This is very useful — and always timely! Motivation is often misinterpreted and mismanaged. We imagine our “followers” should be motivated by what motivates us — and we respond to the challenges of connecting performance excellence with mission and culture of an organization. I particularly like the tip — don’t impose your values! Sometimes this is such a tender leadership task…
In her new book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work … And What Does, author Susan Fowler reminds leaders that employees are always motivated—it’s just the quality of their motivation that’s a problem sometimes. Fowler shares how the repeated use of motivational carrots & sticks might get results in the short term, but often have negative consequences long-term.
That’s why she labels a motivational mindset created by the use of rewards and/or punishment as sub-optimal and why she encourages individuals and leaders to check-in on their own motivational mindset occasionally to make sure that they aren’t just going through the motions. Fowler knows from the research that sustained, healthy, long-term motivation comes from an aligned and integrated motivational outlook where work is connected to a higher purpose and people see how their role fits into the bigger picture.
How can you tell when it might be time for a motivational outlook check-up? Here…
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