Don’t wait for a boss to motivate you – take care of yourself. This sounds like advice from a motivational calendar, but it makes more sense than it might seem.
We usually talk about motivation problems in the context of leaders who should pay attention to the needs and motivators of the people and teams they help.
Yes, this is important.
Yes, this is true.
Yes, companies don’t take enough care of this, but…
…every employee, every specialist can also take care of themselves and it’s profitable. For everyone.
The secret: bosses, managers, colleagues and even most so-called leaders:
– don’t know themselves,
– don’t know,
– don’t have the skills,
– don’t have time,
– …and if they know, they often forget after some time.how to motivate you
Working with specialists “one on one,” phrases such as: satisfaction, being happy, hard work, work, results, raises and promotions often come up.
It turns out they can be connected by one non-obvious phrase: motivation.
Warning, this article is long. If you're bored reading, skip the dialogue and jump to the end to the ideas my clients usually come up with.Here’s one such conversation:
Mike: What makes you feel motivated at work?
Sebastian: Hmm… I think when I know why I’m doing what I’m doing. And when I can influence how I do it. I don’t like when someone tells me exactly step by step what to do.
M: When did you last feel truly engaged?
S: It was about half a year ago. I was working on this new project (…) and the Tribe Leader said what the business goal should be, we had a lot of space to work out the architecture and build a good solution. Plus I got feedback on an ongoing basis, I didn’t have to wait a month for evaluation.
M: What else was important in that situation?
S: That I knew it made sense. That users really needed it. And that we could transition to new technology and clean up the architecture.
M: And now? How does your motivation look in the current project?
S: sighs Well, exactly… Now I get tasks without context. “Do this and that.” I don’t know why I’m doing it. The boss checks every hour what stage I’m at. And I’m mainly fixing old bugs, no new knowledge.
M: Sounds frustrating. What would happen if you told your boss what you need to be motivated?
S: pause I don’t know… Maybe he’d think I’m picky? Or that I don’t want to work?
M: What do you think – does your boss want you to be motivated and effective?
S: Well, probably yes… After all, the project’s success depends on it.
M: So if you told him (wait, let me summarize what I wrote down from what you said): “I’m most motivated when I know why I’m doing a task, I can influence how it’s done, and I get ongoing feedback” – does that sound like a problem or a solution?
S: moment of thought Like a solution. But… isn’t it weird that I have to tell him how to manage me?
M: Isn’t it weird that you expect him to guess what motivates you?
S: laugh Right. So it’s like… an instruction manual?
M: Exactly. What else could you tell him about what demotivates you?
S: That micromanagement kills me. That working only on bugs for months is a nightmare. And that when I don’t know if what I’m doing makes sense, I lose energy.
M: What if you wrote all this down and discussed it with your boss?
S: I think… he might understand it. After all, he was once a programmer and architect himself. Maybe he just doesn’t know it’s important to me.
M: What else could you do to take care of your motivation?
S: I can also talk to the team. Maybe others have similar needs. And I can ask for specific things – for example, to get one day a week to learn new technologies.
M: Sounds like a plan. What will be your first step?
S: I’ll write myself a list of what motivates me and what demotivates me. Then I’ll schedule a meeting with my boss. I need to tell them how to motivate me and make sure they stick to it.
Research confirms intuition
Research shows that intrinsic motivation has a huge impact on effectiveness. A team of psychologists (Dr. Christopher P. Cerasoli, Prof. Jessica M. Nicklin, and Prof. Michael T. Ford from University) conducted a solid meta-analysis based on 40 years of research on the relationship between motivation and effectiveness. The results are clear: Intrinsic motivation proved to be moderately to strongly correlated with performance (correlation coefficient ρ = 0.21-0.45). What’s particularly important – this correlation remains stable regardless of the presence of external incentives.
This means that if you find a way to like what you do, you’ll work much more efficiently than when someone tries to motivate you only with a bonus or raise.
Additionally, research indicates that the occurrence and development of intrinsic motivation are influenced by, among other things: sense of work meaning, sense of responsibility, and knowledge of work results. These are things you have direct influence over!
Concrete self-motivation methods
“Instruction Manual” Method
Write literally an instruction manual for yourself. It may sound weird, but it works. Here’s an example:
“I am motivated when:
- I know why I’m doing a specific task (business goal)
- I can influence how the task is executed
- I get feedback during work, not just at the end
- I work on things that make sense to users
- I have time to learn new things”
“I am demotivated when:
- I get tasks without context
- Someone micromanages my every step
- I don’t know if what I’m doing makes any sense
- I work only on bugfixes for months”
“Proactive Conversation” Method
Instead of waiting for an annual review, schedule coffee with your boss and say:
“I’d like to talk with you about how I can be more effective. I’ve noticed I’m most motivated when… And I lose energy when… Can we try to direct my tasks in a way that uses what drives me?”
“Small Experiments” Method
If you don’t know what motivates you, experiment. For a week, try working differently:
Change the time when you do the hardest tasks
Ask for feedback at the beginning and middle of a task instead of at the end
Suggest a different approach to the problem
Find a way to measure the impact of your work
Observe when you feel more energetic and engaged.
Why this works
When we’re motivated, everything falls into place. Research confirms that intrinsic motivation is linked to a sense of work meaning, responsibility, and knowledge of results. When these elements are in place, we naturally achieve better results.
And better results aren’t just personal satisfaction and happiness. They’re also concrete benefits: raises, promotions, more interesting projects, better team relationships.
It spins like a flywheel:
-> the more motivated you are,
-> the better you work,
-> the more you get,
-> the more motivated you are.
Courage at work
Such discovery awakens fear: What if they use this against me?
Nothing will happen. It won’t get worse.
Achieving results/recognition/money/promotion at work (I don’t know what motivates you specifically) and consequently feeling happy requires a lot of courage:
- Courage to tell your boss what you need.
- Courage to experiment with new ways of working.
- Courage to admit that some things demotivate you.
But the alternative is sitting for years in a job that drains your energy, complaining about a boss who “doesn’t know how to motivate” and waiting for some miracle that will suddenly make you love Mondays.
When we’re motivated, everything falls into place. Let’s take care of ourselves. It’s worth acting – because no one will do it for us, and happiness at work isn’t a luxury, but a basic need for anyone who spends 8 hours a day at work.