It’s my birthday today! I love birthdays! For me it means I’ve made it another year, about to start a new one and I get excited for what’s ahead and for celebrating how far I’ve come. Any excuse for a party of any sort really!! And cake!!
And motivation is one of my favourite subjects and one that needs much more prominence and understanding if you really want to build and grow a motivated, high performing and loyal team.
So why am I talking about your why?
Well because at the heart of motivation is your why! Motivation is the energy that gets you up in the morning, the reason you do things.
For me making a difference, being part of a community and collaborating (hence the party!!) and having the freedom and independence to do things on my terms, is what truly drives me. Knowing this means I can make choices about how I work, where I work, what I work on and with whom. Does it mean that I can always do that?
No.
But does it mean that I work towards that in everything I do?
Yes!
Imagine if you knew not only what drives you but also what drives each and every person in your team? What would it mean in terms of:
- How you communicate with your team?
- What you make available to them?
- How you delegate work?
- Who you ask to work together?
- What you expect people to say yes and no to?
- How you sell them an idea?
Take me as an example.
- I’m motivated by:
- Making a difference
- Collaboration and belonging
- Freedom and independence
| How you communicate with your team? | Tell me how what I’m doing contributes to the whole. Help me see the difference that I am making and sell me the bigger picture | |||
| What you make available to them? | Freedom to work in a way that suits me. The opportunity to work on the bigger picture. A team to belong to and collaborate with | |||
| How you delegate work? | Tell me what the end result needs to be and ask me to tell you what I can contribute | |||
| Who you ask to work together? | With someone who will complement my skills and who enjoys being part of a team | |||
| What you expect people to say yes and no to? | Yes to big picture, less to detail (at least for long periods of time!) | |||
| How you sell them an idea? | Sell me on the big vision and the opportunity to be part of the team whilst having the freedom to choose how I work |
There are 9 key motivators
Can you identify what it is that drives people in your team? What can you do to focus on what drives them in order to enable them to motivate themselves?
To find out more about motivation and motivational maps go to our page on Motivation
