Matthew,
Excellent observations. It sounds like you do your best to empower your team and colleagues to envision the end result and determine the steps that they will need to take in order to achieve that vision. It also sounds like you see the value in providing guidance along the way to continue moving in the direction of the goal. Great approaches!
Shannon Gormley
I believe one of the best ways to motivate someone is to let that person know what the end result of a job is and then to have that person be involved in the process of how to get to that end result. One can't allow that person to try to achieve the goal without any guidance at all, however, input from the person working on the task should feel that their ideas and thoughts are valuable.
Excellent insights and practices, Brian. I can hear the passion and motivation for what you do in your response. I'm sensing that you demonstrate that in your actions and set an example for your staff by modeling positive behaviors. Keep up the great work!
Shannon Gormley
I try to motivate from the two elements that drive me every day. First, I believe that our responsibility is to provide the best, most approachable education possible while the students are with us. Second, I love and believe in what I do. It makes me happy to see talented people succeed at what they endeavor to do. My enthusiasm is genuine and I never ask anyone to do anything I wouldn't do myself, so as a result, its easy to dig deep and find help, even in tough situations because the goal is so important to us all. I also truly respect my co-workers, so the time I could be spending sugar-coating situations or smoothing over situations is spent doing good work to help our students. Even when I have employees less motivated to go the extra mile, they are receptive to the idea that what we do is for the client first, we are merely the instrument of that, and from that perpective, they step their game up when needed.
Excellent points, Kevin. Providing direction for your folks is essential in helping them to embrace their purpose. And without a doubt, trust built between a leader and his/her followers is a key element to your success. It sounds like you are a leader that looks to cultivate trust, puropse and vision for your team. I imagine that helps in motivating those individuals.
I agree with Lynn that successful individuals have a high level of self-motivation, and that is one of the factors which makes them successful. As a leader, I feel that you can help motivate other people by providing meaning and direction in an individuals job and to help them develop a sense of purpose in their role on the team. I also feel that developing strong trust with your employees is essential. If the employees trust that you have their best interest in mind, as well as trust in your vision of accomplishing the teams goals, they will be motivated to be a part of that successful undertaking or challenge. I feel that if people don't trust you as a supervisor, or trust in the way you are leading them, they will not be motivated in the work they are doing.
Sounds as if you have a good read on your team, Lynn. That diagnosis is essential to providing them with the elements they need to do their job. In your case, as a leader, you're providing direction so they can put all their effort into a job well done for a reason. Good work!
I truly believe that people must motivate themselves. That said, as a department leader with one year under my belt, I believe in leading by example. I am passionate about my company, my work and the people in my department and they know it. The team that I lead know how to do their jobs-they don't need me for that. What they need is a sense of pride, purpose and fun! They also need to know they are appreciated.
This is so true, Virgie! So how do you do this? How does someone motivate another person?
Motivating other is essential because employee can obtain a sense of purpose and maintain orgaizational goals and objective. Employees that are motivated will work harder, stay loyal to the company, and find pleasure in their position.
