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Motivate to Elevate: Transforming Teams Through the Power of Individual Passion
Understanding what motivates individuals within a team underpins successful management. Reflect upon impactful experiences with those who motivated you at critical moments - a mentor, a relative, or a supervisor. What enabled them to discern what they needed to convey to you? What accounted for its efficacy? Why didn't it have the same impact on your coworker? Their knowledge of you, your interests, and what excited or demotivated you was vital. It's now your opportunity to influence, inspire and motivate. Be an effective leader. Understand the diverse motivations within your team.
Distinguish Temporary Enthusiasm from Long-Term Motivation - Motivation and inspiration ebb and flow. They're transient emotions. Remember the adrenaline rush in the last seconds of a vital match or the energy surge just before crossing the finish line? Were you ever propelled by a caffeine-induced jolt to complete a task? These stimuli might get you through a short-term challenge but are insufficient for sustaining long-term motivation. Fleeting excitement doesn't necessarily align with what truly drives us. Genuine, lasting motivation stems from our intrinsic preferences, passions, and abilities. It's the rationale behind our daily choices. A leader who comprehends this can engage and motivate their team effectively and continuously.
For example:
• The Responsible SJ: Motivated by opportunities to display their reliability and responsibility.
• The Enthusiastic SP: Inspired by opportunities to make a significant impact and prove their bravery.
• The Driven NT: Stimulated by opportunities to achieve goals with their intense determination.
• The Influential NF: Encouraged by opportunities to foster relationships and motivate others to reach their full potential.
Leverage Inner Design to Engage and Motivate - Tools like the free InnerKinetics Temperament Key make it possible to recognize and embrace the diverse internal motivations of your team members. When this invaluable intel is employed, team synergy, timely progress, and overall success are expected outcomes.
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Exemplary Leadership in Action - Consider a situation where your team faces a crucial financial goal. Plans have fallen, and every team member needs to problem-solve and contribute. However, connecting their true motivations to the issue is a prerequisite for their contribution. Some may be disgruntled about their reassignment, while others may be eager to help but unsure of their role. An adept leader can identify and overcome these motivational challenges.
In pressing times with success hanging in the balance, an effective leader can expedite team progress by understanding and providing the motivation each member needs to view themselves as essential contributors.
• An SJ will respond positively to a direct appeal for assistance: "Could you help identify the quickest way to achieve this financial goal?" Utilizing their logistical skills and sense of urgency, they can outline and monitor the steps to success.
• Present the SP with a challenge: "Could you be the first to take action and demonstrate to others that it's possible?" An SP thrives on making an impact and will eagerly take up the gauntlet.
• The NT needs thought-provoking questions rather than prescriptive solutions. They're innovators with boundless motivation when allowed to utilize their logical and analytical minds. Ask, "What do you think is the most efficient way to boost our revenue?"
• NFs need to feel they're making a difference. They're idealists and creative thinkers, so provide them space to imagine the best possible outcome. Ask them for best and worst-case scenarios and encourage them to aim high, despite any initial skepticism.
By understanding and leveraging individual motivations, a leader can drive team performance effectively, creating a motivated, inspired, and productive workforce.
New to InnerKinetics®?
Are you and your team new to temperament and the power of InnerKinetics®? Discover how you and your team can learn and apply InnerKinetics® with a 3-Hour InnerKinetics® Foundations Workshop that includes a 1/2-hour individual coaching session with each attendee to help them understand their unique InnerKinetics® Profile (IP) and how to leverage it for higher performance and greater productivity. Email ik@AscentLeadershipGroup.com for more information.
About the Author
With over two decades in corporate marketing, Janet Kellogg is a respected executive specializing in communication strategies and innovative branding within the biotech sector. A licensed InnerKinetics® educator and coach, she empowers leaders to harness their inner strengths and distinct leadership brand. Janet's commitment extends to the professional and personal realms, emphasizing growth without boundaries. An advocate for continuous learning, she enjoys Colorado's outdoors with her husband of 21 years and their three children, underlining her holistic approach to life and leadership. Connect with Janet by clicking here.