Eating Broccoli - a Lesson in Motivation By Ryan Scholz At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

If you were like me as a child, broccoli was not your favorite food. My motivation to eat broccoli was strictly as a matter of compliance. In order to get me to taste it, my parents would resort to threats, or sometimes rewards, like getting a dessert in order to instill the motivation to eat broccoli. With this level of motivation, the only time I would consider eating broccoli was when my parents were directly involved and there was either a punishment or reward associated with it. In the absence of either, there was no motivation to go beyond what was absolutely required. All of the motivation was external – none of it was internal.

When I got older, I began eating broccoli out of a sense of obligation. If it was put in front of me at a dinner, I would eat it. I didn’t want to insult the person who fixed the meal by refusing to eat it. Intellectually I knew that it was good for me, so I developed some internal motivation, but it was on a rational basis. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat broccoli, but at least would eat it if the opportunity presented itself. It no longer took the threat of punishment or opportunity for reward to do what I know I should do.

Later in life, as I developed a taste for broccoli and other vegetables, I eat it because I like it. I will order broccoli or other previously distasteful vegetables because of the personal satisfaction that I receive. The motivation is internal and emotional. This is the strongest form of motivation. I call this level of motivation – engagement.

The objective is to get everyone in the organization operating at the engaged level of motivation. When motivation comes from within and is emotionally driven, it is far stronger than any other form of motivation. Compliance motivation relies on external forces –reward and punishment - to get people to do what needs to be done. Sometimes this is necessary in the beginning, but cannot sustain itself for the long term. It takes too much time, energy, and resources to maintain it.

One way to replace compliance motivation with obligation motivation is to establish a strong set of company values that guide actions and decision making in the organization. I have found that the number of values needs to be limited to four or five. Also, there must be a clearly established hierarchy that people apply when there are apparent conflicts between values in a certain. Disney, established by Walt Disney himself, has had a clear set of values – safety, courtesy, show, efficiency – that guide each employee’s actions when dealing with customer situations.

When an organization moves towards obligation and sense of duty as the primary form of motivation, it begins the process of having people become internally motivated. People will begin doing the right thing without direct supervision. The organization will become more efficient and management can spend more time doing leadership tasks rather than management tasks.

Engagement motivation occurs when people are emotionally involved in their work. It requires a culture of high trust and integrity and people need to be able to identify and link the purpose of the organization with their own values and desires. Organizations that have a high level of engagement motivation have created a clear sense of purpose for each person.

Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=397016&ca=Advice

Important Notice DISCLAIMER: All information, content, and data in this article are sole opinions and/or findings of the individual user or organization that registered and submitted this article at Isnare.com without any fee. The article is strictly for educational or entertainment purposes only and should not be used in any way, implemented or applied without consultation from a professional. We at Isnare.com do not, in anyway, contribute or include our own findings, facts and opinions in any articles presented in this site. Publishing this article does not constitute Isnare.com's support or sponsorship for this article. Isnare.com is an article publishing service. Please read our Terms of Service for more information.