Unmotivated?

I can’t tell you many times I’ve heard managers complain about unmotivated workers or parents about unmotivated children.

Rather than thinking about motivation as something you either have or don’t have, or something that’s supplied by swift kick in the backside, let’s look at some ways motivation can be learned and cultivated.

WARNING: Read this only if you want to be an effective leader. You might not like what you read, but do it anyway. You have nothing to lose but your ability to complain and blame others. For something you could do something about.

The first thing that supports motivation is choice. Give people choices about things that mean something to them. Viktor Frankl believed that choice, even every day choice, is essential to human freedom and dignity (to read more on this, see the link below). The human spirit needs the ability to choose to soar! The alternatives are apathy, burn out, and dis-engagement (“whatever…”).

Dependency comes about from forcing things on people and taking their choices away. This creates conformity. Cultures that create dependency and demand conformity rob people of choice and their very humanity!

But, there is more to it. In our consumer/consumption-based society, we are overwhelmed with choices, you we are no happier.

Our choices must be meaningful! What difference does it make to a kid in school when their electives (the courses they get to choose) are of little interest or meaning to them? They have no say in the what how they learn, what they learn, where they learn, and what pace they learn at. Is it any wonder that we have unmotivated students?

The workplace is no different. When you see no choice in what you do or how you do it, how much engagement are you likely to have in your work? Unmotivated workers are the result.

Our choices must be a reflection of our values and what is truly meaningful to us. This gives us the ability to prioritize and do what is important. Every outcome is the result of small choices. Achieving anything, whether its losing weight, getting fit, mastering a skill, or maintaining a relationship involves small choices made over time. It takes a consistent focus and sustained, positive motivation to stay on course and make the choices get you where you want to go.

If I want to learn to play the guitar like Pete Huttlinger (one of my guitar heroes), I’m not going to do it by playing once a week. Do I choose to watch TV or practice? Do I choose to noodle around with just any song or focus my attention to building the licks and skills I want? Is it important enough to me to dedicate my time and energy to take a path that leads to a level of mastery?

This next question may be loaded with controversial for you, but consider that I need to be willing to know the rules of guitar mastery so I can know which ones to bend or break or what rules I need to follow to achieve mastery. Some “rules” must be followed (like filing your taxes). Some can be stretched (like using the tax code to your advantage). Some rules are just there because they’ve always been there and they have no real use. We set or buy into rules for ourselves like, “You have to play the song the way it is written (or not)” or you have to dress like certain people, or emotions have no place at work . These things unnecessarily reduce our options and ability to address and express what really matters.

I could go on, but I encourage you to read the resources I‘ve given below and, if you’re ready to do something, give me a call about coaching and training that can help you or someone you love to find their motivation.

Dare to be human!

I offer coaching and training that allows you (and others) to do just that—be human. Be productive by unleashing your undeveloped skills and values. Be the kind of leader you only dream about.

Drop me line at joeb2665@mindspring.com or 615.830.9355 when you’re ready.

My best to your best,

Joe Brodnicki

Resources:

http://www.phoenix5.org/books/Frankl/FranklFreeChoice.html

Smarter. Faster. Better. The Secrets of being Productive in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

In Pursuit of……

Have you ever seen a dog or a cat chase its tail? They go all-out in pursuit of that elusive goal that always seems one step ahead. Should they ever catch it (and I had a dog that did—Bruno the Blunderdog), they look both surprised and let down.

Is it funny? Every time! And, it serves to remind us of people who live their lives chasing their own tails. That is, in pursuit of an elusive object that, should they ever get it, provides no satisfaction.

We want “More! Better! Different!” Often without really knowing what “More! Better! Different!” really is or why it is that we want it. That’s chasing your tail. Have you ever felt like that? Whether its the management fad of the month, something someone else has that you just need to have, or something that seems like a good idea, though you’re not sure why.

I’m going to suggest four things to keep in mind to avoid chasing own tail and to spend your time productively and in a way that is truly satisfying.

The first is the answer to questions around “Why do you want it?” Having a strong, clear purpose and intention will help you decide if you’re going after something that is worthwhile or taking the first lap in a vain tail chase.

