What Makes a Leader? – Motivation
Happy Monday! We hope you’re having a great start to your week! For all the things you’ve got to do today, remember the words of the 26th US President Theodore Roosevelt: ‘Believe you can and you’re halfway there’.
In this, the first day of #AgriLeadershipWeek2024, we’re talking MOTIVATION and its importance in the workplace. Regardless of your position on the employment ladder, if you can motivate people, whether they’re your peers or your team, you will see increased levels of productivity and dedication to the work at hand. This could come in the form of making them feel valued by investing your time in getting to know them, or because they feel empowered by the energy and positivity that you bring to the workplace. When it comes to making decisions, an effective motivator is confident in their chosen course of action, instilling a sense of purpose in the workforce. If it turns out that their choice was the wrong one, a leader displays humility in acknowledging the error and works twice as hard to right it. This effort, drive and dedication influences those around you to do the same, meaning your peers/team feel a sense of togetherness and work as a unit towards a common goal. Once you have a united front, there is very little that can go wrong, but it is important to maintain communication with every member of the team to ensure that everyone stays onboard with the vision for the task ahead. In this same way, remaining open with your team gives them a feeling of support if they need assistance whilst also giving you a chance to reward and recognise good work, making the workforce feel valued.
Enough about your surroundings- after all, how can you motivate others if motivation is a struggle for you? Much like a team, if you are motivated, your performance within the workplace will increase, so if self-motivation is something you feel you want to improve when you look in the mirror, look no further!
It may seem hard to believe, but self-motivation is a choice- to get into the habit, and eventual routine, of taking on the next challenge. The first step is to define your goals and to outline how you plan to achieve them- these can be short and long-term, however, must not be vastly out of your reach; or the setbacks you encounter on your way to meeting them will have a greater impact on you than they otherwise would. In this same way, the goals you set yourself must provide you with a challenge, it must push you outside of your comfort zone- if it doesn’t it is too easy. To provide you with an incentive to push through the difficulties you face, it is important to reward yourself- whether that comes in the form of watching a new film or meeting up with friends on the weekend.
At MDS we are always pushing our Trainees to overcome their next challenge. The change of secondments will lead to constantly developing experiences and with this comes a need to stay motivated to succeed. We offer coaching and mentoring through our People Development Team who are there to empower you to succeed.
After more inspiration? Why not watch or listen to Daniel Pink, an author of multiple books to do with motivation, on Steven Barlett’s Podcast “Diary of a CEO”?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vSymiIrKP8. Daniel Pink: Diary of a CEO, also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
MDS has partnered with TIAH and others to bring Agri Leadership Week to fruition.
