How to Motivate People At Work
How to Motivate People at Work
People come to work for many reasons, and understanding these reasons helps motivate them to work better.
There are two kinds of motivators: positive and negative.
Negative motivators include threats, sanctions, reprimands, and punishments. These methods should only be used as a last resort or in an emergency. Negative motivators create bad blood and are unsustainable.
Using positive motivation with employees is crucial because it significantly boosts productivity, job satisfaction, and morale. When employees feel valued and appreciated, they are more engaged, creative, and committed to their work. This supportive environment reduces stress and burnout, fosters a strong company culture, and enhances professional development. Ultimately, a positive and motivating workplace leads to lower turnover, higher customer satisfaction, and attracts top talent, providing a competitive edge for the organisation.
Positive motivation techiques include:
1. Money
Everyone values money because it provides choices.
2. Things equivalent to money
For example, vouchers or time off.
3. Recognition for achievements
People work for medals, awards, and certificates. For example, councils award organisations with bronze, silver, gold, and platinum awards, and companies strive to achieve these.
4. Job security
In an uncertain marketplace, job security is valuable. Most people will work to secure their position.
5. Verbal praise and appreciation
Thanks, praise, and appreciation are free to give and costly not to. Failure to appreciate people causes failure. Give appreciation for good work, and you will see more good work.
6. Investment in professional development
Invest in someone's professional development to motivate them. Tell them you are helping them actualise their full potential. This makes people feel appreciated and valued, and they will work harder.
7. Promise of possible promotion
Without giving cast iron guarantees, telling people their career is on an upward path inspires them to work harder.
Honesty in Motivation
For these methods to be effective, they must be done with complete honesty. Any dishonesty will cause failure. The moment a person is perceived as dishonest, that person loses the trust of others.
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Further Reading in Motivation
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The Myth of Natural Talent
Success is crafted through deliberate knowledge acquisition and rigorous practice, dispelling myths of innate talent. 'Sixth sense' stems from experience, not magic. Persevere through setbacks; quitting is the real failure.
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Give Yourself Positive Feedback
Giving yourself positive feedback is the art of recognising when you have done a good job, and remembering to praise yourself. This promotes a good self-image. A good self-image is important because it is the basis of a healthy personality.
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How to Motivate Someone to Change
Many people dislike change and will do anything to avoid it. Motivating someone to change can be difficult, but the Pleasure/Plain Questioning Technique is a brilliant way to help motivate people to change. It's all about asking the right questions!
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Load the Dice in Your Favour
Success requires all three dice; representing you, others, and circumstances, to score a 6. Your excellence, others' performance, and favourable circumstances must align for success. A challenging feat, over which you only have partial control.
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Understanding Human Motivation: Fear of Rejection
The fear of rejection can stop people from applying for their dream job, simply because of the fear of failure. Learn how to overcome this irrational fear and live life on your terms.
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