Key Psychological Needs of Employee Motivation (2 of 3)

My Grandson is 2 ½ years old and his job, as with every 2 ½-year-old, is to learn and master skills.  Each week when I visit him, I see he has learned something new. Words with a lot of syllables in the same sentence. Catch a ball (sort of).  Read (memorize) a book. Run AND

G Factor: Genteel (3 in a 7-part series)

Abraham Maslow taught us long ago that human beings need others to care about them.  Maslow called it a sense of belonging or esteem; having friends and feeling respected and accepted. When we show someone we care, we communicate their importance and value as a person.  Getting out of own heads and into the hearts

G Factor: Gumption (2 in a 7-part series)

  Used with permission. Copyright Rick Cooper. How often do you try new things?  Do you persevere when things don’t go as you planned or hoped?  If you didn't answer YES! with conviction and without hesitation you might be falling short on Gumption. Wait, wait, wait. When I was a young girl, I was told

Muted Motivation: End of Summer Misery

  Image used with permission. copyright Vic hang-in-there 2011 As the weather cools, the days become shorter, and we head toward fall, motivation seems to slither away for many of us.  I admit it – I suffer from it too.  Our trigger response to someone’s remark about the beautiful weather might be, “Too

4 Ways to Stay Motivated During Change

I won’t lie to you by telling you that staying motivated during change is easy.  It isn’t.  Change can be exhausting and scary because of its inherent uncertainties.  In 2008, I was laid off from a faculty position at a 2-year college.  It was a job I put my heart-and-soul into for 5 ½ years. 

8 Motivation Tips for Your Team: M – O – T – I – V – A – T – E

M            You must motivate yourself before you can motivate others.  It has been said before … walk the talk … lead by example … practice what you preach …. However you say it, motivating your team starts with you.  Take a moment for honest self-reflection.  Are you motivated? O             Understand what motivates your team. 

4 Self-Motivation Situations

Last week we delineated between Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation.  This week we use what we learned and apply it to common situations in which we need to motivate ourselves. Situation 1: Wake up on wrong side of bed.  Sometimes we simply wake up in a bad mood.  If we don’t shake it, we carry our

2 Types of Motivation

To begin our month-long series on motivation, I think it is important to start with foundational information we can build on over the next three weeks.  So, let’s begin! Motivation can be categorized into two basic types: intrinsic and extrinsic. What is Intrinsic Motivation? Sometimes referred to as ‘internal motivation’, this type of motivation is