Speaker Tracy Butz's Latest Article

July 2019 | Issue 91

The Secret to Motivating Other People

I’m often asked this question: Can you motivate someone else? The short answer is...absolutely not! No matter how hard you want it, no one can motivate someone else to do what they don't want to do. You may get someone to do a task by enticing him/her with a sweeter carrot or threatening that person with a sharper stick. But that is not representative of personal motivation.

With the above said, you can influence other people to do a particular task and amazingly, this strategy works both professionally and personally. If you can tap into the underlying desires people have, you will get amazing performance from them. And if you’re a leader, the trick is to find alignment between what your people want and what will help grow the organization. Here is a three-step process to positively influence motivation:

STEP ONE: Ask the individual what s/he wants.

The first step in finding what motivates others is to make time to listen to them and find out what they actually want out of their job. The key is to not make assumptions about what you think they want; rather, you need to actually ask them what they want. Maybe they desire:

A new big title.
More time off to spend with family.
To make more money to buy a new vehicle or send a son/daughter to college.

STEP TWO: Show people how they can get what they want.

If someone wants to become a supervisor one day, offer ideas of things s/he can do... click here to continue reading.

Experience Something New

When engaging audiences in inspirational keynotes or engaging workshops, I often talk about the power of learning or doing something new. Human beings need to experience fun, new endeavors to keep their minds active, while also sparking creativity.

As a fairly new resident of Colorado, this past weekend I decided to participate in two courageous adventures that are reflective of this state's natural habitat: rock climbing and white water rafting. Wow…two incredibly exhilarating experiences! Here is proof that I follow my own advice…even when it is super scary!

Key Takeaway: Consider one activity you have always wanted to try—but haven’t yet. Commit to experimenting with it in the next 30 days.