Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2015 - (Page 55)

LEADERSHIP 2.0 CHECKING YOUR MOTIVATION TO LEAD - KE N B LANCH ARD AND S COT T BLANCHAR D Recent research into motivation has indicated that we don't have the complete story. Typical variations of the carrot and the stick - money, incentives, fear or goal pressure - either don't work very well or don't have an enduring quality to achieve lasting motivation. Susan Fowler explores this topic in the book, "Why Motivating People Doesn't Work ... And What Does," revealing that we must find a way to create motivation for ourselves. How you create motivation for yourself and others can take two very different paths. You can motivate yourself through the use of suboptimal techniques, such as guilt and shame on the imposed side, or incentives and rewards on the external side. Both of these approaches have negative consequences. A better approach involves looking for ways to connect a task or goal to something deeper and more meaningful. This requires some introspection, as each person has a different set of values, beliefs and personal drivers. GREAT LEADERSHIP COMES FROM THE HEART. People develop a "motivational outlook" based on various factors, according to Fowler. While there are some common factors such as autonomy, relatedness and competence, there are also more subtle factors, such as self-regulation, personal values, and mindfulness that come into play. Ultimately, the more you understand what is important to you and how you react to different motivators, the better able you are to understand how others might react. Fowler identifies six potential motivational outlooks a leader can have when faced with a new task. 1. Disinterested: not motivated at all 2. External: motivated by the possibility of a reward or increase in status 3. Imposed: motivated by avoiding the punishment or loss of reputation that might occur 4. Aligned: motivated because the task or goal aligns with something you are trying to achieve 5. Integrated: motivated because the task has meaning and satisfies a higher purpose 6. Inherent: it's something you like to do The best leaders find meaning by aligning their leadership decisions and actions to develop values. They integrate their work with a noble purpose and find inherent joy in positively influencing people's lives and contributing to society. Here are six ways to strengthen your motivational outlook: * Encourage autonomy (perception of choice) * Deepen relatedness (quality of relationships, meaning and purpose) * Develop people's competence (sense of growing and learning) * Promote mindfulness (capacity to see new options) * Align with values (include personal values, not just the organization's) * Connect to a noble purpose (both personal and the organization's) WHY ARE YOU MOTIVATED TO LEAD? Great leadership comes from the heart - a servant leader's heart. But servant leadership is impossible when leading with a suboptimal motivational outlook. You can make a difference as a leader. What kind of difference do you want to make? One of the most important questions we ask a leader is, "Why are you motivated to lead?" We ask this question because leaders can find themselves in any of the six categories when it comes to leading others toward a common goal. Scott Blanchard is a principal and executive vice president of The Ken Blanchard Companies. Ken Blanchard is the best-selling co-author of "The One Minute Manager" and 60 other books on leadership. Email Scott and Ken. As Fowler points out - and as the six motivational outlooks demonstrate - people are always motivated. The question is not if, but why. T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MA GAZ INE - SPRING20 1 5 I WWW.TRAIN INGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE 55 http://www.trainingindustry.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2015

Soft Skills Make Up Vital Part of Corporate Training
Table of Contents
Guest Editor: Leadership: The Artichoke Effect
Focusing on Mindsets and Attitudes
The Importance of Soft Skills For Trainers
Social Simulators Bring Training to Life
The Power of Storytelling in Organizational Development
Leading Change with Resilience
Why Perspective Selling Makes Sense
Harnessing the Power of Teamwork
Collaborate to Innovate: Building an Innovation-Friendly Business Culture
Are You Using the Best Metrics to Evaluate Your Skills Training?
Influencing into the Future
Culture: The Enemy at the Gate of Innovation
Casebook: T-Mobile: Answering the Call for Leadership Development
Leadership is an Inside Job
Vendor Selection Tips for Corporate Sales Training
Checking Your Motivation to Lead
The Real ROI of Leadership Training: Soft Skills Lead to Hard Results
Closing Deals
Company News
What's Online
Training Talk

Training Industry Magazine - Spring 2015