only her will and vision could control.