Motivation – minimal theory, practical advice and a few notes of caution

What part does motivation play in achieving success and whose responsibility is it? This is a question I am asking myself, on this particular Sunday, and which I am posing to you in my Sunday Blog – several hours late I know – but a Bank Holiday surely pardons a slight transgression?

So how come this particular question today?  Well, this lunchtime we went off to the local Pub to support one of its yearly events aimed at

Rice boat in Kerala South India

 raising funds for the people of Kerala, in Southern India.  This is a cause dear to my heart.  We spent three weeks In Kerala on honeymoon in January 2009, marvelling at the hospitality, friendliness, humility and the most amazing level of customer service I have ever experienced.

The focal point of the lunchtime event, apart from the real ale and the curry, was an international piano bar superstar, playing keyboard, and singing, accompanied by three teenage female singers.  Such an amazing talent, enjoyed for free, in a country pub.  It got me thinking about achievement -  about excellence, about success, and all the ingredients that are necessary for talent and aspiration to be realised and recognised…whether inside or outside of work.

Someone once said to me, and I have always remembered it, that, daily, time is distributed democratically to all of us, and how astonishing it is to think that some people make so much of that resource, and others squander it.

Surely isn’t motivation the main ingredient – take all the others away, and the recipe will fail – half-baked, a sorry reminder for what could have been?  Whether you would call it a strength or a weakness, motivation and the desire to achieve is paramount for me. Built into our business name, it is key to our core process – helping individuals and organisations achieve by releasing their potential to become the best they can be.    So, there’s myself, my team, my clients, my coachees, my delegates, and of course my kids ….all of whom the subject of my motivating!  It’s tiring! 

Phew! But let’s pause for a moment – what do we actually mean by motivation?  Am I kidding myself …can I actually motivate others or just me?  Here’s a simple definition of motivation by Wendy Pan, which I can relate to:  “To give reason, incentive, enthusiasm, or interest that causes a specific action or certain behaviour”. 

But where should those reasons, incentives, the enthusiasm or the interest come from? This blog is not the place to critique the various academic theories that have proliferated for decades – from Herzberg and Maslow to Moss Kanter and beyond.    What is important to stress though is that, from my experience, intrinsic  motivators (when one is compelled to do something out of pleasure, importance or desire) are overwhelmingly successful and sustainable in the short and longer term.  I could see that on the faces of those musicians today. Extrinsic motivators (when external factors or other people compel one to do something) are only of short-term, limiting value, and can rebound with

Our son Alex drumming on the South London scene

devastating consequences. This too I sometimes see on the faces of the people I train and coach.  So BEWARE – leaders, managers, and all parents/parental figures if we gravitate towards the stick rather than the carrot.  As a parent with talented kids, and more than a penchant for being competitive and driven, I will do well to heed my own advice.  We can guide, support, enthuse, inspire, and lead by example – high challenge, high support maybe – but the essence of motivation must come from within.

Values provide the motivation for us to take action.  What are values? We could define them as social, moral and ethical standards, acquired throughout a person’s journey through life.  These values underlie every decision and chosen course of action.  We know that there is a clear correlation between job satisfaction and job performance, and the amount of satisfaction we derive from our work is governed by the extent to which we can act out our values.  Often, I unearth employees in client organisations, who outside of work, are running successful micro businesses, or who are high performers in Sport, the Arts or Music.  Often their employer does not even know.  What a waste!  Imagine if the organisation could align corporate, team and individual talents and goals, how staggering the increase in performance would be.

Of course motivation, although it may be the key ingredient is not enough.  To stand out, to differentiate ourselves, to excel at whatever it is we choose to do with our lives also requires talent, skill, the right attitudes, often a helpful dose of luck, and  practice. Winston Churchill was renowned for saying “Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential”.  In the book “Outliers” author Malcolm Gladwell repeatedly takes ‘practice makes perfect’ one step further, by stressing the need for 10,000 hours to hone a skill or task to distinction.  I have to say it has become something of a mantra in our household, much to the annoyance of our kids, aspiring to success in their respective fields!

So, the moral  of this blog is, as  Leaders, Managers, Trainers, Coaches, Mentors or even parents, goals we set for others (perhaps because it is secretly our goal) or goals that a person believes they ought to be pursuing can bring about feelings of obligation, not motivation. Values are human motivators.  Allow the individual to connect with their values and to have a say in determining their own goals.  Watch motivation, commitment and ownership then increase dramatically.   That individual however must remember that if they don’t invest very much, then defeat doesn’t hurt very much and winning is not very exciting.

Sunday morning blog – 30 May 2010 Blog Number 4

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