Motivational Ground Rules

Motivational Ground Rules

Managers often complain about lack of motivation of their people. This is the first fallacy of motivation. The only people who are not motivated are no longer with us. The rest of us still with a heartbeat , we all have a motive for what we do.

It’s sometimes useful to remind ourselves about what we as Managers can and cannot do:

Ground Rule 1  :  You Cannot Motivate other People

You don’t decide what motivates another individual, they do!

Ground Rule 2  :  All People are Motivated

You might be thinking that you know someone who is constantly late, another who  leaves early and another who is late with paperwork….how can they be motivated? Well, each have a reason these behaviours. They all have a motivation for acting in such a way, that is more powerful than the motivation to do the opposite!

Ground Rule 3  :  People do things for their reasons, not yours

Whatever your people are doing right now, they have a reason for it. Whether it is because:

  • They have to
  • They love it
  • They need to
  • They cannot see any alternative….

….they will have their reasons for doing whatever it is they are doing.

So, if people do things for their reasons , coming full circle to Ground Rule 1 –

You cannot motivate anyone BUT you can create a climate where people motivate themselves.

 Know your people, know what influences, persuades and challenges them, create an environment which reflects this a climate of self-motivation will follow.