An Employee’s View on Motivation
I never thought posting free leadership wallpapers could really motivate someone to take action, but it did. Frequently insightful and never bashful commenter CSBMonkey shared his insights on motivation from an employee’s point of view. If you’re a manager, or you want to be a manager, please keep reading this and make it your own so you can really inspire your team. The emphasis in the article is mine, not from CSBMonkey, but the words are all his.
An Employee’s View on Motivation
I have often wondered why managers go for pre-built “programs” that are being sold as team building inspiration silver bullets instead of looking at truly inspirational films and historical figures. In the same vein, if it inspires YOU as a manager it might not inspire an employee at all. Which brings up the question (it doesn’t “beg the question”, btw, since that isn’t what begs the question means), do managers ever ask their employees “Who is an inspiration for you?” Or “What inspires you in your life?” I can honestly say that these are questions that I have never been asked by anyone I have worked for but which if asked would truly pique my interest in what exactly my manager wanted to know about me.
I am sure that my managers know about me that I am a big film buff and love a wide swath of films and movies ranging from silent films to horror movies, but discussions about it are never about what I find inspiring about a particular film or movie (yes, I distinguish the two) or why a particular filmmaker or screenwriter or actor is an inspiration for me. And I will say, I have many of them. I keep a catalog of inspiration and note great moments of particular people’s creative lives that seem to stand out as to me as particular examples of what the person was trying to DO with their craft, be it film or music or writing or a novel.
Do I do this with managers or business figures myself? Honestly, no. I can only name a single business person that might make that list, and I know from enough stories on him that as a person he’s probably not someone I would like. :) *heh* I just mentioned “creative” and “business person” and “inspiration” in a single sentence, so I suspect most people can guess that person.
Do you, as managers, know whom inspired and continues to inspire your employees? And conversely, have you ever communicated to THEM who your OWN inspirations are? Do you have more than one so that you can share common examples between you so that you both have a similar story to draw from? Frankly, I have no idea who inspired/inspires my own managers. I am sure they have no idea who my inspirations are or those inspirations’ works.
Wouldn’t that be an interesting thing for everyone to know?
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POSTED IN: Phil Gerbyshak, guest posts, leadership
7 opinions for An Employee’s View on Motivation
CK
Aug 1, 2008 at 10:47 am
In my opinion, inspiration and motivation comes from within. As to who do you try to emulate or model is a different story! Regardless, if you have high regards to an individual, that provides the ’spark’ that is needed to light your desire to become a better person, manger, leader, spouse, then by all means! But there is one thing one should remember, you have to be you and in order to bring true leadership it has to come from within. Employees can root out a fake emotion, speach, etc. in time and then you could loose the credibility that you had worked on so hard to achieve.
As to movies … ever seen the one “My Side of the Mountain”???
CK
Aug 1, 2008 at 10:50 am
Sorry for my misspellings - I didn’t stop and look to edit before I hit ’submit.’
Eugene
Aug 2, 2008 at 8:19 pm
If you are waiting for people to motivate or inspire you then you may have a long wait. You have to dig down with in yourself. You must first believe in yourself and then go for it. Don’t wait for others to push you. If you go ahead and and do then you maybe a motivator for someone
csbmonkney
Aug 3, 2008 at 8:36 am
I agree that the best motivation comes from inside one’s self. Nevertheless, inspiration can come from other places, other people, the achievements and output of others. It’s why I keep that list. It’s why I read blogs too.
As an avowed movie geek, I often walk away from some movies feeling transcendent as a result of what I have watched. For a lot movie goers, and I fully understand this, that is the result of the story the movie itself is telling, and certainly that is a huge component of my own feelings. I also end up feeling inspired by the achievement that I’ve witnessed as well. The entire thing in my mind starts to come home as the grand result of so many small things and so many day to day things and as a great example of perseverance of both individuals and a team. Perseverance of individuals such as writers and directors and perseverance of entire teams of people that it takes to make great movies. THAT is very inspirational to me.
Motivational? I am not sure if it’s a motivation, really, but absolutely it is an inspiration.
Of course, I can see the eyebrows raising when I point out that some of my favorite inspirations are movies like Grindhouse and the French horror film Haute Tension. :) In those cases, the inspiration is all about the driving visions of the filmmakers pushing to realize their ideas that go well against the grain of existing sets and ideas in movies.
Thanks for the post Phil! It was quite a surprise to see my response from the posters roll through my Google Reader. :)
Phil Gerbyshak
Aug 4, 2008 at 3:42 pm
CK - Thanks for sharing your insights. I think you are absolutely right about inspiration coming from within. True leadership is REAL and AUTHENTIC, no doubt about it. And no worries about the misspellings! Thanks for being so excited to share your ideas!
Eugene - I wish everyone was like you. If they were, my life as a manager would be much easier. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen, at least not visibly. What do YOU do to inspire yourself? How do you push yourself on to do great things?
csbmonkey - Perseverance is definitely inspirational AND motivational, at least for me. If others can achieve it, I know I can too! I’ve not seen any of the movies you recommended (yet). Thanks for sharing them.
And you’re welcome for sharing your insights. Thank YOU for sharing them with us!
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