Human Capital Resources, Inc.

Techniques To Build Motivation

VISUAL GOALS

Everyone expects to get somethingfor the time and effort they put in doing whatever job they do. Maybe the goal is a new house, a car, a vacation or just a new piece of clothing. Whatever it is that someone is working for, make it visual.Cut out pictures that shows goals or that represent the goal in some way.

Tape these pictures to a sheet of poster board and give it to your employeeso they will see it at home or at work so they can look at what they are working towards every time they become discouraged or feel like slacking off.

This technique works well for goals that are things we want and also goals that represent physical changes such as losing weight. You can post and carry pictures of the car you want or pictures of Hawaii to represent the vacation you want.

The more visual and more real you can make the goal, the better it will work at keeping someone motivated. One person I know was saving money for a very specific and expensive sports car. He knew it would take awhile before he had the money and he became discouraged often even though he had pictures of the car scattered all over his house and in the car he drove then. To make it more real to him, he and his wife went to the car dealer and took his picture sitting behind the wheel, looking in the trunk and standing next to the car. After posting these pictures, he related that it made it so much more real and much easier to stay on task when he became discouraged.

WRITTEN CONTRACTS

Motivational research shows that people who write out what they are going to do are far more successful than people who only tell themselves they will do something. Putting something in writing makes it psychologically more powerful. This is one reason why making written lists helps us stay more organized than just having a mental list. Our society favors written contracts and most of us have grown up knowing that you are supposed to honor written contracts. We can take advantage of this psychological conditioning to help us stay motivated.Wecan make a contract with ourselves as well as the people we manage.

In the contract, state what you want done, when you expect it to be completed and what the reward will be once the contract is fulfilled.Have your employee agree to it, or better yet, sign it. If the goals are too small or too large, revise them. You can rewrite the contract as needed but don't make it so easy that it becomes useless as a motivator.

REWARDS

Everyone likes to be rewarded for doing a good job. We also like being rewarded for just completing something we needed or wanted to do. Unfortunately, there are many times when there is no one else around to pat us on the back for the job we completed. Pats on the back, "good job", "nice work", "thank you" are all essential to being a motivated, productive person. There are many people in positions of authority who do not realize this or who don't care. Don’t be one of them! To make the reward system really work, you must pick rewards that are important to the person being motivated. Large or small, expensive or cheap, if it isn't something they want, it isn't a reward.

The size of the reward should also fit the size of the project

PUT IT IN WRITING.

Make a contract with the person to reward them.How often you reward will depend on how unmotivated they are. If they are feeling unmotivated to do a project, you may contract with them to give a reward after each step of the project or percentage of the goal achieved. If they are motivated to do something, you may wait until it's totally completed before rewarding them.

Finally, if you promise a reward, you must give it.If you make a contract with someone for a special reward, they complete the task but then, don't give the reward, the next time, they will recall the broken promise and the contract for a reward will not have the same motivating results as if you had given the reward the last time.

ACT "AS IF"

Many of us have heard the phrase "Smile and things will get better." The psychological truth is that this is true. If you wake up feeling rotten, hating the world, put a smile on your face and some bounce in your step and pretty soon, you will start feeling better. Most people know that our body language tells a lot about our mood. What most people don't know is that, because of this relationship, you can use your body language to change your mood and how you feel about yourself. If you start acting confident (stand straight, head high, shoulders back, a smile on your face and walk crisply) even though you feel discouraged, your discouragement will begin to dissolve. You will begin to feel more confident and sure of yourself. As this begins to happen, you will become more energized and motivated which, in turn, will make you feel even better about yourself. And remember, as a manager your reports look to you for direction. You set the example. In the beginning, you will be aware that you are just "faking it". With practice, it will become more natural and will become a genuine part of your personality. You can now start to transform your personality so you will be the type of person you want to be. It will take time and persistence but it does work.

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