Archive for the ‘Management Development’ Category

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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Winning Ways – John Carter

 In view of the title of our business and this series of articles, it’s only right and proper that the first few words should be on the subject of achievement.

 One of the many perks of working in training and development is the fact that we meet, get to know and work with some people who display outstanding personal attributes that have clearly led (or will lead) to excellence, success and high achievement.  

 Regardless of their gender, education, social background, race or the sector that they operate in, I’ve observed over the years that this group  share many of the same traits.  We’ll call them ‘winning ways’. 

 I don’t want to simplify this; there are clearly many paths that can be taken to achievement and, of course, ‘achievement’ means different things to each of us.  However there are five common ‘winning ways’ that I’d like to share.   They are interlinked and dependent on each other; so think of them like the circles on the Olympic flag.  Add skills and knowledge (which is where Training to Achieve (UK) Ltd really comes to the fore) and long-term ‘success’ beckons.    

 So here’s my personal take:

 Goals - The high achievers all know where they are going and how they are going to get there, and in quite specific terms.  Their goals are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based – and create a context to their activity. They ‘build a bridge’ between their goal and their use of time.   In our time management and workload juggling courses we promote the use of structured goal setting; however some are naturally strong in this area.  

Desire and Passion – That said in some ways having the goal is the easy bit.  Everyone has goals. It’s easy to decide that we’d like to lose weight or have a holiday home in Barbados. I’d quite like to be an Astronaut and/or win the 100 metres at the 2012 Olympics. But for us lesser mortals they are little more than day-dreams and nice-to-have’s.  Do we bust a gut to achieve them?  Usually not. If they happen then great – and if they don’t?  Well, we’ll meander on.  Whereas the high achievers have that inner desire, passion and focused determination to achieve their targets. 

Work Ethic - The natural product of having the goal and the desire is a strong work ethic.   Self-disciplined, self-motivated, when they are at work they work, and with a consistent high intensity. 

Coping with setbacks and failure -   However, no one enjoys unbridled success, day after day.  We all have setbacks, failures and disappointments. That’s just part of life.  The trick is in how we deal with them.  I have a one-year old toddler who constantly gives me clues in how best to approach setbacks.  Each day he falls over and takes a tumble, but he gets back on his feet and keeps going – and, day by day, he tumbles less often.  High achievers have a similar approach.   They view setbacks as no more than a temporary blip; their eyes are on the goal not the obstacles in the way. 

Self-Belief - Finally, what certainly helps in dealing with setbacks is an unshakeable self confidence and self belief.  The high achiever never loses that inner strength no matter what happens.

I present my five winning ways as no more than personal observations and food for your thought – but I for one try to benefit from my findings and follow the impressive qualities I see in others.  

Certainly if there was a sixth winning way it would be a never-ending thirst for improvement. . They want to keep getting better and that is the perfect building block for learning.  Which, rather conveniently, leads us full circle; because the main goal of Training to Achieve (UK) Ltd is to impart skills and knowledge so that a whole range of people and clients are helped to achieve what they want to achieve, both in and out of the workplace.

Copyright: John Carter

Training To Achieve (UK) Ltd.

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Colchester, Essex  CO3 8LU

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