Motivation starts with the desire to be free. Total freedom is not possible or desirable, but the struggle to achieve that ideal is the basis for motivation.

Motivation is built on three basic elements:

1.Motivation starts with a need, a vision, a dream or the desire to achieve the seemingly impossible. Creativity is associated with ideas, projects and goals, which can be considered a path to freedom.

2.Develop a love-to-learn, become involved with risky ventures and continually seek new opportunities. Success is based on learning what works and does not work.

3.Developing the ability to overcome barriers and to bounce back from discouragement or failure. Achievers learn to tolerate the agony of failure. In any worthwhile endeavor, barriers and failure will be there. Bouncing back requires creative thinking as it is a learning process. In addition, bouncing back requires starting again at square one.

Most likely the answer would be “goals”. Goal Setting is extremely important to motivation and success. A goal should be moderate, not too hard or too easy to complete. Certainly, you need some intelligence, knowledge base, study skills, and time management skills, but if you don’t have motivation, you won’t get far. Interest is also an important motivator as well as the desire to learn. When you link these two things together, you create success. Oftentimes, success in an endeavor that leads to more interest and a greater desire to learn, creating an upward spiral of motivation toward a goal you have established.

If you’re a manager then you’ve been told at least once that you have to “motivate your people.” But how do you do that? Here’s what you can do to get the job done.

Change your mindset. Forget about “motivating” people. You can’t see motivation. Motivation is inside another person’s head and heart. You can’t touch it. You can’t measure it. And, therefore you can’t manage it.

Think about managing the things you can see and measure. Start concentrating on behavior and performance. The things people say and do are behavior. The results of their efforts are performance.

Read the rest of this entry »

by: Christine Zafra

So you ask, “what makes a person motivated in his/her job?” Since this is a question leaning to the soft sciences, there are no rigid answers to it. Answers may vary from person to person and collecting such responses will only get you a long list of varied answers.

Douglas McGregor was brilliant enough to hypothesize two theories regarding job motivation. His first theory states that it is innate for humans to dislike work and will shun away from it if he/she can. People also prefer to be instructed rather than taking responsibility. If these theories are true (has been proven), then managers should think of ways how they could possibly motivate them (incentive – disincentive maybe?).

Photo taken from http://banditosbanditosbanditos.typepad.com

Some signs of demotivation

* Increased absenteeism/sickness.
* Incomplete or careless work.
* Lack of concentration.

Motivate yourself

Before you can inspire others to extend themselves, you need to develop your own sense of motivation. Here are some tips to help you.

* Build your confidence and develop self-belief. Success doesn�t always go to the strongest person, but to the person with the greatest conviction.
* If you work alone, identify an understanding person with whom you can talk through business issues and who will encourage you. A mentor can help here. Read the rest of this entry »

Your staff may say money is a motivator � but look closely and you will find that it is frequently more of a stepping-stone to another goal: for instance, money to travel, retire early or a desire for recognition.

* A sense of belonging motivates � the smaller the group to which someone belongs, the stronger the loyalty, motivation and effort.
* Participation motivates � people feel more motivated when they feel their involvement in a project is important and valued. Often we exclude our greatest assets � the people around us � from decisions in which they could be usefully included.
* Challenges motivate and people often rise to the occasion. However, it can also be demotivating if they are too difficult, or conversely, too easy to achieve.
* Motivation needs recognition and reward � even if it�s something as simple as a thank you.

Read the rest of this entry »

Success in business is rarely down to technical skills or knowledge alone. Getting the most from your team is the sign of a good manager and can lead to a successful business. The key to this is motivating people and giving them space to develop themselves to their full potential.

Being able to motivate your team successfully starts with wanting the best for your people. If you care to find out about them and their needs and ambitions, you will find what motivates them. This will keep them performing at their best.

How can you motivate your team? Read the rest of this entry »

A bank manager is in charge of running a bank. They organize the company processes that the bank uses to ensure that things run smoothly. In addition to this, they manage the employees of the bank. Bank managers also play a role in hiring employees and creating performance reviews. They may also handle any customer complaints.

Bank managers should be detail-oriented problem-solvers. They should like working with people and have a Read the rest of this entry »

The best stage to be in team development is the stage where the team starts to work together as a single unit. There will still be disagreements and small conflicts – although this keeps the relationships alive and motivates people to think of new ideas and develop solutions for any problems. What’s important is for everyone to remain dynamic and not to fall into complacency.

Of course, the road that lead to this is long and hard, and everyone needs to be mature about things in order for team development to progress and for everyone to be motivated to work and do their best. Arguments and disputes are normal in the early stages of team development, but as the team learns to work with each other, they start to work more smoothly with one another.

Being a good listener is one trait each and every manager should have, why? A good leader listens more that they speak letting the facts get through before they make assumptions and decisions. Fairness in problems is a good idea, getting each and everybody their chance to talk to you alone and again to talk to the whole team. They are your best assets for without their work you might not have a job at all. Treat them as your most important asset for they make you who you are. Be impartial in disputes among co-workers and keep an open mind. This is why hiring people you know or relations is a taboo in business for as they say, blood is always thicker than water. Rank should have nothing to do with problems and over sights so treat everybody the same and use the situation to encourage improvement. The best managers listen and take their employees concerns seriously enough to make them feel important not only as a person but as part of the team.