“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.”—Rosalynn Carter
Many different things motivate us. It is important to know our motivation styles because it helps us gain a deeper awareness of ourselves and can help us inspire and motivate ourselves at will when we need it the most.
When we want to achieve a goal, our motivation affects the habits and behaviors we develop to accomplish it. It is what helps keep us engaged and drives us to focus on the things that need to be done, or the things we wish to do.
It is one of the factors that affects our mindset, and depending on what motivation style you lean towards, your actions and decisions might get different results. Our motivations can subconsciously push us forward or hold us back. That’s why being conscious of what motivates us can help us achieve success in our business or life.
There are two general types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. You’ve probably heard of Warren Buffet’s internal and external scorecard. They share similar concepts. Intrinsic motivations are focused on self-motivations and internal reward systems, while extrinsic motivations are dictated by outside forces, generally divided into rewards and punishments.
They can be further divided into several categories:
Physiological motivation is when we are motivated to eat because we are hungry, or sleep when we are tired. Attitude motivation could be intrinsic (we want to change the way we feel or think, so we do something like listen to music, watch a video, or read a book) or extrinsic (we want to change how others feel about us or think of us, so we act or speak a certain way).
We could also be motivated by our achievements (reaching a goal, or obtaining a title), competence and learning (feeling rewarded in the process of gaining a new skill or knowledge), creative motivation (the desire to make something, like a book or a song, to express ourselves), incentives (receiving a reward or praise from others), fear (we don’t want to feel uncomfortable, so we do things to avoid it), power and control (in our lives and even the lives of others), and affiliation or social motivation (the desire to connect and contribute to society, to feel a sense of belongingness).
We often lean towards certain motivational styles more than others, and the context of the situation can also affect which motivation would drive us most effectively.
As leaders, we are responsible for motivating ourselves so that we can motivate the people we lead. Knowing what motivates our people (our family, our employees, or our team) helps us adjust our approach to push them forward more effectively and help them be the best versions of themselves.
When we learn how to adapt to the situation and provide the necessary motivation, we can be better leaders.
Thanks for reading A Brilliant Tribe.
