Motivation is behaviour in action

An inner force made me do it. This seems to be the holy grail for leaders in the 21st century. How can I motivate my employees?

Individuals are motivated by their needs and 3 of them are essential when you want to become a leader. These are autonomy, togetherness and competence. Lets see where they bring us.

1) Foremost we want to be in control of our own life. We don’tneed a person above us who forces us to do things we don’twant. This has some implications for potential leaders:

• People develop their own method of working.
• Teams develop their own standards.
• They are not forced but challenged.

Don’tbe afraid for chaos, the next need will mitigate that risk.

2) Most of us are social beings and want to live in peace with each other. Most chaos originates in the politics of self-interest. There is a need for togetherness and from that need your colleagues will find ways to cooporate and to structure the work. Look at the history of mankind how we always solved our problems in the end. Trust the human nature and structure together with innovation will be your harvest.

3) We also want to feel competent and our job is one of the means to fullfill that need. A leader should stand next to the experts he is leading and removing all the impediments that are blocking excellence.

When you do not understand this, no problem, just remain a manager and force people to do your bidding.