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Motivation for managers

Introduction

In any context, people’s reactions will be driven by two major influences:
• Their knowledge
• Their emotions

This article is about their emotions.

How can you inspire people to gain the best result possible?

If people feel de-motivated, they will not even attempt to win.

If people are inspired to feel motivated, they are capable of amazing feats.

So it is vital for you to be able to motivate others.

How can “the science of human motivation” benefit us?

Let us examine the facts…….

There are two basic motivators:  Fear and Desire

There are two basic motivators:

1. The Fear of bad outcomes
2. The Desire for good outcomes

Both will motivate people to act.

But only desire is sustainable.

Fear of bad outcomes will work well to motivate action– but only temporarily.

This is because “Fear is corrosive”;
Sustained states of Fear creates

• Mental stress
• Physical ill health
• A block on creative intelligence

If you want to use fear, you are free to do so.

You can threaten the person with a loss of:
• Money
• Security
• Status
• Opportunity
• Time

The person will probably be motivated to act in order to avoid these consequences

But in so doing; you are also setting the conditions for:
• Resentment
• Anger
• Bitterness

And even Sick leave!

So, In the long run, by using the fear motivator, you will not get the best results.

Now let us look at the alternative:

The desire for good outcomes

The desire for good results is the second type of motivation.

Desire will also cause the person to act.

Desire is a positive motivation
It is also:

• sustainable
• pleasurable
• exciting
• stimulates creative thought

We recommend that you choose this option
 
Creating desire comes from:

• Agreeing exciting goals
• Talking about increasing your income
• Thinking about creating new opportunities
• Building practical plans
• Thinking about how to make good things happen
• Taking the initiative
• Visualising wining the prize

This motivation style is much better for your team because it creates associated feelings of

• Confidence
• Energy
• Determination
• Excitement
• Enthusiasm
• Team spirit

How to avoid negative motivations

Do not allow yourself to talk about:
• The money you will lose if you fail
• The embarrassment you will lose
• The losses you will incur
• Bleak future that will follow if you fail

All these will create negative fear motivation.
A Fear mentality is not conducive to creative motivation.

Instead, gather the team together and talk in ways that will ignite desire:-

Ask “what is the goal to be?”; What benefits will achieving the goal bring to us?

• Who could help?
• What do we already have to make the goal do-able?
• What are the intervening steps we need to take?
• What are the sub goals that lead to the achievement of the overall goal?
• How will we feel when we win?

Repetition of these messages every day in every conceivable form is important.

Print out slogans, find inspirational pictures, create charts, and draw graphs, repeat affirmations.
Keep bombarding the team with
• Words
• Images
• Ideas
• Goals
• Plans
• Role model examples.

Repeat these over and over until you notice a rise in positive motivation, then double the rate of exposure!

Summary
If people are inspired to feel motivated, they are capable of amazing feats.
There are two primary motivators:  the Fear of bad outcomes and the Desire for good outcomes
Only motivation born from “desire” is sustainable.
This motivation style is much better for your team because it creates associated feelings of
• Confidence
• Excitement
• Enthusiasm

Do not allow yourself to talk about the money you will lose if you fail.

Instead learn to talk in ways that will ignite desire:
Repeat these messages every day in every conceivable form.
Repeat these over and over until you notice a rise in positive motivation.

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