Dan Bobinski, The Daily Record Newswire
One of the largest misconceptions among leaders is the idea that they can motivate other people. The truth is that people do things for their reasons, not ours. When we use threats or cajoling to get people to do things they otherwise wouldn’t do, that’s manipulation, not motivation. To get the strongest support for any effort, we must learn the truth about motivation.
The word “motivation” literally means “a reason to move.” And, as mentioned, people have their own reasons for doing something. To use a simple example, let’s imagine you work at a restaurant, and let’s also consider some of the people who might work there.
One person shows up each day because she likes the social engagement she has with co-workers and customers. Another person’s main reason for showing up is simply a steady paycheck. Another shows up because he loves being of service to others. Yet another shows up because her best friend works at the same restaurant, and another because she loves the creativity in preparing visually appealing dishes. Then there’s the manager, who loves coming to work because she likes overseeing and managing the restaurant’s operations.
Each person comes to work, but each person’s core reasons for doing so stem from different motivations. The first reason was social; the second was financial. Then there was a person motivated by acts of service, followed by friendship, then artistic creativity and finally positions of authority. Each person works at the same restaurant, but each for a different reason.
A good leader recognizes that these differences exist and strives to understand them for each person on his or her team. Why? Because these are true motivations — each team member’s “reason to move.”
The main problem in the common way of thinking about motivation is the mistaken belief that it’s leaders who must come up with the reason people should do something and then convince others that their reason is valid and should be a good reason for people to act. When leaders hold that belief, it’s not uncommon to hear them say things like, “I wish we could find a way to motivate Bill.” This frequently heard phrase is based on bad psychology, which is the mistaken belief that we can place within someone else a reason to move and expect that person to emotionally engage.
Instead, true motivation involves tapping into intrinsic values. For the leader, this means replacing the thinking that creates such statements as, “I wish I could find a way to motivate Bill,” with thinking that says, “I need to learn what makes Bill tick — what his interests, attitudes and values are.”
By knowing what drives people (what internal factors propel them to move) we can engage them via their existing motivations to unite them in a common goal. That’s healthy motivation. Yes, that takes time and patience, so it’s not always efficient, but it is effective.
I certainly acknowledge that using fear and intimidation to play on people’s internal motivations may be necessary in some situations (safety and job-loss prevention among them), but it’s always better to engage people’s heartfelt motivations first, and resort to fear only if the former isn’t getting any results. To use fear and intimidation as a first choice is almost always a bad strategy.
In my book, “Creating Passion-Driven Teams,” I devote an entire chapter to debunking the myths of motivation. In it, I suggest that leaders motivate their teams best when they think like gardeners. Why? Because a gardener doesn’t make plants grow. The desire to grow is already genetically encoded into each plant. Good gardeners study the attributes of each type of plant — such as what soil it likes, how much water and sunlight it needs — and then work to create those conditions for each plant. Some plants like acidic soil; some prefer alkaline. Some like a lot of water, and others not so much. A good gardener tends to his plants with these things in mind to get the best production. He sees his job as creating the right conditions for each plant to thrive.
In the same way, a leader must get to know the likes and dislikes of each person on his team. What are each person’s interests, attitudes and values? Then, to get the most productivity, create the best conditions for each person to thrive.
So here’s what not to do. Don’t sit in isolation trying to figure people out. This is not to say your observations don’t have value; they do. Just don’t rely on that alone.
Instead, talk with people. Find out their values and their worldviews. Also, talk with them regularly about the vision and mission of your team and ask how they see themselves fitting into that vision. This isn’t, “What do you bring to the team?” but rather, “What personal reward do you feel you get from participating?”
Bottom line: People are motivated best when their “reason to move” is bubbling from within.
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Dan Bobinski is a best-selling author and president of Online Train the Trainer, where he teaches managers and leaders to think and act more like trainers. Reach him at (208) 375-7606 or dan@workplace-excellence.com.
