WHY MOTIVATING PEOPLE DOESN'T WORK - PART 3

SHORT NOTES FROM:

WHY MOTIVATING PEOPLE DOESN'T WORK

SUSAN FOWLER

Berrett-Koehler Publications, Inc., San Francisco

218 Pages

Leaders must understand how to motivate themselves before they can hope to guide others.  Teaching leaders about motivation is difficult because they believe their job is to motivate others not themselves.  Good things happen when you shift to or maintain an optimal motivational outlook.

Motivating people doesn't work because you cannot control someone else's internalisation process.  Motivational Outlook conversation can give a person a greater chance to explore their values.  These provides for growth and understanding.  Outlook Conversation is not to problem solve, impose your values, or expect a shift.  The purpose is to guide individuals to their own understanding of their motivational options and then shift.

OUTLOOK CONVERSATIONS' FRAMEWORK

1. PREPARE

2. TRUST THE PROCESS

3. REFLECT

4. CLOSE

5. SELF-REFLECT

Leadership is not a role; leadership is a practice.  Great leadership takes great practice.  When practicing leadership, you invest in the emotional labour which requires you to observe what the people are experiencing, how they are feeling and why.

Motivation is one of the most vital and emotional aspect of leadership and one of the most confused and misunderstood,  Thus making most leaders become blind to what does and doesn't work.

Leaders do not have access to someone else's internal state of motivation.  It is nearly impossible for a leader to understand others' internal state of motivation by observing their external behaviour.  Different people can internalise the same conditions differently.  Embrace the idea that all emotions are acceptable but not all behaviour is acceptable.  Acknowledge the crucial role that feelings play i work and life.

It might be helpful to consider the potential effect of each power has on people's emotional well-being, intentions and motivational outlooks:

1. Reward Power
2. Coercive Power
3. Referent Power
4. Legitimate Power
5. Export Power
6. Information Power

Power undermines people's psychological needs.  It's people's perception that you have it and could use it.  Your leadership values ultimately determine how you lead and the quality of the workplace you create.

Being a leader is a privileged position.  What you say, how you say it, and why you say it make a difference in the live of the people you lead.  Most leaders are stuck with systems that promote driving over thriving.  People already and are always motivated.  Thus, help people understand why they are motivated.

What do you want from your people

vs

What do you want for your people

COMMON MISTAKES AS LEADERS

1. Assuming that people are unmotivated if they are checking their text messenger or tweeting instead of paying attention
2. forcing someone to feel a sense of relatedness
3. imposing growth and learning on a person

The End