The alarm clock rings, it’s x-O’clock in the morning, and it’s time to get ready for work (whether at a brick & mortar building, or in your crib). Do you wake up eager to get started even if you’re tired? Or do you hit the snooze button hoping to delay the inevitable – even for just a few more minutes? Hangovers and fewer sleep hours aside, part of your answer depends on your level of motivation. Sure, your motivation comes in two flavors: Internal (intrinsic) and external (extrinsic), and both are important for optimal effectiveness.
If you’re eager to get to work, you (usually) appear on-point, focused, showed-up, and ready to hit the current project with spirit and drive. There is an element of motivation at work, perhaps both intrinsic (coming from your own heart, head, and hands) and extrinsic (rewards found within the job-role itself). Getting a paycheck for what you’re doing makes it even better. But the reason for getting out of bed was not only the ‘cha-ching’ of your bank accepting the deposit. It’s more than that, especially if all of the motivators are aligned in a motivational harmonics in your work environment. This isn’t easy to achieve and depends on openness and sensitivity of the entire organization from C-level to entry-level.
Regarding your own motivation, does most of it come from you, internally? Or from your workplace, externally? Your level of engagement in the job-role is directly related to your level of motivation. You’ve all seen the statistics showing that one of the top reasons why someone leaves a company is because of their manager or immediate supervisor. In defense of your manager or supervisor, my guess is that the greater company has given them minimal if any training on motivating, managing, and engaging teams to maintain optimal effectiveness. (Notice that I’ve said ‘effectiveness,’ not ‘productivity,’ which is corporate terminology.) Managers operate under the relentless pressure and awareness of what else must be done. It’s a Mobius loop of situations, tasks, making ‘productivity’ numbers. Then, when a team member brings a concern or squawk, it may be perceived as an intrusion into the manager’s already crowded job-role. Lacking adequate training from the organization, the manager attempts to expedite a resolution. On the employee’s side, there may be a perception of the manager not caring, or giving only minimal attention to the issue. One’s perception is their reality. And the engagement decline continues. To continue the conversation with your colleagues, ask them where they get their primary motivation. Does it come from internal sources or external ones? If it’s internal drives, then what type: Money, influence, helping others, belonging to a team, or any number of other specifics? If it’s external, then what type: Paycheck, bonuses, awards, attention, etc.? The answers may provide additional insight into motivators you share with others, and areas of divergence. Either way, no one is wrong, we’re just different one from another. For additional insight and a free 30-day trial, check out the world’s first 90-second survey, it’ not an ‘assessment.’ It quickly explores Heart, Head, and Hands and how they intersect to affirm and support each of our unique motivators.
Mindset Merge of Heart, Head, and Hands
