If you want to make things happen the ability to motivate yourself and others is a crucial skill. At work, home, and everywhere in between, people use motivation to get results. Motivation requires a delicate balance of communication, structure, and incentives. These 21 tactics will help you maximize motivation in yourself and others.
Motivation
1. Consequences - Never use threats. They’ll turn people against you. But making people aware of the negative consequences of not getting results (for everyone involved) can have a big impact. This one is also big for self motivation. If you don’t get your act together, will you ever get what you want?
2. Pleasure - This is the old carrot on a stick technique. Providing pleasurable rewards creates eager and productive people.
3. Performance incentives - Appeal to people’s selfish nature. Give them the opportunity to earn more for themselves by earning more for you.
4. Detailed instructions - If you want a specific result, give specific instructions. People work better when they know exactly what’s expected.
5. Short and long term goals - Use both short and long term goals to guide the action process and create an overall philosophy.
6. Kindness - Get people on your side and they’ll want to help you. Piss them off and they’ll do everything they can to screw you over.
7. Deadlines - Many people are most productive right before a big deadline. They also have a hard time focusing until that deadline is looming overhead. Use this to your advantage by setting up a series of mini-deadlines building up to an end result.
8. Team Spirit - Create an environment of camaraderie. People work more effectively when they feel like part of team — they don’t want to let others down.
10. Recognize achievement - Make a point to recognize achievements one-on-one and also in group settings. People like to see that their work isn’t being ignored.
11. Personal stake - Think about the personal stake of others. What do they need? By understanding this you’ll be able to keep people happy and productive.
12. Concentrate on outcomes - No one likes to work with someone standing over their shoulder. Focus on outcomes — make it clear what you want and cut people loose to get it done on their own.
13. Trust and Respect - Give people the trust and respect they deserve and they’ll respond to requests much more favorably.
14. Create challenges - People are happy when they’re progressing towards a goal. Give them the opportunity to face new and difficult problems and they’ll be more enthusiastic.
15. Let people be creative - Don’t expect everyone to do things your way. Allowing people to be creative creates a more optimistic environment and can lead to awesome new ideas.
16. Constructive criticism - Often people don’t realize what they’re doing wrong. Let them know. Most people want to improve and will make an effort once they know how to do it.
17. Demand improvement - Don’t let people stagnate. Each time someone advances raise the bar a little higher (especially for yourself).
18. Make it fun - Work is most enjoyable when it doesn’t feel like work at all. Let people have fun and the positive environment will lead to better results.
19. Create opportunities - Give people the opportunity to advance. Let them know that hard work will pay off.
20. Communication - Keep the communication channels open. By being aware of potential problems you can fix them before a serious dispute arises.
21. Make it stimulating - Mix it up. Don’t ask people to do the same boring tasks all the time. A stimulating environment creates enthusiasm and the opportunity for “big picture” thinking.
Master these key points and you’ll increase motivation with a bit of hard work.
Related Articles:
- How To Motivate Yourself - Self Motivation
- Balancing the Future and the Present
- Overcoming a Loss of Motivation
(16 votes, average: 4.19 out of 5)
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This is great! I’ll be taking a print-out to my Project Management meeting this afternoon. Thanks.
You have been tagged for The Personal Development List. (See my site for details), I would love to have you participate.
Great list, John!
I think your #10 is particuarly valuable. I was just reading (literally, like 20 minutes ago) something that said more people leave their jobs because they feel unappreciated than because they want more money/benefits.
Unfortunately, where I work, management constantly shoots down our attempts to get an employee recognition program going. They’re standard response: “We value EVERY member of our organization. To single out one employee’s (or team’s) efforts will make everyone else feel slighted!” So every other year they do a company-wide recognition event where EVERYONE is “recognized” (which means, in reality, that NO ONE is recognized). Morale here is quite low, by the way.
I’d like to add one more tactic to your excellent list:
22. LEAD BY EXAMPLE. Don’t just tell people how to fulfill the company’s mission, vision & goals … SHOW them.
I believe most other tactics are doomed to failure if managers don’t act as they demand their employees to act (i.e., expect employees to meet deadlines yet be constantly late with their own work). (Failure to “walk the walk” is another reason morale here is low.)
