We spend almost a third of our lives working. We work as students, instructors, consultants, caregivers – you name it. We all work, and we work a lot. What motivates us to do our best? How we can find meaning and satisfaction in work? What motivates us to finish Masters Degree, no matter how dreadful life is at the moment?
What motivates us to work?
First, human thoughts, emotions, and behavior are the center of motivation. You motivate yourself, no matter what is happening around you. You have to love what you do.
Second, leaders have a tremendous impact on the degree to which employees are motivated in the workplace.
Finally, the overall work environment – the psychological conditions and the emotional reality of the climate –impacts people’s desire to do well and affects their capabilities and motivation.
It is up to each one of us to discover what we are passionate about and to find work that inspires us to excel. There is no perfect job, but if we are clear about what motivates us, we will be more likely to (1) choose the right career and jobs and (2) find aspects of almost any job to engage passion. Self –awareness enables us to make good choices and to discover ways to infuse work with meaning, passion, fun, and great outcomes.
Great Leaders Inspire and Motivate Us
Self-awareness is important when you want to motivate others. As a leader, you can impact individuals, groups, and even entire organizations through your behavior. When you lead people, you cast a powerful shadow that either encourages or inhibits people’s motivation to engage in their work and join together to accomplish goals. This is true for informal leaders as well as people who hold titles and roles. What you do, say, and feel matters to others. In fact, they may even adopt your attitudes, beliefs, and behavior – for good or bad. Knowing yourself and understanding how people see you enable you to understand what kind of shadow you cast on the people around you. Being mindful of your leadership shadow allows you to create an environment that draws out the best in people: an environment that is ripe with hope, inspiration, and resonance.
As a leader, you can develop self-awareness. You can also learn how to inspire others. One way to inspire and motivate people is to help them feel hopeful about the future. Hope is particularly important when it comes to motivation. When it comes to work and motivation, hope is described as a state of mind that includes optimism, an image of a future that is challenging but realistic, and a belief that we can do something to move toward this vision. When people feel hopeful, they are psychologically and physically resilient, more determined, and better able to envision how to achieve goals. A hopeful state of mind supports people in managing motivation, energy, and effort while engaged in tasks at work.
A challenge for managers and leaders is to create a sense of hope among employees. This can be done in a number of ways, such as by tying work to a clear, compelling vision or by ensuring that employees see how their contributions make a difference. In addition, leaders can foster a sense of hope by helping employees focus on success and what’s possible, rather than constantly dwelling on problems. But remember – a vision must be realistic. Attempting to spark hope by painting a picture of an unrealistic future will ultimately backfire.
As a leader, you can impact people’s motivation to work hard and succeed simply by creating the right kind of environment. We are profoundly affected by the “mood” of people, groups, and organizations. Based on my experience – when working in situations where relationships are good, the mood is upbeat and hopeful, which helps me do my best. Good leaders know they must create such a work environment. They create what we call resonance in their relationships, groups, and organizations. A resonant environment at work is characterized by excitement, energy, optimism, efficacy, and hope – positive and powerful emotions when it comes to motivation.
Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation
Are we motivated to achieve an internal state that is in some way satisfying? Or are we seeking tangible outcomes that can be seen and measured outside of ourselves? How does our perception of control over our actions and environment link to motivation? What aspects of personality affect motivation?
Intrinsic motivation is defined as an internal sense of satisfaction derived from a work itself and/ or the desire to engage in activities even in the absence of external rewards in order to feel a sense of satisfaction, to use or improve one’s abilities, or to learn.
When behavior is intrinsically motivated, a person may be very interested in a task, seek a sense of accomplishment, or want to make a worthwhile contribution to other people or the organization. Intrinsic motivation is the basis for self-determination theory, developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. Self-determination theory is concerned with people’s need for empowerment (to feel competent and have reasonable degree of autonomy) and their need for relatedness (to care for and be related to others). When employee works for supervisor who fosters self-determination, they are positive about their work. But when supervisor are controlling employees, they show more negativity. Employees are more satisfied and motivated when they are allowed to encourage taking control of their environment, acting with autonomy, and actively seeking relatedness with others. Self-determination theory supports that intrinsic motivation is a powerful driver of employee’s behavior and performance at work. On the job, intrinsic motivators include interesting and appropriately challenging work, the opportunity to learn, and a chance to contribute to something that impacts employee and organization in a positive way. For the students, intrinsic motivators may include the chance to share ideas where both relationships and results are positive in class, or the opportunity to work on a self-directed project as a part of an effective team.
Extrinsic motivation is the result of forces or attraction outside the self, such as material rewards, social status, or avoidance of unpleasant consequences. Examples of extrinsic motivation at work include pay, benefits, and job security.
You may have to think about what motivates you to realize that intrinsic and extrinsic motivators are both important drivers of your behavior, effort, and persistence. I may work long and hard for my studies in Masters because I want a good grade and the Professor’s approval (extrinsic motivation). I may also enjoy learning (intrinsic motivation). It’s the same work: both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators are important drivers of behavior. As a manager, a team leader, or colleague, it is important to understand how to motivate employees so they can be personally productive while also contributing to the achievement of team and organizational goals.
In our organization, sometimes we lack motivation and I can say that this is one reason why sometimes my colleagues are not performing well. Each of us needs appreciation and recognition for an extra ordinary job that we have done. Giving rewards is one of the best motivating factors. It may not always be in a form of money but the kind words that we say to other people for a great accomplishment is more than enough. That simple act of motivation will inspire employee to excel and perform at their best effort.
We should always remember that we are not working just because of money. It is not only money which is important in this world. There was such thing as “service to the clientele”. It is not money that measures the fulfillment of one person but through working things you really want to do. We are working it’s because it is our will and passion to do those things.
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