We are gradually running out of superlatives to describe Roger Federer (born in 1981), who has already won everything of significance in his sport. In fact, leading figures in the tennis world already agree that he is the best player of all time. Could anyone else teach us as much about motivation?
Let us start off by summing up his achievements, which tell us more than many words could: on Sunday, July 5, 2009, Federer won his sixth Wimbledon and fifteenth Grand Slam title. A month before that, his victory at the French Open in Paris had given him his first actual career Grand Slam, meaning that he had won all four Grand Slam tournaments at least once. In 2009 he reclaimed his position at the top of the world rankings, winning Wimbledon and the Roland Garros tournament; and in 2010 he cruised to victory in the Australian Open, setting again a new record by racking up his sixteenth Grand Slam title. Just stop for a moment and think how powerfully motivated he must have been to have achieved the accomplishments listed in Table 49-1.
TABLE 49-1
Few management issues are as prone to misunderstandings as motivation. The expectations placed on bosses are usually just as exaggerated as the “motivational programs” in organizations are misguided and ineffective. So here is the most important fact to note, at the outset: If you wish to achieve something, you must always motivate yourself. In other words, remarkable achievements do not come about by depending on others to motivate you. So first of all you must make a conscious choice to want to motivate yourself. Only then can you fall back on a few very useful approaches on how to do so or how you, as a boss, can create conditions conducive to motivating others.
It is a question of attitude whether you opt to concentrate mainly on your input and efforts or on your results. Even the greatest effort becomes easier if you know what the end result ought to look like. The thrill of achievement is one of the strongest motivators. If, on top of this, you see the results you achieve as a contribution toward a greater objective or bigger picture, you will have very good chances of remaining motivated in the long run.
In a management context, contributing to a whole stands out as one of the chief lesser-known sources of motivation. For many managers, competently fulfilling a task that makes a contribution to a perceived whole is a source of meaning, and therein lies by far the greatest motivating factor. Since meaning is so valuable for effective self-management and people management, the topic is covered in greater detail in Chapter 47 on Viktor Frankl.
If you want achievements to come easy or if you are to achieve anything notable in the first place, you must concentrate on your strengths. Little can motivate you as much as performing in a domain in which you can make full use of your strengths.
In addition, focus your efforts on very few endeavors. This way you will notch up remarkable achievements. No mere mortal can be successful in numerous domains. Or as tennis legend Jimmy Connors once put it: “In modern tennis you are either a clay court specialist or a grass specialist or a hard court specialist—or you are Roger Federer.”1 And John McEnroe, who does not exactly have a reputation for extreme modesty, had this to say about Federer: “Thanks, Roger, for downgrading us all to the status of average players. Never in my life have I seen such a gifted player.”2
Unless your bosses and colleagues talk about your managerial skills in similarly admiring terms, you should concentrate on very few things, because this will yield results and thus motivate you.
Having major tasks to attend to and high expectations to meet can be top motivators. The more intent you are on successfully completing a task, the more attention you will have to lavish on that endeavor. In turn, dealing more intensively with something makes it more interesting overall and easier to achieve as time goes by. It also enhances the results attained and sets in motion an ever more powerful cycle. Deriving pleasure from your own performance capabilities, experiencing personal effectiveness, and taking pride in these things are pleasant consequences that will influence your development as a human being and give your motivation a tremendous boost.
Encourage yourself to adopt a positive, constructive view of things. Do not be naively blind to real problems, but be constructive in how you actively go about fulfilling your task. Consciously seek out opportunities, even when all there seems to be are problems, and then take action, instead of idly waiting for solutions to materialize. Thinking constructively is also an ability to derive enough strength from scant successes to carry you through any difficulties. No sports star could afford not to take such an approach. At the same time, do not underestimate the possibility of talking yourself into being motivated to a certain extent. Sport, in particular, is a domain in which the impact of positive thinking is clear to see. The fact that Roger Federer has perfected his mental strength like no other is apparent in almost all the finals he plays.
Motivation in this domain stems initially from careful people choices and the painstakingly prepared deployment of personnel. Both these things are discussed in greater detail in Chapters 32 and 37 on (respectively) Jack Welch and George Patton. As a manager you have an opportunity to make good people decisions to create conditions that boost motivation. If you deploy people in such a way that their strengths match the task to be fulfilled, not only will you stand a good chance of seeing that task competently executed, but the people in question should find it easier to motivate themselves to fulfill it. Naturally, there is no guarantee, but this is a tool that you, as manager, can and should be able to use.
Job design also has a considerable impact on people’s motivation. Jobs can be too broad, too insignificant, or altogether lacking in responsibilities. In some jobs, workers will be more likely to fritter away their time, whereas other jobs will be linked to challenges to which nobody can rise because they are either too exacting or too disparate. The key impact of job design on motivation is often overlooked.
The main thing to establish here is which information you need to pass on to your team, colleagues, and boss to enable them to discharge their duties effectively and efficiently. You also need to ask yourself which information you need from them, so that you can fulfill your tasks professionally. Good communication alone does not motivate people, but lack of communication will almost inevitably demotivate them.
The situation here is similar to the one regarding good communication. Better remuneration and promotions cannot in themselves motivate people, but systems that have been poorly thought through or are perceived as unfair will almost inevitably demotivate people. Decisions about remuneration systems and promotions must always be made scrupulously and with the utmost care.
In a nutshell, motivation is a product of your own behavior and of competent management. To a very considerable extent, the responsibility for motivation lies with you. Many people are astonished to discover just how greatly they can influence their own degree of motivation if they make a conscious decision to do so and apply themselves to remaining motivated. Thus, the matter is in your own hands. However, it has also become clear that you, as a manager, can considerably influence the level of motivation in your organization by creating conditions that facilitate the build-up of motivation. Thus, motivation is a consequence of competent management.
What can you do to boost your own personal motivation?
Where will you take steps to help boost motivation within your organization?
