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The First Secret of Motivation

You need to keep motivated and stay motivated if you are going to deal with customers. I adore this Zig Ziglar quote that says it all: “People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.” So let’s start at the beginning and get a good understanding of motivation – really – and how we create it, over and over again.

Recently I did a very successful teleclass for National Seminars. Over 350 people listened in to the call and the Q&A afterwards. I spent weeks preparing for the session and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to get so many of my thoughts on motivation down on paper, in one place.

As a manager (even if you only manage yourself) you know that you need to keep motivated and stay motivated if you are going to deal with customers. I adore this Zig Ziglar quote that says it all, “People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily.”

So let’s start at the beginning and get a good understanding of motivation – really – and how we create it, over and over again. First, a little background.

There are two kinds of motivation – intrinsic and extrinsic. As the words would suggest – one comes from inside of you (your desire to do something) and the other from outside of you (another’s desire for you to do something.)

Intrinsic, is the motivation you feel on your own. It comes from the nature of an activity itself. It's that feeling you get when you're doing good work and you know it. It's the sense of satisfaction you get as you remember or imagine something well done. It’s the push you feel from inside of you to get something done.

On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is being motivated to do something by someone else or some thing else – like a reward or an experience. It could be recognition for achieving a milestone or completion of a project; it could be a sincere thank you, money or perhaps special privileges.

We are motivated in two different directions. Some people are motivated primarily by moving towards something (a goal, a vision) and other people by moving away from something (like pain or punishment or deprivation.)

Over the last 50 years (or so) many businesses have typically encouraged employees to improve their performance by motivating them with external rewards (extrinsic motivation moving towards something.) Or, they have used fear (of losing one’s job, status, security, etc.) definitely a “motivating away from” strategy.

External rewards often work for a while. Used skillfully they can be an important part of your motivation strategy. Fear, although it’s been a staple in the workplace since the days of slavery, produces a narrow repertoire of responses since it’s tied in the biological “fight – flight – freeze” reaction and shuts down the creative brain. Getting the picture?

It’s time to change how we’ve been thinking about motivating people!

Looking at extrinsic motivation connected only to performance is a very narrow way at looking at what's important to both our employees and our businesses.

We all know that once someone has received an incentive for a while it loses its power to motivate or to make us happy. It’s called the “accommodation theory.” Think back to the last raise you got – how long did it keep you “motivated” to do better work? How long did it (or any other thing – like a new house, car, pair of shoes) take until it didn’t seem to make your life any happier any more? Not more than a few months at best, I’d guess.

According to Tim Gallwey, author of the “Inner Game of Work” – work is more than just performance. (Although in some companies you wouldn’t know that.)

There are three important interdependent aspects of work that all need to be addressed when we look at motivation. Performance, Learning and Enjoyment - they are part of an interdependent whole – and if one part is altered it changes the other.

If you increase learning you increase performance, right? And if you decrease enjoyment – what happens? Performance suffers. While there are many many things that motivate people externally (all people are motivated differently) keep in mind that important triangle of performance, learning and enjoyment as I continue. In today’s workplace it’s becoming increasingly important to broaden our view of work before we broaden our view of motivation.

Where does it start? Motivation originates first in our brain. All people motivate themselves internally in two ways – with their imagination or their memory.

Think about something you’ve NEVER done before. For instance, here’s my latest “dream.” I’d like to go zip-lining in Costa Rica. That’s where you climb up a tree and use some sort of pulley device to get you from one tree to another, zipping through a rainforest. Crazy for someone who hates heights, right? I’ve wanted to do it since I saw pictures of my friend’s son doing it. Now mind you, that’s an activity that scares me to death. I’m not by nature a physical risk taker - but what motivates me to want to do it? What motivates me is what I imagine it will feel like. The thrill, the excitement, the rush - and the feeling of accomplishment I’ll get when I’ve overcome my fear of heights!

Think about something you’d like to do -- go sailing, go golfing, cater a party for friends – think about it – what part of your body are you using? How do you motivate yourself to do it?

If you’ve done that activity before - sailing - golfing - catering - you are using your MEMORY– if you haven’t – or if you want to do the activity better the next time – you are using the power of your IMAGINATION to help get you there.

The brain can’t tell the difference between what is real and what is vividly imagined - that’s why athletes and actors can successfully use visualization to improve their performance. You can use the power of your brain too, to keep you motivated to provide the level of customer care we call exquisite!

Memory and imagination are the tools we use to motivate ourselves, and others. Memory and imagination work to motivate us towards or away from something.

Here’s an exercise for you to do. Think about 3 things you have done recently that have been out of the ordinary. Did you go to a concert? Did you go hiking? Did you volunteer to chair the standards committee, or share some outrageous ideas at a meeting? Did you make a speech in front of others in your company?

Write those three things down. Now think about the mental processes you used you get yourself to do them. Did you create a picture in your mind; did you use your other senses to imagine it?

If you are tempted to say “my boss made me do it,” fine, then take that one step further. If you think your boss made you do it, then explore what you imagined to be the consequences of not doing it or the benefits of doing it. Put your mental processes down on paper so you can see how your own brain works to get you moving. Once you understand your own strategies better, it’s time to learn more. This is an important first step in learning about motivation strategy.

JoAnna Brandi is Publisher of the Customer Care Coach® a weekly training program on mastering "The Art and Science of Exquisite Customer Care." She is the author of books such as "Winning at Customer Retention - 101 Ways to Keep 'em Happy, Keep 'em Loyal, and Keep 'em Coming Back" and "Building Customer Loyalty - 21 Essential Elements in ACTION."

A Speaker and consultant, she is publisher of the bi-weekly Customer Care Tips Bulletin. To receive her free bi-weekly tips bulletin, sign up at www.returnonhappiness.com. You can also reach JoAnna at 561-279-0027 or e-mail joanna@customercarecoach.com.