During this challenging time that we are going through as a global family, I see in myself and others a decreased level of motivation. If you look up the original meaning it of the word it emphasizes movement; or ‘to move’. I see in myself and others less movement. The word burnout is being used more frequently as well as resilience. It would also seem like we have even higher levels of stress and anxiety than ever before.
For the leader
The challenge becomes even greater once you lead a business or organisation. Your challenges are compounded by the virtual nature of our current existence. How can you increase your team motivation? The secret lies not in the latest app or technique. First, you have to work on yourself if you want to see higher levels of motivation in others. I strongly believe that leadership is ultimately the consistent focus on self-mastery and helping others do the same. ‘Getting things done’ flows from an inner commitment to growth. Success is being redefined as living the best life you can and creating an organisation that does the same for everyone involved. Creating a whole and healthy organisation is linked to the level of motivation you operate from.
According to Danah Zohar you cannot lead someone to a higher level of motivation if you yourself are not at least a +4 on the scale below, you cannot expect to raise a team member from -3 to -2. (Apologies for the poor quality of the image). The scale is as follows
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+8 Enlightenment |
-1 Self Assertion |
In other words, if you want to be an effective leader through these difficult times you need to do the unseen work; or internal work. It is about becoming aware and raising your own game so that you can help others do the same.
Stated another way, leadership is about communicating someone’s current worth and future potential to them so clearly they come to see it themselves.
In order to operate from this potential-spotting perspective you need to rise above the emotionally drowning circumstances.
Raise Your Game
All of this sounds great, but how do you in fact raise your own game under challenging circumstances? There are a few tips and tricks. Many of these I have pulled into one resource in my recent book: Unleash Your Superpower. You are a wonderfully intricate composition of beliefs, emotions, personality and experience. In order to raise your game you have to commit to a long-term, continuous process. That is what Survive to Alive is all about. If you look at the logo you will see a butterfly that is a symbol of transformation. It is also an infinity loop that symbolises the continuous process of transformation.
The first step is to ask yourself from which level are you operating? Perhaps the reason you can’t get your team more motivated is that you are not at the level required to model, teach and coach yet. In other words, awareness is always the beginning of growth. Depending on where you are and who you are you might need different support in order to go through the transformation required to raise the level of organisational motivation that you desire.
Get help. As a leader, entrepreneur or business owner you can sometimes walk a solitary path. That is what Survive to Alive is all about. I am here to support you through the process of living the best life you possibly can so that you can lead and create from a higher level of motivation. Perhaps you just need a session or two so that you see clearly again or perhaps you want to do a workshop with your team. Reach out and let’s set something up that works for you.
Life is a process of becoming. Go from Survive to Alive!