Sorry to vent a bit, John… but this list really hit home for me. Thanks so much for the stimulation!
Success From the Nest has a great post ((http://successfromthenest.com/content/eternal-playlist-of-the-successful-mind/#more-214) about reconnecting with our enthusiasm by using some NLP (neurolinguistic programming) techniques to relive past successes. I’m a certified practitioner of NLP, and Tony’s post is the most down-to-earth and powerful description of some of those techniques I have ever read.
I tend to be inner-directed, so when I need motivation I reconnect with the love of doing the job and the joy of being on the path to success. I’m a firm believer in Earnie Larson’s statement: “There are few things more wonderful than knowing where you want to go and being on the path to getting there.”
[…] the Brain: I love this site. Sample posts include: "21 Proven Motivation Tactics" and "Top 5 ways to build a wonderful […]
[…] 21 Proven Motivation Tactics - […]
Why is there no number 9?
[…] 21 Proven Motivation Tactics - […]
9 is bad luck? Just kidding. I must have pulled one out by accident. Too late to change it now, I’d mess up the title.
[…] at Pick the Brain has come up with a great article called 21 Proven Motivation Tactics. He has put together these tools to help us to motivate ourselves and others so that we can be […]
better one for team spirit: Team work makes the dream work.
Funny. I read item 7 as ‘Deadliness’. How’s that for motivation?!
A very nice list, being sure to save this when I (more correct: if I) get a executive position somewhere. =D
[…] read more | digg story […]
Was number nine a good one?
Doubtful, or else I wouldn’t have cut it.
I read this from the perspective of helping someone lose weight.
Turns out, I am using quite a few already. I’ll have to add some of the others too.
Thanks for the tips.
9 is my favorite number! You can add 1 more in, that way you don’t need to change the title =)
As part of April Appreciaton Month, I want to share my educational pledge which is appropriate during this period, epsecially for our young people:
An Educational Pledge
I pledge to maintain a
Healthy Mind and Body
Staying away from the Vice of drugs
I pledge always to try my Best to understand
The importance of Knowledge and Education
I pledge to paint a Positive picture of where I plan to be in the future
Not allowing obstacles to stop the growth of my Plans
I pledge to seek Answers to Questions,
With the understanding that they
Will lead to other discoveries
I pledge to work Firm
With the Awareness and Confidence
That firm work Today will serve
As the Seeds for my strong Tree tomorrow
A Tree that no one will be able to tear down
I pledge to learn proper languages,
Beginning with my Mother’s
Always prepared to Appreciate others
I pledge to gain a better understanding of Me
By understanding my Cultural roots
I pledge to fully accept Me as a human being
A Rainbow of many cultures and colors
I pledge to overcome any Personal misfortunes
Becoming Stronger from such misfortunes
Always striving to become
A wise person.
[…] read more | digg story […]
[…] => Read more: 21 Proven Motivation Tactics […]
I somewhat disagree with #17. Though common sense tells us that the only way we’re going to improve is by constantly challenging ourselves (which is great for personal goal setting), you sometimes run the risk of setting unrealistic expectations that can result in a decrease in morale due to failure or long hours. Additionally, it may not be wise to set one person’s performance as the bar for another as they may have very different skill-sets. You have to thoroughly evaluate the feasibility of those goals and be prepared to accept the possibility that you made an error when those goals are not achieved.
All of the other tips are great, thanks for your clear and concise thoughts!
I agree with Jon. People are happiest and most productive when they’re challenged just the right amount (see http://stresstopower.com/Optimizing%20Stress.html ), but if someone else is constantly raising the bar for them it will be oppressive. Don’t forget items 6 and 11.
[…] 21 Proven Motivation Tactics - Pick the Brain […]
Great post, Im sending this one to some people iIknow who can use it in their next meeting. I esp. liked #3 appealing to people’s selfish nature-it works!!LOL…
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[…] Motivation Deadlines - Many people are most productive right before a big deadline. They also have a hard time focusing until that deadline is looming overhead. Use this to your advantage by setting up a series of mini-deadlines building up to an end result. (tags: career) […]
It’s carrot and stick, not carrot on a stick. Carrot and stick refers to reward & ounishment. A carrot dangled on pole, as fishing, is never actually received.
