Trainer and Careers Counsellor FRANK NEWBERRY begins a new series on ‘motivation’. In this first part he looks at tips 1-5 for motivating people
Top Ten Tips for MOTIVATING PEOPLE
AT a time when low pay and a lack of resources in some organisations has brought grounds staff motivation and morale to a low point - regular contributor Frank Newberry, in this first article will focus in on self motivation and in the next issue he will look at motivating others.
Definitions
For the purposes of these articles I am taking the expression ‘low motivation’ to mean: ‘lacking the will to work well’, and the words ‘low morale’ to mean something like ‘low spirits’ and ‘aimlessness’.
A Paradox
First it should be noted that motivation is an individual thing e.g. I know of a number of people who continue to be motivated and work hard despite low morale in their organisation. On the other hand I have seen very high morale in a work team in which no one bothers to make an effort - perhaps because they are too busy enjoying each others’ company.
Top Tips for Self Motivation 1. Check your references
There is research that shows about half of all people in employment are motivated to a considerable extent by what others might think of them. These people are known as ‘other’ referencing. The ‘others’ in their work lives might be the boss, their work colleagues, their own staff and so on. Are you ‘other’
referencing? If you are then
perhaps you need the regular feedback and approval of others in order to feel confident that you are doing a good job. If you do not get regular feedback you can start to lose confidence in your job, in your boss and you may even feel that your work cannot be particularly important to anyone because no one ever seems to make reference to it.. Are you, on the other hand
a ‘self ’ referencing person? If you are then you are less interested in what others might think of your performance. You perhaps know better than them what constitutes good work and therefore you would not seek the approval and feedback of others on such a regular basis. Basically you know from day to day whether or not you have done a good job of work.
2. Do some preventative maintenance
Whether you have the ‘higher maintenance’ needs of the ‘other’ referencing person or you are a ‘low maintenance’ self referencing person you will need to communicate your expectations to others. For example when I was employed as a management consultant my work life was exciting but very stressful. To ease the pressure a bit and to sustain a high performance I told my boss that I loved the work but that I needed him to give me feedback and recognition on a regular basis. My boss readily agreed and stipulated just one condition which was that I would in return give him regular feedback and recognition. When I blanked and questioned why a team member should be giving the
boss recognition he pointed out that he never got any recognition from his boss. We quickly agreed the deal!
Now if you are low maintenance and a little embarrassed by praise and recognition then tell others but make sure to point out those occasions when you feel recognition is appropriate. No one likes to feel taken for granted especially when they have made a big sacrifice or an extra effort. There will be more about this when we look at motivating others in the next issue.
3. Get Your Values Straight
One of the major de- motivators for people is the feeling that whilst their work or performance may be of value, they themselves are not valued as people, as individuals. Many feel that their employer just wants the ‘sweat of their brow’. If you are one of those that want to be valued by others then you will need to work on what other people value. Research into which personal qualities people value in others at work is revealing. People particularly value certain personal qualities and characteristics which have been identified as being:
1.An interest in others (they do not just talk about themselves)
2.The self discipline to avoid complaining about things
3.An appropriate sense of humour at work
4.An open and honest manner
5.A broad conversation base 6.Good verbal skills 7.Tact
QUESTION: Which are the three items on this list that most groundsmen and greenkeepers tell me they need to work on?
ANSWER: Numbers 2, 5 and 6. I wonder what your three would be and what you might do about them in order to enhance people’s evaluation of you and with it your own personal motivation?
4. Cheer up, you might be ill!
If you are feeling lethargic and ‘down in the dumps’ the good news is that it might not be your motivation at all. The bad news is that it could be stress or one of a range of undiagnosed illnesses that manifest themselves in this way in their early stages. Just one example; there are
apparently one million undiagnosed diabetics in this country, some of whom will wait so long before they have a check up that they will be dependent on medication for the rest of their lives. Others who do not get a check up at all will die undiagnosed. If you suspect you may be ill - be warned - the deterioration can be so slow that you barely notice and you may tend to assume it is something else. So get down to your local GP and have a full check-up, blood tests and all.
5. Set and Review Your Motivational Goals
There may be wisdom in you taking time to set and review some goals to do with the following ‘no cost’ and ‘low cost’ motivators. These are some of the key things that cause people to work well willingly. N.B. it must always be acknowledged that people
“Cheer up - you might be ill!”
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