The Principles of Motivation

“Parents, educators, leaders and managers all share the same concern about how to persuade the people who depend on them to feel and act responsibly. To develop motivation and responsibility, I suggest working on two principles that can be very effective: participation and trust.

The first principle is based on involving people in the problem and working together to find a solution. The most enlightened leaders and managers have begun to adopt this principle in one way or another. They have learned that only when a person is sincerely involved in a problem can they offer the best they have within. When a worker can identify their personal goals with those of an institution, an enormous flow of energy and creativity emerges.

Why does this principle work? Most of us intuitively know what is right, but we often do not feel responsible. However, when we are entrusted with some of the facts of a problematic situation, we want to help and respond. But when the solution to the problem is presented together with the facts, we feel deprived of the opportunity to use our own initiative and creativity to act, and we resign ourselves to passively receiving the consequences of an action.

In this way, responsibility remains with the person who proposes the solution. This tends to be repeated many times when facing certain problems in which leaders simply do not have the time to involve individuals. The solution is often already decided, and any attempt to democratize it would be insincere. We must be open and influenceable, and we will discover an increase in our own power and influence.

It is worth remembering the following: when the nature of the solution requires cooperation, commitment and participation from others, it is best to first seek the involvement of those other individuals in the problem.

In the pursuit of cooperation, commitment and participation, it is important not to forget to follow these three steps:

1. The training process is essential
Most leaders do not place much trust in this process and delegate it. By skipping it, in the long run much more time will need to be devoted to external motivation and clarifying misunderstandings, which often lead to far more serious problems such as strained relationships, personality conflicts and low morale.

2. If training is done well and communication is reciprocal, this commitment will be honest and deep
If training is rushed and communication is one-way and limited, commitment will be shallow and will easily disappear at the first obstacle or storm.

3. Once commitment is accepted, the supervisor is a source of help, not a judge
If the person committed to the task fails to deliver, the supervisor’s attitude should aim to build a bond of trust and offer support.

These three steps are interconnected and reinforce one another. Executing them well requires considerable strength of character, faith and patience in the leader. Many lack this strength, and many workers are so conditioned by constant supervision that this philosophy of motivation based on trust cannot always be easily implemented. But it is important to remember that trust is the highest form of human motivation.”

Stephen Covey.