We need to motivate people all around us. Nonprofit Executive Directors need to motivate their boards and staff members. Volunteer managers need to motivate volunteers. Folks raising money need to motivate donors to give. In this episode, Nancy and Sarah talk about the two elements needed to create the conditions for someone to feel motivated to take action.
Are you wondering how to motivate the people around you? Take a listen!
Question to reflect on before you listen: How do you currently motivate your team?
What resonated with you about this conversation? What would you like to take back to your organization?
Nancy and Sarah talked about the difference between two kinds of motivation: do and learn, and that you should be judicious on how much you expect people to learn. How might this idea change what you expect board members, staff members, volunteers, or others to learn?
Listening is an important first step in helping to understand someone’s emotion about a task. How might you deepen how you listen to the people you are trying to motivate?
Word of the week: Motivate
At the root of motivation is “motive,” or reason for doing something, particularly when it isn’t obvious. How might you create more opportunities for people to learn, practice, and build emotional connections so the reason feels more obvious to them?
“Don’t ask how you motivate other people. That’ the wrong way to think about it. Instead, ask ‘How can you create the conditions within which other people will motivate themselves.’”
