|
Motivation can be an extremely complex
attitude to define, nurture and enhance with
people. It's different for every one of us.
Motivational values, attitudes,
perceptiveness and potential in every one
changes from day to day, from situation to
situation. If you can align the right values
with the individual and their environment,
your motivational methods will work better.
Motivational methods of any sort will not
work if the people on the team are not
aligned. People are motivated towards
something they can relate to and something
they can believe in.
World Class Athletes know the importance of
motivation, peak-performance and alignment
in order to achieve success and set world
records. When I think back to one sports
figure that epitomized motivation alignment
and focus, it was Roger Bannister – the
first human being to break the
four-minute-mile barrier.
The prevailing thought of the day was that
no human being could possibly break the
four-minute-mile barrier, many thought it
was humanly impossible, the body could not
physically move that fast. However, Roger
Bannister, a medical student, fought the
prevailing thinking and training methods of
the day and pushed his body in the
rudimentary labs of Oxford – really the
world’s first human-sports performance lab.
All the media journals said it was
impossible to achieve this great milestone
and many in the sports world agreed, but
this did not discourage Roger Bannister. The
barrier was broke on May 6th, 1954, when
Roger Bannister sped past a field of 45
other runners to finish the mile with a
record of 3:59:4. A new world record had
been set.
Roger Banister went on to graduate from
Oxford and has practiced medicine for over
40 years and was recently knighted by the
Queen. He realized early in life that one of
the most basic elements of motivational
psychology is that you always reward
positive behavior that is aligned with a
motivational focus.
When we align the goals, purpose and values
between people, teams and organization we
then have the most fundamental aspect of
motivational alignment. The better the
alignment and personal association with the
team’s goals, the better the platform for
motivation. When people find it difficult to
align and associate with the coaches or
managers aims, then most motivational ideas
and activities will have a reduced level of
success.
What used to motivate people years ago is no
longer valid. Some people don’t necessarily
want more money, a bigger house or a foreign
sports car. The new currency in 2007 seems
to be a want of more personal fulfillment -
being self-actualized, as Maslow said in his
hierarchy of needs.
We want the time to pursue the goals we
want, the job that really fulfills us, while
spending more quality time with friends and
family. Times have changed. You should view
the following motivational methods and ideas
as structures, activities and building
blocks, to be used when you have a solid
foundation in place. The foundation is a
cohesive alignment of people's needs and
values with the aims and purpose of the
organization. |
