Motivation vs. Movement

Why do some people have such incredible drive, and others seem to just bumble along, rarely achieving their professional goals? To answer this question one need only look at motivation, and how it usually is "achieved" on the job.

Most people have annual job goals or objectives. As an example, salespeople have commission plans, bonuses, and other incentives to "produce". Yet sales managers know that if they double the payout, they won't get double the sales: they get movement towards goals, not motivation to achieve them.

Motivation is an intrinsic personal drive, not a result of external stimulus. The job of the manager is to recruit these people into the role whose personal motivation is inline with the movement that the manager requires. Then when hired, the manager's role is to both remove impediments to movement, and coach the employee to develop and improve their skills and efficiency.

Strong managers know that when they connect with the employee's motivational hooks, the employee will do whatever it takes to get the job done. A contest for sports tickets will mean very little to people who aren't fans. A family get-together is not likely to be interesting to singles. And so on.

This week's action item: This week, move your colleagues to action by hooking into what intrinsically motivates them. They'll do a better job, they'll do it faster, and they'll be happier doing it. Bonus action item: What motivates you? (You'll be happier - and more effective - if you share this with your manager.)

Randall Craig is an expert on Career Planning, Work-Life Balance, and Social Networking; to find out how his workshops, webinars, and keynotes can help your team or add to your event, contact him through www.PersonalBalanceSheet.com, or by email at editor@ptadvisors.com.

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Copyright © 2009 Knowledge to Action Press and Randall Craig. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: December 15th, 2009