No Images? Click here WHAT IS MOTIVATION?When I describe The Story of My Work to people I meet, the topic usually heads into discussing motivation. When I say "motivation", there are a few ideas that people will gravitate towards:
Beyond all of these thoughts on motivation, there is a profound truth about motivation that is rarely talked about: that motivation is unique and specific to each individual. And THIS is how I am using the term motivation: to discuss what makes someone tick or what are the purposes that the person innately wants to accomplish. Motivation is what makes you come alive. More on this article continued at the bottom... or read it online here.
A recurring theme I have heard over and over when talking about The Story of My Work with people is this: a desire to "get it right", to stop guessing about what to do, to avoid trail-and-error about what direction to head, and with those sentiments: a fear of making a move and getting it wrong (ending up right back where you started). In my twenties, I might have scoffed at this conservative approach to life (what about adventure?), but now I can see the maturity here for what it is. Of course, we learn a lot from any missteps, and there is wisdom & experience to gain from everything! But, there's a point where you're ready to sink your teeth in and use what you've got to impact the world. I've updated The Story of My Work website to reflect this goal, to "stop guessing what to do with my life". We've also created a Do-It-Yourself version of the SOMW process, available for free for anyone to download. If you want to dip your toes into the process, give this self-directed process a try! And, of course, if that's not enough, we can do it together. Here is a glimpse of some of the pages in the downloadable pdf: THE STORY OF MY WORK(SHOPS):I have now executed three rounds of group workshops and each have really exceeded my expectations for fun, effectiveness, and value for participants.
Group workshops offer the same discovery process — identifying your own motivations & what to do with them — at a lower price point than one-on-one coaching. Also, if you are motivated by collaboration (one of the broader motivational categories that might be revealed in the process), you may prefer tackling your stories within a group setting! (My wife Shelley is... not motivated by collaboration 😂😂) UPCOMING WORKSHOP DATES:
* we're still figuring out best dates & times... if you are interested in a workshop, but not in this schedule, reply to this email with times/dates that you recommend. WHAT IS MOTIVATION? cont'd from above... (or read it on the web)I get the pleasure of reading over hundreds of people’s "achievement stories" (accomplishments that they have done well and enjoyed doing). And, in spite of common conversations around "motivation" (see above), I can tell you that there are a few things that I have never seen from someone working out of their "sweet spot" of motivation:
But, all the stories do share a commonality. They are all stories of people highly engaged in what they are doing; or, in the proper way to use the term — highly motivated. What gets people to this point?When people are engaged like this, it indicates a great matchup of the job/task with the uniquely motivated purpose specific to that individual. What they are doing is highly correlated to what they (uniquely) are made to do. As I do workshops or one-on-one coaching, it is amazing to see the lights go on as people discover that they are made in a unique way — and, that there is some purpose or motivation that they are driven to accomplish. For example, some people are highly motivated by the opportunity to function independently. Others prefer much closer, hands-on interaction with their fellow workers. Some people are powerfully motivated by the opportunity to reach a specific goal or financial metric. Others are far more motivated by the opportunity to overcome a significant challenge or obstacle, regardless of the financial implications. For one alumnus, it was a motivation to solve bottlenecks and automate systems. It may sound completely foreign to you (as much as it does to me), but to him, this end brought meaning and purpose. So, what happens when he doesn't realize this and all he does is analyze and report on data? Another woman learned she is motivated to work alone as she creates new projects to bring back to the team, where she wants to blow them away with the quality and impact they will have. Now, for me, I need to be working with people; but this woman gets so charged up by creative work alone. What happens when you put her in meetings all day? The ability for us to discover these underlying motivational drives makes such a significant difference in how people approach jobs. They know what places to pursue, and for which job assignments they should put up their hand. A manager or leader who discovers the unique motivational drives of key employees can have a tremendous impact: first, on how the manager will work with the person, but ultimately on the performance of the organization. When people are more properly fit into a motivational slot, great outcomes will happen.
What is your unique motivational makeup? What has engaged you in your work in the past? How can that insight help you place yourself in better spots in the future? Thanks for reading! — Wayne |