Learn how to use language and psychology to ignite drive…

The ability to effectively motivate others is a primary skill that distinguishes the outstanding leaders and managers from the less successful and the mundane.

A client of ours, Kevin Turnock – General Manager at LFA New Zealand, concluded a conversation with me recently by saying, “the number one factor that affects my team’s performance is life!”

What Kevin had put his finger on was the universal phenomenon I call “reasons instead of results”. This is the strategy employed by people who haven’t performed, and, regardless of what that reason is, you can be sure the cause of the problem is something they could never, ever be held accountable for.

The objective here isn’t to criticise staff and nor should it be yours. Rather, it is critical to bring to your attention the psychology behind this situation. Certainly, just like Kevin’s, some staff are not performing because of huge personal issues; their loved-ones are in hospital or they’ve recently divorced. Others may simply be spending an unreasonable amount of time surfing the internet? Whatever the cause, they feel unable or unwilling to focus their full attention on the job. They simply don’t feel the drive they had when they started the job… Want to hear why?

Experience shows us that the world’s most successful people are successful because they have more compelling reasons why they absolutely must achieve, than reasons why they cannot.

Your success as a leader, motivating others, comes down to your ability, not to solve the problems “life” throws at them, but to connect them with more compelling and emotive reasons why they must achieve – even in the face of adversity.

Don’t tell them what should motivate them – at a psychological level, you simply don’t know them well enough. Simply ask questions that uncover their motive for action… and then help them really feel it.

The habit of delivering excuses is ingrained in us since early childhood and reinforced in school.

The following conversational strategy will enable you to better understand your staff and enable them to help themselves.
1. Start with an opportunity to put excuses on the table. It is important that your employee’s situation is understood as doing so will build the rapport needed to give guidance and effectively motivate.

Ask what prevents your employee taking action and following through? What prevents motivation?
We asked Tim, a client of ours (a sales person): What really prevents you cold calling and achieving your targets? How does that make you feel? How much metaphorical pain does that create for you?

Tim explained that the stress he suffered as a new father made him exhausted, even in early mornings at work, and he felt he could only cold call when he felt at his mental/physical “peak”. The uncomfortable sensation of expecting failure was the painful part. This was really starting to cause a bunch of problems for him, because his pool of leads had dried up and he wasn’t doing the calling he needed to achieve his targets.
2. Then ask: What could be gained by resolving this?

For Tim, this was a really easy one. If he could quit procrastinating on cold calling, he’d be busy again – in his field, sales was primarily a numbers game and he needed to talk to a huge number of people. How did he feel about that? The idea of fixing this excited him. Maybe he could start creating the financial success he dreamed about when he started the job.
3. What could it cost not to resolve this?

This one changed Tim’s facial expression completely. If he took his current procrastination habit and visualised it continuing for another few months, he saw himself without a job! Emotionally, this could cost him his self respect. Not winning the bread for his new family might cost a whole lot more, long term. In a flash, he vividly imagined problems with the wife, failing to create the lifestyle he promised himself he would… and more! He was squirming just at the thought of it.

4. Finally, ask: What is to be gained by taking action on this now?

It didn’t take long for Tim to fully comprehend the idea of exponential growth – if he starts achieving target now, his success in 6 months or a few years would be incredible. He always knew this theoretically, but we helped him really feel that. We asked “What would that look like? If you followed through today and took action day after day, how would you feel a year from now?”

Once you start asking the right kind of questions, it becomes easy to get people breathless with excitement as they contemplate their immediate future.

The key is to ask questions that create an emotional response. Understanding the reasons why, the potential to gain and the risk of loss, is just half of it. Igniting drive comes from feeling those reasons, the pain of non-achievement and the pleasure of success, at a real and emotional level. Long term commitment to action is built on passion for those all important reasons.

Any ultra-successful business (or sports) person will describe (usually in the first chapter of their autobiography) the reasons why they decided that they absolutely must gain incredible wealth, success and/or fame. They may fail, lose millions, face problems most of us have never even dreamt of, yet they’ll never lose that drive. For them, the cost of not succeeding is simply too great. Inversely, the potential to be gained from succeeding is so exciting it can never be forgotten.

This psychology for success is universal among anyone and everyone who performs at a high level, in business, sports or any area. The good news is that we’ve all tapped into it already! How easy is it for most of us to put food on the table for our families? It is an absolute necessity! In our minds, at an unconscious level, we have connected with hugely compelling reasons why we must provide basic necessities for our loved ones. Paying for food, power and water is easy (for most) because it is simply not an option to not pay.

Re-creating such powerful and effortless motivation in yourself and others is simple. Connect with compelling, emotive reasons why outstanding achievement is an absolute necessity.