Recently, I was conducting a workshop on Leadership for a group of young, enthusiastic Managers. I was delighted to see their bright and bubbly faces gleaming with a lot of enthusiasm, waiting for me to come out with the next line of encouragement.
While discussing Motivation for Leaders, we talked about various ways of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, de-motivators etc. and something highly motivating for me emerged by the end of the workshop.
I have always been able to relate to Maslow’s need hierarchy theory in my own ways; and have felt that it is possible for a person to be at all or any one or more of the five levels (as described in the theory & depicted in the picture given here). Someone who’s at the self-actualization stage could still have some physiological needs and vice-versa for all levels of needs. But keeping various levels of needs in consideration, how can one increase intrinsic motivation for oneself & others?
Simple- do and make others do the following things:
1. See dreams, chart a path for yourself
3. Look at the larger picture-don’t act by looking at the tip of the ice berg
4. Aspire for higher level needs, aim at self actualisation - Someone who’s at self actualisation stage, would be mature, honest, and an able leader. His intrinsic motivation shall naturally be high & external motivators or de motivators shall play negligible role on his spirits. We must try ourselves and encourage others to look at something bigger and better.
By the end of the workshop, in the feedback session, one of the participants said that he would go back to his location and immediately apply this learning on a teammate who was senior in age, worked well but lacked the motivation to do better since money and power failed to motivate him. The participant felt confident that this learning would help in motivating his not so motivated teammate. And this response was quite a motivational experience for me:)
