Tips for Stress free life > Expert Zone > Motivation
Motivation Tips by experts
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
Tips for Stress free life > Expert Zone > Motivation Motivation Tips by experts |
|
|
|
|
Make Motivation Stick
Motivation is the elusive elixir. Not only does it help people do good work, and do it faster, but it also helps them feel good about it while they're doing it. Yet motivation always seems temporary, fleeting. We call a meeting, bring in a motivational speaker, and fire up the team. Yet, we know it won't last. What if we could make it last? What if we could make it easy for everyone on your team to stay motivated day in and day out, regardless of what was going on around them? You could expect higher levels of performance from everyone and create a team with an unstoppable can-do attitude. Despite its elusive nature, motivation is rather simple to understand. Motivation can be defined as a concerted effort to produce a desired result. So let's think about that for a moment. Why would anyone make a concerted effort to produce a result? Underlying all motivation must be a belief that winning is possible, that the result is attainable. When people stop believing that they can win, that they have little chance for success, their efforts directed at achieving that success fade. However, people can remain motivated day after day when they are playing a game they believe they can win. Motivation can be made a permanent part of your organization's environment when you provide the three keys that will allow your team members to believe that they can win, that they are unstoppable. What's the Plan? The first key is a strategy. A strategy is a best-guess plan that expedites the accomplishment of desired goals. Motivation depends on having a clear path to accomplishing a desired result. It's OK if every detail is not in place and a few variables exist, but the path to success must not be shrouded in fog. However, the plan must be complete enough to permit the belief in a successful end result. When the plan is in doubt, motivation is ruled out. While desire is a powerful motivator, so is anger. When Osama bin Laden was linked to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the wrath of angry Americans was focused on him. Emotions were high, and it would have been easy to fill an airplane bound for Afghanistan to hunt him down. If you were on that plane, imagine how your excitement and motivation would soon fade when you learned that the "plan" was to drop you into Afghanistan and let you figure out how to find Osama. Without a clear path for getting past the enemy and finding bin Laden, your early determination would soon turn to despair. We all need a plan that we believe can work. It's Tool Time! The second key to motivation is tools. To stay motivated, individuals must believe that they have access to the tools they need to execute the plan. No matter how wonderful the plan, excitement will fade as soon as people discover that resources are inadequate to permit delivery of the goods. This is the common de-motivator present in the "do more with less" admonition. Expectations of employees are raised and more is expected while resources are systematically removed. Left to their own cleverness, employees can often find ways to get more done with fewer resources if they are allowed to substitute a more productive resource for a more costly one. Unfortunately these "do more with less" initiatives often remove tools and resources without permitting for their replacement by the necessary cost efficient tools to get the higher expectations accomplished. When tools don't exist, motivation is at risk. Let's go back to Afghanistan. I'm betting you'd like some tools, and I'm not talking about a shovel or nice power saw. A gun would be good for starters. And bullets. While we're making a list, let's add grenades, two-way radio, Kevlar vest, and a rocket launcher. Oh, food and a canteen would be really good. And a map to get us back home. "Do more with less" rings hollow when the stakes are high, like when your life is on the line. Make sure your team has the proper tools to tackle the tasks ahead of them and dispatch them productively and with confidence. No Training? No Can-Do! The third key to maintaining motivation is skills. Individuals must be trained on the skills that allow them to use the tools in the context of execution of the plan. It's not enough to have the resources if their application is left to question. Skills training still may not accomplish the desired result if it is delivered outside of the context of the plan. A hammer can be used for both driving nails and pulling them out, and it's important to know what needs to be accomplished so that its application supports our desired outcome. Without skills and training, motivation will be waning. Forget the guns, Kevlar, and rocket launcher for a moment. Let's suppose we drop you into a tank, such as the magnificently sophisticated Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Without training on how to operate it, you'd be a sitting duck. Maybe you could figure out how to operate it, but possibly at great danger to yourself. What if you loaded the cannon improperly and caused a misfire? How far could you drive without running out of fuel in enemy territory? At least the tank is firmly planted on solid ground. If put behind the controls of an Apache helicopter without adequate training, the risk to you goes through the roof! Without proper training, motivation is quickly replaced by frustration and fear. The same things happen every day in workplaces all around us. People show up to work in the morning without a clear idea of how they contribute to the big picture, and without the tools and training to get the job done. Deliver the keys of strategy, tools, and skills, and your people will understand where they're going and how they're going to get there. Those keys will maintain motivation, excitement and enthusiasm by establishing confidence. They assure a successful outcome and are reason enough for employees to stay engaged and fervently work toward the big, bodacious goal you're ultimately after. With the keys of strategy, tools, and skills, making motivation stick won't seem so elusive after all. © 2004 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved. Note: This article is available for reprint at no charge. We only ask that you include our copyright notice in your reprint, along with the About the Author (byline) information we provide at the end of the article. Paul Johnson of Panache and Systems LLC consults and speaks on business strategy for systematically boosting sales performance using Shortcuts to Yes?. Check out more salesforce development tips at http://panache-yes.com/tips.html. Call Paul direct in Atlanta, Georgia, USA at (770) 271-7719.
