A SERIES OF GIFTS — No. 20: THE CURSE OF MOTIVATING OTHERS

**please read to the end: GIFT #20, updated video**

 

You know it and I know it: MOTIVATING OTHERS in the workplace is a top-tier conundrum. Always has been, always will be. It’s right up there with MANAGING CONFLICT, which I spoke about at length in November’s GRATITUDE SERIES, EPISODE 5: LEADING & LIVING IN RELATIONAL PEACE. 

Now, when it comes to MOTIVATION, things get personal fast. Heck, there are moments, days, seasons, sometimes YEARS when even the most zealous lose the fires in their bellies. I see it all the time in organizational change, in acquisitions, at inflection points near retirement, and on teams with new and lousy bosses or bad apples.

We saw and sensed LOTS of this during COVID, did we not? Amidst disconnection, loss, hardship, and wavering purpose, our teens suffered, depression spiked, 20% of Americans changed careers, and an estimated 1.5 to 2 BILLION human beings struggled mentally.

Why, just last night as I stood briefly in a movie line, two young women in front of me were discussing this article about Cara Delevingne hitting her own rock-bottom these past few years. 

Back in the workplace, though, any time someone shouts out in class, “Hey, Dude, got any ideas for getting folks as excited about work as I am?” laughter always ensues, because (A) It's relative, and (B) We’ve all been there. MAYBE THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT ‘WORK’!

And sheesh, how do we even know who's working, or on what, given all this hybrid, side-hustle mess? If curious, check out EPISODES 2 & 3 from last November for my thoughts on exactly that: EPISODE 2: LEADING & LIVING WITH OPTIMISM & JOY (some BAD News) and EPISODE 3: LEADING & LIVING WITH OPTIMISM & JOY (some GOOD News). 

Anyhoo, for better or worse, I’ve got recommendations for getting folks as motivated about work as you are, though you may not like the answers 😐.

“Popular” and “Right,” we must remember, are not always one and the same. In fact, I dunno about you, but after 53 orbits around the Sun, I’m increasingly of the opinion that “The right thing to do is simple to see: Among all the options, it's the difficult one!”

See whatcha think.

And by the way, for those faithful few among you who already watched today's GIFT #20 (“The CURSE of Motivating Others”), please WATCH IT AGAIN. That original you saw was not quite the entire one, so today’s version has the balance of my 2 cents ;-)

I do hope it’s an encouragement to someone out there.

Here's #20, proper, this time: https://lnkd.in/gJUVhxAx.