CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
One of the most common myths of motivation with today's leaders is people believe they can motivate other people to accomplish any task or mission. The fact of the matter is, individuals must motivate themselves.
According to authors and organizational-behavior experts, Steven McShane and Mary Von Glinow, "motivation is an inner drive specific and different with each individual that determines our direction, intensity and persistence of a particular behavior."
Motivation is sensitive yet complex in nature and can be one of the most powerful tools we can use to our benefit if, and only if, we understand it. Obviously, one of the most important reasons to understand motivation is to increase productivity in the workplace. Leaders and supervisors can effectively stimulate motivation by understanding a few basic principles and by following some simple steps and guidelines. I'd like to share some of these ideas in hopes they can benefit your organization.
A key principle to motivation is knowing what motivates each person in your organization.
So how can a supervisor or leader possibly learn what motivates each person in the work center? To state the obvious ... we must get to know our people. A leader must "get out from behind the desk" and talk to the people in their organization. Supervisors can learn a lot about a person just from observing them, having casual conversations and listening in on the ever present "chow hall chatter."
Additionally, we must understand motivation is a dynamic process it, is constantly changing and is not a simple one-time task. Just because people seem to be motivated in your organization today doesn't mean they will sustain that behavior. It requires constant monitoring and stimulation.
So what steps can you take as a leader to create an environment to instigate motivation in the workplace? Here are a few simple steps I "stole" from leadership expert and author, Dr. Carter McNamara and his book, "Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision."
1. Conduct one-on-one meetings with people in your organization to help get to know them. This is by far the most important step in motivating your team members.
2. Make a list of three to five things you believe motivates each of your Airmen individually. After completing the list, meet with them and compare your list to theirs; you may be surprised by the results.
3. Reward your Airmen as soon as you see them succeed. Timely awards are much more motivational than belated ones.
4. Implement a reward program that is important to the people in your organization. Maybe after four or five years, it's time to replace the infamous "pen and pencil set." Once you get to know the people in your organization better, this will come easy.
5. Celebrate achievements. Don't just send a "congrats" via e-mail. Be proactive to the old adage, "Praise in public."
6. Lastly, don't just read great articles on motivation, be proactive and practice techniques to inspire motivation. You may have to get out of your comfort zone and try new things. Remember, motivation is a dynamic and ever-changing process.
Creating a motivational environment for our Airmen takes a conscious and sincere effort. As you "peel back the onion" of each person, you will find each individual is unique and may be motivated by completely different factors. Routine practice of solid motivation techniques will sustain a healthy organization and create a more productive workplace.
Zig Ziglar said it best, "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."