I found this article from 1 to 1 Media to be very interesting. Whether you are a for profit business, a non-profit organization or a political candidate, you will find ideas to increase participation. We may not always see those we are trying to motivate as customers, but aren’t they. Whether you want someone to perform an act or buy something from you, is that not selling? I think the message applies.
Think Customers
The 1to1 Blog
Guest Blogger James Castellano: The Truth About Motivation, and What You Can Do About It
Motivation as a topic is quite popular. Whether in sports or in business, we talk about motivating others to perform better, to work better, or to help us accomplish our goals. But the best way to motivate can be quite elusive. We try all sorts of different programs and philosophies to get others motivated, but in the end, we are right back where we started. There is a very simple reason why this happens. The reality of motivation is this: We cannot positively motivate anyone but ourselves.
We can absolutely spawn negative motivation in others, which can be considered intimidation, but this only lasts for a short period of time before we have to do it again. Positive self-motivation must come from within each one of us and can only be applied to ourselves by ourselves. To be clear, true and effective motivation must come from the inside; it's not forced on us by someone else.
So the next question is, "How then can I build a team of self-motivated individuals?" Before we get to the answer, let's examine why the problem exists.
Many of us are motivated by fear of loss rather than the joy of gain. According to published studies, 80 percent of us will usually react much quicker and much stronger to prevent losing something important, such as our job, than to performing over and above for a possible bonus.
I don't know the exact reason behind this for everyone else, but for me this behavior relates to when I was younger and would get grounded if I did what I wasn't supposed to. My parents never said, "Act properly and you'll get a reward"; it was always, "Don't do that or you'll get in trouble." And it worked, at least for awhile, and then they had to do it again and again.
In the workforce things are not much different. If you tell your people that when they achieve certain goals they will get rewarded with a pay raise, bonuses, or promotions, about 20 percent will respond positively. The other 80 percent don't , because they are motivated by fear of loss. They will do just enough to not get fired, plus complain about the lack of pay raises, etc. We then begin to wonder why we are not achieving the results we want.
