How Do You Motivate Others?

I am a highly motivated person. Perhaps excessively so. 

And I like other, highly motivated, people. 

You can see where this is going… 

I struggle when dealing with people who don’t possess a level of drive and motivation in life. And this is where I get in trouble. 

You see, I can cajole, coerce, direct, and beg. I might get some behavioral response, but I won’t get motivation. In fact, that’s almost certainly what I will NOT get. Instead, I will get resistance, resentment, or even worse, indifference. 

That’s the funny thing. You cannot transfer motivation. You can only tap into it and provide energy to motivation that someone already has. And yet, it is the natural instinct of motivated people to try transferring what they have to others. 

What might be a better approach? 

Try getting into the heart of others to see the motivation that is almost certainly there, just buried. Often it is buried under years of fear, doubt, criticism, and failure. But it is almost certainly there. Your job as a leader? Find it. Fuel it. Resurrect it. 

How do you get to the heart of others? How do you “resurrect” their motivation—motivation that may have been buried for years? Hear from leaders like Randy who share their own challenges, insights and solutions: 

Goal Setting Theory of Motivation, Kim Butler 
The Importance of Self-Motivation, Ken Tracy
The Affect of Goal Setting on Motivation, Joe Boyd
If You Can’t Answer “Why,” Then Stop Doing It, Andy Stanley
How To Engage Disengaged Employees, Jeff Hargett