Motivation is great, but don’t forget one of Dave Barry’s most important rules: “Never confuse your career with your life.” In the long run you’ll get more meaningful stuff done if you know what your life is about.
[…] [via: Self Motivation and Employee Motivation] […]
Wheres number 9?
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#18 is great. As a wee lad, I used to ask”If it isn’t fun, why am I doing it?” I somehow forgot that question down the road, but have since resurrected it. Life is too short. Also, variety is the spice of life, as #21 attests.
[…] Wesley presents 21 Proven Tactics for Self and Employee Motivation posted at Pick the […]
Great advice, but what’s #9???
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[…] 21 Proven Tactics for Self and Employee Motivation by John Wesley. […]
[…] an interesting list of ideas that you could use to motivate your team. Pretty […]
[…] for LifeClever by John Wesley, who writes at PickTheBrain.com about self improvement, motivation, and building self […]
Wonderful blog John. I like that it is easy to read and clarifies each heading in a simple and direct manner. Where’s number 9? I particularly like the ones about team work as there is not enough in the world today.
I would love to share more thoughts on motivation in my personal blog here. Big Hugs.
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[…] for ZenHabits by John Wesley. He writes at PickTheBrain.com about self-improvement, self-motivation, and building healthy […]
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[…] work. Written for ZenHabits by John Wesley. He writes at PickTheBrain.com about self-improvement, self-motivation, and building healthy relationships. If you liked this article, please bookmark it on del.icio.us […]
What is a Call Center’s secret to motivation?
If the agents value success, integrity, customer service, a personal work ethic, excellence and innovation, then we help the associate align those values with the organization’s objectives. We help in creating personal long-term goals such as becoming a top producer or a more short-term goal like mastering the calling script. We reinforce their emotional state of confidence, keeping them focused on the basics, guidelines and adherence to hit for a higher standard. Rewards are common for agents with positive customer feedback so that they consider the call center a career opportunity, not a dead end job.
Money will always motivate employees. In Costa Rica, call center jobs are high-paying, highly sought-after jobs in comparison to other vocations. Most of the telemarketing jobs leaving the United States are for positions and salaries many North Americans snub. A call center agent will make a consistent, effective contribution to the campaign’s success in order to insure that their paycheck continues.
Very good and solid list, thank you, I resonate with each item. The only issue is the page titled as “Increase Self Motivation” and the content is for motivating others
it’s a bit misleading..
its useful
Very Good post and the pointers are invaluable. I like #16 most cos’ I believe that with constructive criticism, one can grow by leaps & bounds.
All the best.
Visit me at www.visualizeforsuccess.com
Cheers
Nancy
I enjoy your wonderful web page and added it as a link on my site: Aneducationalpledge.com, the reference section.
Can you add our site as a link?
Yours
Alberto O. Cappas
__________________
This is indeed very interesting. But i have one consideration of other level. Which person has to be the boss? I mean boss as personality has enormous admission on employee motivation.
This is a very intresting article. I will definately apply some of these tips to my own life. For some other tips for self motivation check out http://www.mymindanswers.com/2008/02/achieving-your-goals.html
Good one :), you should consider writing part II of this article
I subscribe to this daily motivational video blog. Its actually called
http://www.kickstartmyday.com
[…] Wesley presents 21 Proven Tactics for Self and Employee Motivation posted at Pick the […]
great nice reading thanks for some treasurable knowlege.
Some good advice that if adhered to will increase motivation of your staff, maybe you should do a list for self-motivation. Or maybe I will do one……….
I like the points about kindness. As a therapist I see people who say that they are touched if there boss notices they are having a hard day. This creates loyalty.
Communication is also important:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Did-You-Miss-Employee-Appreciation-Day&id=1045236
excellent…
this is indeed rare material..that help and guide us to our desired goal.
realy thanx for such valuable material..
[…] Self Motivation Aug 23, 2007 … 21 Proven Motivation Tactics for Self and Employee Motivation […] …. Build Self Confidence · 5 Simple Ways to Increase Intelligence … […]
Great to read good stuff every now and then!
Regards Marcel
This a very comprehensive article, there are quite a few gems that I will take from it.
Great effort.
[…] Originally posted at PickTheBrain a weblog dedicated to self improvement and motivation. […]