By Mike Cieri, MSIR, Vice President of Mardac Consultants
What are your thoughts about this statement: “We cannot be motivated by others….only influenced.”
Hmm, so many times we look to our supervisor, various leaders in the community, coaches to motivate us into action. Yet if we think about it, are they really getting us to move? Who decides whether we put in extra hours at work to meet deadlines, or go into the office when we are not feeling 100%? I do! Individually, I decide if I will put in the time or not. I decide if the reward is worth the effort, not my supervisor, community leader, coach, or professor. I decide.
The organization/supervisor’s job is to influence the individual to respond with the desired behavior. An effective supervisor builds bridges but will not carry the individual across. How do you accomplish this?
Like in any project you must start with the foundation, Trust & Empathy, while addressing the person’s & organization’s beliefs, attitudes, and barriers that exist.
Next develop the pillars of Communication & Coaching. Trust is the foundation to communication while empathy is the foundation to coaching.
There are six keys to motivating others:
1. Ask for performance
2. Use lots of positive reinforcement—personalize it
3. Build relationships
4. Understand the other person’s point of view
5. Model what you want
6. Refuse to accept poor performance
Lastly……
Give them responsibility*
• Give your people the feeling that if they don’t do the job, it won’t get done.
• Let them know that when they accomplish something, they will share in the accolades.
Let them know you care*
• Have enough involvement with your people so they know that you are interested in each of them individually and that you are supportive and loyal.
Guide them to make good decisions*
• Give people enough guidance to make the decisions you want them to make.
• Don’t tell them what to do, but encourage them to do what is best.
*Jimmy Johnson, Hall of Fame football coach
About the author:
Mike Cieri, MSIR, is Vice President of Mardac Consultants and been in the Human Resource Management field for over 20 years. During this time he has held a variety of management positions, including several years on the executive management team of a large corporation as Vice President of Human Resources and Safety, as well as Vice President of Operations.
