Motivation 1, 2, 3

Motivation 1-2-3

No matter how rousing your pep talks, no matter how much you are liked and admired, no matter how compelling your vision, it’s sometimes difficult to get certain individuals motivated. At work, as in life, not everyone sees things the same way as you, which means that there’s always going to be someone – son or daughter, partner, colleague or employee - who you just don’t seem able to fill with enthusiasm.

One approach I’ve shared with some of my clients is what I call Motivation 1-2-3. It’s a three-step approach which may help you to tap in to the natural motivators of more challenging individuals.

Step 1
Motivation 1-2-3 is about putting yourself in the place of the other. So the first step is to create a full picture of their paradigm, their “world view”.

Let’s say Bob heads up a sales team and has recently been given more responsibility. As his line-manager, you expect to see him rise to the challenge. But he doesn’t. Instead he complains about the extra work.

Before discussing this situation with him, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is Bob like as a person and how might this situation look to him? Try imagining you are Bob and see how you feel.
• How does Bob see you? Whilst you probably have the best of intentions, how might Bob perceive your style?
• Is there anything external to work that might be affecting Bob’s attitude? If you don’t know, how could you find out?

By now you should have a pretty clear picture of how differently Bob perceives this situation to you.

Step 2
Everyone is motivated by something. Unfortunately it may not be work! But by understanding what people care about, you can help to design a strategy for them that taps in to their true motivators rather than expecting them to be energised purely by your encouraging words.

Whilst the goal itself (e.g. increased sales) may not be flexible, the way it is achieved could be.

Having put yourself in Bob’s place you can start to see some of his qualities. He may be a very friendly guy (one of the reasons he complains about his hours is that he has an active social life which had to be curtailed when he took over this new role).

He may be a demon with detail (he has a background in database design and loves to play about with figures).

He may sometimes be too busy and then have slack elsewhere (perhaps two weeks of the month are hectic, the other two boring).

Bob’s strengths and personal qualities - his two quiet weeks, his attention to detail and his personality - could be used to help him achieve his goals effectively.

Step 3
You’ve been doing all the work so far. Now it’s Bob’s turn. There needs to be dialogue between you. It may be that you don’t feel ready to have this conversation, perhaps you don’t feel you know Bob well enough or that some changes need to take place first. But ultimately a one-to-one conversation about this issue is needed.

What is important is that you listen to Bob’s perception of the situation. You may have gained some insight from Step 1 and you may have missed some important elements. Use this first part of the conversation to get a clearer idea of Bob’s world view.

Now you can share some of the qualities you believe Bob has from Step 2. He may be able to add others to the list.

Finally, you explain that although the goal has not changed, you would like him to come up with some ideas about how to achieve that goal using his natural strengths. This is important. By empowering him to originate solutions you are avoiding “micro-managing” him and maintaining an effortless, sustainable leadership style.

Final word
Although this is basically a three-step approach, it needs on-going monitoring. Bob will return to you with ideas, some of which may work and others of which will be unsuitable. Keep in mind how Bob perceives you (e.g. as a hands-off, disinterested manager) and continue to support him in developing his own leadership style.

Life Coaching tip:
Of course this three-step approach can be used outside the workplace as well as in it. If you find it hard to understand why a family member or friend is unenthusiastic about a certain event or decision try applying the ideas above to the situation.
1. Put yourself in their shoes
2. Identify their personal qualities and how these may be used to achieve the goal
3. When the right opportunity arises (e.g. they ask for your help or say they want to talk the issue through with you) share the model with them and see if, together, you can come up with a way forward that uses their natural abilities and gifts.

NOTE: Outside work you are not the boss! Therefore, take care. Wait to be asked for your help or offer your support unconditionally instead of calling the equivalent of a “meeting”!