MORE RESOURCES: See the complete list of Articles on Motivation here Have a look at Best Selling Books on Motivation
See also : Other articles on
Depression,
Grief-loss,
Elder Care
Relationships
Motivation - Google News
Why not be an expert yourself ? If you can write on
any of the above topic, you are welcome to submit your Submit
your article here |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
A Reality Practice Suggested practice to gain freedom from self-limitation.It is suggested that what is actual and real in the world can only be experienced in the ongoing moment (by moment) and that to be fully in the moment can only happen if all ideas and beliefs about it are gone from the psyche - including the sense of "I", of self identity. Going with the Flow This whole idea of change is founded on a single principle: CHANGE IS ALL IN YOUR MIND.First comes a desire or need to change. If You Are Rejected! This article exemplifies the inner working of emotional intelligence. Effectively working through one tough situation at a time can build our emotional competence. Explanations?... or Excuses? Which of the following "explanations" have you heard (or used!) in the past few weeks?* I need to reward myself for being so good.* The boss hates me. Motivation By An Audience Sooner or later, if you keep working hard in a focused way on a skill or project, you will have an audience even if it is an audience of one.People are naturally attracted to the hardworking, skilled person and will want to watch or learn. Being Genuinely Curious Yesterday at the dinner table, my eleven-year-old daughter asked me, "Aren't there times when you absolutely know you're right and the other person is wrong?" She had a disagreement at school that day and believed that her view was the truth. I said, "I used to think I was always right and that other people were wrong. Rut Busting IntroductionWordNet defines a rut as a groove or furrow (especially in soft earth caused by wheels) or a monotonous routine that is hard to escape; as in "her job made her feel that she was stuck in a rut".What is this thing that we call a rut? Is one man's rut another man's rapture? I. Don't Let Motivation Cause You to Fail Yesterday my teenage son Matt came home with a less than stellar report card. (Yes, even peak performance experts sometimes have trouble motivating others. Bold Action: Living in the Moment Reality show audition.. Productivity Engineering Review: Productivity Engineering- A hypnosis program to help you improve your performance at work."Buy a hypnosis CD program? Will that really help me get more work done? Can it improve my work performance?"I know, this is a little off the beaten path when compared to the usual courses and services I review. Trust Your Intuition! How many times have you been faced with a decision to make and all of a sudden you get this feeling of instinctively knowing what you must do? Something inside you is telling you the difference between what you should do and what you are meant to do. Many people interpret this as a hunch, a gut feeling or having an inkling. Citizens of the Land of Opportunity "We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." --The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776In a crowded, airless room in the city of Philadelphia 228 years ago this week, a group of men solemnly stepped forward, one by one, and affixed their names to a single sheet of paper -- each man knowing that if they faltered in their collective vision, purpose, commitment, or action, he had just signed his own death warrant. Can You Can Can? What You Can Do If You Really Go For It One hundred years ago the laundry girls of Montmartre invented a street dance which became known as the Can Can. Some dancers love it and some hate it. The Default Setting In the coaching relationships I have with our clients, the major problem I see is that individuals end up in the same place - over and over and over again. They mean to save money and build wealth, only to end up (again) with "too much month at the end of the money. Death by Overwork: Motivationally Speaking Its a Zero The Japanese have a word for death by overwork: Karoshi. A recent survey said 40 percent of all Japanese workers fear that they will actually work themselves to death. What Would You Do If You Knew You Could Not Fail? The next time you find yourself relaxing on the couch, having popped some corn and about to watch the "Sopranos", instead, pose this $1,000,000 lottery question to yourself and see what flows. What would you do if you knew you could not fail? Would you work, not work? If you knew anything you touched or did held the possibility for success - whatever that is, what would you do? If there were no time constraints, no obstacles, no self-doubt, what would you do?Some of you are already saying, "What's the point of this!?" "This will never be real!" "Who's got a million dollars??Not me!" Well, the whole point is to have you dream. The First Step for Getting Better Results How dramatically we can change our results is largely a function of imagination. In 1960, it was a technological impossibility for man to travel into outer space. Making Things Happen We are all given the tools, but it is up to us what we decide to build and how magnificent it will be.Steven FerrelGoals are fantastic to have, but many times challenges surface that make it difficult for a goal to mature. How to Use Discouragement to Motivate Yourself Ever feel like giving up? Do you ever feel so discouraged that even one more day of frustration will be too much too handle?Everyone gets discouraged at times only there are a number of key differences between people who keep on going and those who give up:1 Focus On Your Goal Not On Your ProblemsOne of my mentors is a highly successful property developer and he loves solving problems. All day long he can take on one problem after the next and just keep going. Life Is About Taking "Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.
|
|
You are here |
|
| Motivation Tips Home | Motivation Tips - Complete list | |
|
| Main Home | | Meditation Corner | |
|
|
| Recommend us | |
|
[About
us] [Contact] [Privacy
Policy]
Copyright 2006, Meditation
is Easy.com, All
rights reserved
