Staff Motivation

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Motivation is a powerful tool for success. The length of time you can stay motivated and continue to make progress will allow you to realize goals you have established. There are several rewards for maintaining motivation. Once you realize them you can make motivation a lifelong endeavor.

Creativity: Motivated people think more clearly
Energy: People who are highly motivated possess a genuine, energizing
excitement
Flexibility: The motivated individual is able to change when their circumstances
dictate as such
Momentum: Motivation is self-perpetuating. It gets easier as it becomes habit
Multiplication: Motivation and motivated people are contaigious, it spreads to
others
Optimism: Motivated individuals find that more doors are opened because of
motivation rather than negativity
Productivity: People who are motivated get more done, they have a can-do
attitude
Stability: Folks that are motivated are not easily distracted. They are tuned into
the object of their motivation.

I. Self-Motivation

A. Being motivated means being ready to take action.
B. You may know every detail of how to be a successful teacher, but you
must be ready to act on that knowledge in order to truly be successful.

II. How motivation works

A. The bottom line for motivation is reward. Some kind of reward is behind
all behavior.
B. Three stages of reward

1. The carrot: The enticement of a reward gets you going. Build
your vision during this stage.
2. Milestones: This is the point at which you get smaller rewards for
partial completion of a task or journey.
3. The PRIZE: This is the reward, the payoff at the end for winning
or completing the endeavor.

III. Finding your hot buttons

A. The real key to get into your mind and discover your hot buttons.
B. You do things for your own reasons, not for other people’s reasons.

IV. What motivates you?

A. Motivation comes in many forms, and what motivates one person may not
motivate another.

1. Motivation through personal growth: developing skills, improve
your thinking skills, making yourself valuable.
Self-esteem=performance
2. Motivation through activity: Get busy! Get physical! Get mental
3. Motivation through misery: Are you happy with your circumstance?
4. Losing can motivate you: Work harder than you did before. Use
adversity as a catalyst to change.
5. Motivate with a smile: it’s a positive influence and it gives
encouragement.
6. Draw motivation from completing a task
7. Motivate yourself by motivating others: Isn’t this why we are in the
education business? Doing something for someone and then
finding out that your action had a significant impact on that person’s
life, isn’t that truly motivating?
8. Seek encouragement as a motivator: You can probably do a great
deal on your own, but a little encouragement from someone helps
you do even more.
9. The best motivator “The Golden Rule”: Treat others as you would
want to be treated. You do this, not because you expect to benefit
but because it’s the right thing to do. When you direct your
motivation toward benefiting others, you’re more effective than when you’re thinking only about yourself.

V. There will be bumps in the road

A. Demotivation is anything that discourages you from the path to your
objective

1. perfection
2. negative environment
3. criticism
4. self-defeating

VI. Smoothing out the bumps

A. Concentrate on the positive
B. Evaluate future plans
C. Focus on always doing better the next time and dwelling on what you
could have done better the last time.
D. Demotivation may come from the outside but how you handle it definitely
comes from the inside.

1. It can make you bitter.........or better

I. Becoming a motivational force

A. Use the WIIFM princple by figuring out what do people really want.
B. Realize that needs determine what motivates people. Needs create a
driving force within.
C. Create goals that are motivational. Set goals that are specific yet
challenging.
D. Diagnose motivational problems using expectancy theory.
E. Create a culture and climate that motivates people and allows them to get
caught up in the excitement of performing well.

II. Motivating through influence

A. Influence others by leading by example and displaying emotion.
B. Consulting with others is an effective way to get them to see your point.
C. Become a subject matter expert to enhance your ability to influence
others.
D. Manipulating others must always be done ethically.

III. Empowering

A. Empowerment is passing along decision-making authority and
responsibility to group members
B. Look for people who are motivated and are of high ability, these are key
success factors for empowerment
C. Use delegation to facilitate empowerment

IV. Motivating through feedback and positive reinforcement

A. Give feedback effectively and be specific. Let the receiver respond, give
timely feedback, and focus on the behavior rather than the personality.
B. Praise and recognition are excellent motivators.

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