A strong purpose should lead you the next factor: How strong is your motivation? Motivation is energy, and why waste your time in half-hearted pursuits of things that really don’t mean much to you. How badly do you really want it? Is there anything that getting it will keep form happening that you have had enough of?

Next, have a clear outcome. What does it look like when you get it? The answer can come in the form of things like a goal, a vision, a measure, or a key performance indicator. You don’t want to be like Bruno and find that the things you’ve been chasing really isn’t that thrilling after all. Or, to actually get what you want and not be able to know it. Then, you keep chasing, probably with the vague feeling that there is something you’re missing.

Finally, ground your outcomes with a clear context. Who is involved? When will you do or use it? Where? The answers to these questions help you form a real-world situation.

Keep asking these questions until you find something worth going after. Then, you are ready to make a plan for “More! Better! Different!” worth having. The path may not be straight, but it won’t be running around in a circle either.

If you are ready to cross that invisible bridge to high performance and productivity, give me a call. I work with people and companies who are stuck and want to be more productive. You know the situation. They are making a change to get something more or different, and can quite seem to make it happen. I help them find the problem and get their way past it.

I’m Joe Brodnicki and I help create lives, workplaces, teams, and communities worth belonging to through consulting, coaching, and training. Contact me at metacoach@mindspring.com or 615.830.9355.

Productivity, Excellence, and the Black Knight

Ask someone in your company if it is working toward excellence. If they don’t laugh, pull out a Dilbert cartoon, or show some defensiveness, you’re likely to get a response like, “Yes. We are trying the best we can.”

But, does that equal excellence? Or even being as productive as you can?

Like anything else, working toward excellence starts with a different set of thoughts and beliefs. In their book “In The Zone,” Michael Cooper and Tim Goodenough profile the attitudes and approaches of South Africa’s sports heroes. One of these athletes, golf legend Gary Player, combined a great work ethic, passion and enthusiasm with his father’s advice, “You have to be different to win.” While Gary Player grew up tough and poor, he succeeded in a rich man’s game in ways that very few have done.

Player, also known as “The Black Knight” for his choice of clothing on the golf course, knew that excellence was more than a matter of time and effort (working hard for long hours hours). He took a new approach to golf. Player pioneered new fitness and nutritional approaches in golf. He approached the game differently from his competitors (many of whom thought he couldn’t succeed with his radical methods). Yet, Player joined with Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer as the “Big Three” of their era. Only three people in the history of professional golf won more major championships than Player.

Gray Player dared to experiment, find out what really works, and change his game and life to create an incredible life. He is a success at sports, business, philanthropy, and in his personal life.

You really can’t decide if you are reaching for excellence if you haven’t learned from those who do. Even using a clear, focused approach to organizational excellence like the Baldrige framework or the latest fad of the month won’t amount to much unless you change yourself and the way you approach work, life, and leadership.

One of the secrets of excellence and great leadership is a willingness to embrace change. Many change theories assume that “the only people who like change are babies.”

Taking the path of excellence requires a love for learning from experience and feedback and a strong desire to grow and unleash human potential to get something more from work than a paycheck. Excellence is a response to powerful, meaningful visions and a higher calling, or intention, than the average person or company.

So, the questions become:

• What are you driven to excel? Where do you want to your very best self?
• Why do you want that?

Once you get clear on what it is you want to excel in and where you want to do it, you can take a powerful “why” as you motivation to figure out how to do it.

Are you ready to create excellence and be truly productive?

I work with people and organizations who are a bit stuck or lost in transition and are ready to break through to get what they want. If you’re ready to get serious about creating excellence in your life or organization, drop me a note. I’m Joe Brodnicki and I help create workplaces, teams, and communities worth belonging to through consulting, coaching, and training. Contact me at metacoach@mindspring.com or 615.830.9355.

Think like Walt: The Dreamer

A few weeks ago, I started a series on how to think like creatively Walt Disney. You may not come up with a business empire or iconic entertainment (or maybe you can), but you can take your great ideas and put them into action in aspect of your life.

Disney used three states of mind-being in his creative thinking process: the dreamer, the realist, and the critic. They all worked together to bring ideas into reality.

