By Daniel Bobinski
One of the largest misconceptions among managers and leaders is the idea that they can motivate other people. The truth is that people do things for their reasons, not ours. When we use threats or cajole people to do things they otherwise wouldn’t do, that’s manipulation, not motivation. To get the strongest support for any effort, we must learn the truth about motivation.
The word “motivation” means “a reason to move,” and each person has their own reasons for doing something.
To use a simple example, imagine you work at a restaurant with a team of a dozen people. If you were a betting person, you could wager that each person has their own reason for working there.
One person shows up each day because she likes the social engagement she has with co-workers and customers. Another person’s main reason for showing up is simply a steady paycheck. Another shows up because he loves being of service to others. Yet another shows up because she loves the creativity in preparing visually appealing dishes. Then there’s the manager, who loves coming to work because she likes overseeing and managing the restaurant’s operations.
Each person comes to the same place to work, but each person’s core reasons for doing so stem from different motivations. The first reason was social; the second was financial. Then there was a person motivated by acts of service, followed by the person driven by artistic creativity and finally positions of authority. Each person works at the same restaurant, but each for a different reason.
A good leader recognizes that these differences exist and strives to understand them for each person on his or her team. Why? Because these are true motivations – each team member’s “reason to move.”
The problem many managers and leaders have is they come up with a reason people should do something and then try to convince others that their reason is valid and should be a good reason for people to act.
When people have that belief, it’s common to hear them say things like, “I wish we could find a way to motivate Bill.” This frequently heard phrase is based on bad psychology, which is the mistaken belief that we can place within someone else a reason to move and expect that person to emotionally engage.
Instead, true motivation starts by identifying another person’s intrinsic values. For managers and leaders, instead of saying “I wish I could find a way to motivate Bill,” they might say, “I need to learn what makes Bill tick – what his interests, attitudes and values are.”
By knowing what drives people, we can engage others via their existing motivations to unite them in a common goal. That’s the key to healthy motivation.
How to do it? Talk with people. Ask them about their values and their worldviews. Also, talk with them about the vision and mission of your team and ask how they see themselves fitting into that vision. The question isn’t, “What do you bring to the team?” but rather, “What personal reward do you feel you get from participating?”
Bottom line, people move for their reasons, not yours.
