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I want them to want to be motivated to be on time!

Guest post by: Howard Miller

Article Overview: A common trap and pitfall for managers to avoid

I want them to want to be motivated to be on time!

As a manager, don't youwish your employees would want to be motivated by what motivates you?

There are many theories on motivation and how to motivate people in their job.

The bottom line, what's common among all the theories is what motivates one person is different then what motivates another. Our motivators stem from our backgrounds and our values.

What's also common is money is NOT the biggest motivator.

If you think it is ask yourself: have you ever gotten a raise? Were you excited about the raise? And how long did the excitement last? Answers usually range from one minute to the first pay period and then you take the raise for granted!

That's not to say people won't take other jobs for an increase in salary. It only means it will not sustain someone from staying in the job if it isn't meeting other factors which motivate the person.

A common trap for managers to fall into is motivating their employees to be on time.

Yes, there are certain employees who need to be at work at an exact time. It's a job requirement. We're not talking about those employees.

The majority of employees in a professional environment can have flexible start and end times for their work day.

The manager who focuses on employees who come in late is wasting their time as well as DE-MOTIVATING their employees. If they're not getting their work done focus on that. But the time issue would be YOUR issue.

I had one manager who said I want them to want to be motivated to be on time!

An honest confession from a manager which we could all relate to - who doesn't want people to be motivated by what we are motivated by.

But unless we have the ability to mind alter and control people it's not going to happen!

When we recognize you can't get people to want to be motivated by what you want them to be motivated by:

• You can take the time to observe them to see what motivates them
• You can ask them what motivates them and listen to what they say
• You can continue to have conversations with them to understand their point of view

When we let go of wanting others to be motivated by how we are motivated we allow the possibility for others to decide how they wish to be motivated.

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Article Tags: communications, manager traps to avoid, motivation



Related Forum Posts
Re: How To Stay Motivated In Your Business - Whether you think you can or think you can't, you are correct. Having the right mindset is critical to being a successful entrepreneur. Kicking the dead horse one more time:::: Write down your goals. And then READ THEM!! I find that most people don't write them down, and of those that do, hardly any read them later. When you are most motivated is usually in the beginning of your project, so write down your goals then. When feeling down, go back and read those goals, this will get you motivated and make you remember why you started your venture. .
Re: How to Stay Motivated - Staying motivated is definitely hard. Especially when things get overwhelming and there are no immediate results. This is my personal approach. 1) Use a big white dry-erase board / piece of paper. 2) Pen down everything you need to do or in the process of doing. Point forms with dates. No need for excessive details. 3) Schedule a definitive period of time to relax (i.e. for the next hour and a half) 4) Jump back to working starting with number 1 on the white board! The best way is stay motivated to be organized, re-group then jump back in!
Work With Them and They'll Work! - I agree!! Working with your employees is a huge thing, and if you show them that you're willing to put the same work, the hours, and the raw effort into what you're doing as what they're doing, they'll soon respect you more. Evan -- I found that keeping someone on Elance.com more motivated to work is being motivated yourself. Stay upbeat about the project, and make an effort (Again I pull back to this) to be involved in the project. I know that for at least small companies, those who are working with you appreciate being involved and helping them, instead of just giving them details and dropping the project from your thought base. And with large projects, or projects on a strict time frame, try using a rewards system -- an extra $20-$50 if they get it in by such-and-such a time, or if they go over so many words, etc. Although it sounds almost degrading, if you're worried about time frames, it's really the best way to work, and motive who ever you hired to get it done. Hope this helps! Marie
Re: How To Stay Motivated In Your Business - Hi Evan Thanks for this post it is something that we all need to look at from time to time. If one has a very strong "WHY" though this is a great help to staying motivated, especially if that is written down and kept in a prominent place where it can be seen regularly this can help to keep the motivation going. MichelleJ
Re: Fill in the blank: My favorite time of day to work is: _____ - Usually in the evening or at night. For some reason I have a hard time getting motivated in the mornings to get work done. On rare occasions I have a burst of energy and just go all out, but that usually depends on how much/good of sleep I get the night before.


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