The process begins with an idea and the state to produce great ideas is the dreamer. When was the last time your really let yourself dream BIG. A dream so big that you started to drool at the thought of it. Many of us have let the voices of ‘can’t and ‘never’ crop up so quickly that our dreams, and even the ability to dream, gets snuffed out of our consciousness.

Not only can recover your ability to dream, but you can put those voices, the realist and the critic, to good use as assets in the process. They can help you surface and work through all those objections that may come up. Their time will come.

First, give yourself permission to dream. Take an idea. Your idea could be about a product, service, or business. It could be about a vacation or hobby. How about that book you’ve always wanted to write or life you want to create? You dream could be about yourself, what would it be like if you discovered and unleashed all of your potentials or even changed one thing, like becoming a non-smoker. What would that be like?

If you’re still feeling a little stuck, just take an idea and ask, “What if?” What if I decided to start my own business? What would that be like? What would success look like? What would it feel like? Just let your self dream large and positive. What do you really want?

Take that and make in into a clear, compelling image of sights, sounds, feelings and emotions. What does the dream look like? How does it sound? What do you feel in it? Just let go and make the dream as big as you can, as big as it takes for you to decide whether it’s just a dream or it’s a dream that begs to come to life.

If the dream sticks, write it down and hold to it. The realist and critic states will help you bring it into reality.

Create! Innovate! Realize Your Best! is published the first and third Wednesdays of each month.

Author: Joe Brodnicki is a meta-coach, trainer, and consultant who helps transform people, teams, and organizations through innovation and self-actualization. He can be reached at joeb2665@mindspring.com or 615.830.9355.

Innovate or Die!

Innovate or Die!

“There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” Edward de Bono

We seem to be stuck in an economic downturn where the old formulas for creating jobs and wide-spread prosperity no longer work. Technology, globalization, and countless other changes have transformed the game forever.

Likewise, society continues to change and many of it’s institutions are unable to meet the demands of health, well-being, living, and the pursuit of happiness.

The way out is never to go backward. Both the people and enterprises who succeed will be those who innovate and create solutions to the problems we face.

These ideas will not come out of thin air. Management expert Peter Drucker found that most innovative ideas resulted from conscious, purposeful opportunities to solve problems or to please customers (“The Discipline of Innovation.” Harvard Business Review, May-June 1985). Drucker confirmed Thomas Edison’s proverb that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% inspiration.

Creativity and innovation are much more than learning creative thinking games. Knowing the process of bringing an idea into reality takes a great deal of personal, interpersonal, and business skill.

Are you up to the challenge of learning these skills and processes to create your next success? How well do you know and use sound principles and processes to create and innovate solutions for yourself, your organization, your customers, and others in your life?

Author: Joe Brodnicki coaches and trains clients who want to unleash their creativity and innovative potentials. You can contact him at joeb2665@mindspring.com or 615.830.9355.

If You Think You’re Not Creative. . .

How many times have you heard yourself say, “I’m just not creative!”?  Have you ever really thought about what creativity is?

If you have, you have already been creative.  Thinking in itself is a creative act.  If you take your world of concepts, sights, and sounds and put them together in new ways, you’ve been creative.  You might be thinking that this isn’t much, but if you’ve solved a new problem of any kind in any way, you’ve created a solution.

You may take ideas and things, put them together, and you’ve created something.  Creativity appears in big ways, bringing inventions, businesses, arts, or profound change into being.  You can also experience creativity in everyday activities, such as making a meal, enjoying a hobby, or dealing with a difficulty or opportunity life brings your way.

Creativity is about adapting, growing, changing, or moving forward.

All it takes is a problem you want to solve or something you really want to create, just a germ of an idea, and you have the seed of a creative experience.  From there, it’s just a matter of going through a process, answering a few questions and doing the work of thinking.  You may need to learn a few things along the way, but that will be worth the price of bringing an idea into reality.

That’s called innovation, and while it takes work and discipline, imagine the sense of satisfaction you’ll have in changing your world.

What will you create today?  Dream vividly and make it happen.

Next week: You have problems?  Good for you!

Author: Joe Brodnicki coaches and trains clients who want to unleash their creativity and innovative potentials.  You can contact him at joeb2665@mindspring.com or 615.830.9355.