Finding your motivational drivers: the key to sustained high performance

Each milestone achieved along the way, no matter how small, fuelled my sense of accomplishment and pushed me forward, even in the depths of winter. It was understanding that I was motivated just as much by those smaller accomplishments that meant I could tailor training to ensure optimal motivation.

Understanding your motivational drivers

Everyone has unique sources of motivation. For some, being part of a team and the camaraderie it brings is the key driver. Others thrive on praise and recognition, while some are driven by a sense of ownership over a project. Understanding what motivates you and those around you is crucial in driving performance and maintaining enthusiasm over the long haul.

When we take a moment to reflect on what gets us out of bed in the morning, especially when the going gets tough, we can transform our approach to work and leadership.

Dean Spitzer outlines 8 Desires of Motivation in his 1995 book Supermotivation. His descriptions provide a useful structure for understanding our own drivers and those of others. They are:

• Power – having control over where we are headed and what we are doing
• Activity – being active and having a range of things to do
• Recognition – being recognised for a job well done
• Affiliation – we want to feel part of something
• Competence – fully understanding how to do our tasks
• Ownership – feeling like we own the tasks that we perform
• Meaning – we understand why we are doing what we do
• Achievement – we want to achieve the things we set out to do

Using these eight points as a tool to reflect on when we have been at our most motivated can help us understand and seek out the conditions we need to stay motivated and perform at our best.

Applying motivation in the workplace

When your motivation is waning or you’re  facing a daunting task, these two fundamental strategies can help maintain your performance and enthusiasm:

• Seek out opportunities that align with your personal drivers
  Once you have identified those drivers, seeking out ways to align with them will hep keep you motivated on those challenging days. If you lead a team, remember that their drivers will likely be different to yours, so discuss personal drivers of motivation with them and use your knowledge to assign work, and keep your team motivated and on track.

• Set smaller, achievable goals
  Big goals are fantastic—they provide direction and purpose. However, breaking these goals into smaller, manageable tasks makes them less daunting and more achievable. Each small victory  builds momentum and reinforces motivation to keep pushing toward the larger objective. This strategy provides a sense of progress and accomplishment keeping you focused and on track, transforming long-term goals into a series of attainable steps.

And finally

Motivation is a deeply personal and powerful force. By understanding and harnessing your unique drivers and those of your team, you can maintain high performance and enthusiasm over the long term, even in challenging times.

If you or your team needs support to identify what motivates you and you can best harness that then let’s talk. Please contact us for more information if you’d like to discuss further.