Apart from motivating herself/himself to assume leadership role the issue of motivation becomes crucial for leaders in MOTIVATING FOLLOWERS and “getting them moving”. An effective leader must understand the basic needs of followers and have a thorough knowledge of motivational factors for others. Individuals are motivated when they are working towards personally MEANINGFUL GOALS that are achievable. One possible approach is to focus on intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation (internal vs external motivation) and use them interchangeably.
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Intrinsic/internal motivator |
Extrinsic/external motivators |
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CHALLENGES – meaningful goals |
RECOGNITION – encourages individuals |
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CURIOSITY – arousing curiosity in an environment |
EDUCATION – helps personal development |
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CONTROL – help them feel in control |
ADD RESPONSIBILITY – individual challenge |
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FANTASY – use mental images |
INDIVIDUALIZED TRIGGERS – search personally |
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COMPETITION – use scarcely |
AVOID criticism – if possible |
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COOPERATION – helping others motivates people |
REWARD -positive performance feedback |
Finally, EMPOWERING OTHERS is one of the key skills in leadership. Empowered people not only feel competent, they feel confident that they can perform adequately. They feel a sense of personal mastery and believe they can learn and grow to meet the challenges. Therefore, you help followers climb the Maslow pyramid towards self-actualization. When people are empowered they have a sense of self-efficacy – the feeling they have capability and competence to perform a task successfully.
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Core Dimensions of Empowerment |
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Dimension |
Explanation |
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SELF-EFFICACY |
A sense of personal competence |
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SELF-DETERMINATION |
A sense of personal choice |
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PERSONAL CONTROL |
A sense of having an impact |
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MEANING |
A sense of value in the activity |
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TRUST |
A sense of security |
How do you empower people? You go that extra mile and send a very clear signal to others about how much you valued them. Today, your customers, as well as your team no longer tolerate being treated as another number or transaction. Try to view both your people and your customers as your ambassadors and reward them for delivering excellent service and for being customers respectively.
When people know you genuinely value them they become ambassadors to your cause. With our strong craving for meaning and purpose, whenever we receive praise for our efforts we feel appreciated and valued. A person you meet one time should become lifetime follower or lifetime customer if you as a leader perform right. Even more, they should become your future ambassadors.
Here is one example from the business arena to illustrate the point. Imagine buying a laptop and then finding when you got home that it was faulty. You would not be happy if you had made a special trip to the town shop to buy it. But upon contacting the shop the person who sold you the laptop called you right back, apologized for your inconvenience and promised to deliver to you another laptop that very day. The laptop has arrived as promised. Later the person phoned you in the evening to make sure you received it. Your loyalty to this shop would begin to grow and you would be more than happy to be an ambassador for the shop and spread the good word for it.
This is the simplest possible example of how to motivate others to become your ambassadors. If you would like more hand on experience join me in the joyful leadership workshop. Have a nice day!
SOURCES:
- Petar Turčinović, Joyful Leadership Manual