Feb
16
Written by:
Chris Osborn
2/16/2011 4:45
PM
This is "Random
Acts of Kindness
Week." I like
random, and I
like kindness,
so what's not to
like about the
week? Right? The
truth of the
matter is that
we frequently
fail to be
enjoyably random
or kind at work.
I can't begin to
tell you how
many
conversations
I've had over
the years with
people who tell
me about their
"work" self
compared to
their "home"
self. So for
many of us, work
becomes a place
where we feel
like we have to
check our true
selves at the
door, which
might help
explain why so
many people seem
unhappy at work
or largely
unmotivated.
Which - in a
rather
roundabout way -
gets me to
today's topic -
motivation.
Why do
organizations of
every size shape
and description
routinely fail
to motivate and
engage their
employees? It’s
not like there
are mysteries or
tightly kept
secrets to
motivating
people. In fact,
one of the best
business and
leadership books
published in the
past several
years is ALL
about motivation
–
Drive, by Daniel
Pink.
So – with all of
this
information,
data and
research out
there, why is
this so hard for
so many leaders
to get right?
|
Now –
what’s
so hard
about
this?
It’s
different,
and it
represents
change,
and it
does NOT
capture
the
prevailing
dogma of
traditional
business
motivation.
And
sadly –
it’s
killing
many
organizations
that
once had
wonderful
potential.
Some
leaders
simply
fail to
motivate
- why? |
 |
Speaking purely
from personal
experience, I
can say with
100% certainty
that Daniel Pink
is spot on when
he says the
three primary
motivators for
me are autonomy,
mastery and
purpose. I can
point to
numerous
examples in my
professional and
personal life
that more than
validate the
actual science
of human
motivation around
these three
concepts. But
simply being
motivated isn’t
the end of it –
not for me
anyway. What
happens when I
am motivated?
Well – I get
closer to
greatness than
at any other
time. Now I’m
not trying to
suggest I’ve
ever done a
thing that
anyone else
might call
“great.” I am
speaking in
relative terms
here. A gerbil
is a gerbil and
can’t be a
tiger. I’m a lot
closer to a
gerbil than
anything as
majestic and
truly great as a
tiger. But in my
own little
gerbil way, I’ve
found some ways
to make
contributions to
the people
around me
(purpose), when
I’ve been left
to my own
devices
(autonomy) and
given a chance
to learn some
and get pretty
good at new
stuff (mastery).
And this leads
straight to the
contributions
people – like me
– can make to
the
organization’s
bottom line when
we are truly
motivated. This
is the place
where creativity
and innovation
flourish. This
is the place
where good ideas
germinate and
are nurtured.
This is the
place where
greatness – in
context –
happens. And
this begs a
truly
fundamental
question many of
us currently
confront each
and every day as
we trudge to our
office or
cubicle. If we
can achieve some
measure of
greatness when
we are actually
motivated, why
do our “leaders”
(and I use that
term only to
denote a
hierarchy) sap
the very life
out of our work
and kill those
things that
might motivate
us?
I'm very
fortunate to be
here at
BizLibrary
where I can
state - I am
motivated. It's
a great feeling,
and I sincerely
hope each of you
can say the same
thing.
