Some people say that no one can motivate anyone else. At some level that may be true. But for practical purposes these people are just playing a game of semantics. The fact is that we can influence others — and if we do that in such a way that they are moved to do something they were not moved or were less moved to do before, it is accurate to say that we have motivated the other person. We can do it. Often we are expected to do it. And effective leaders are doing it all the time. Since no two people are alike and, therefore, cannot be optimally motivated in exactly the same way using exactly the same en...

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  A meta-analysis of nine studies involving 1,739 workers found a significant positive relationship between motivation and job satisfaction. A happy worker isn’t always a productive worker (see above), but the knowledge worker who has low job satisfaction finds it difficult to be productive. Many factors go into job satisfaction, but a major issue is the quality of supervision provided. It is not common for a person to experience high job satisfaction if the relationship with his or her supervisor is not a satisfying one. A major reason cited for high turnover is the quality of supervisors — and w...

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  Some people confuse motivation with performance or productivity. They assume that if motivation is high, people will perform at a high level and productivity will be high, too. It’s not that simple. It’s possible to have a highly motivated person — or entire staff — that does not perform well or is not very productive. Motivation is an important component in high performance, highly productive operations because to perform at a high level, it is generally helpful to have people on board who want to excel. But motivation by itself is not enough because the desire to achieve, all by...

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  In the C3 Management Framework, we outline three levels of interaction between managers and subordinates, each with its own approach to motivation — and its own impact on organizational performance. Over the course of human history, management has tended to move from compliance (C1) to cooperation (C2) to contribution (C3). Each has advantages and disadvantages. But there are important reasons why this movement has occurred. Copyright © 2007 Yeshua Catholic International Leadership Institute, 208 E. North St., Durand, IL 61024. Any part of this newsletter may be reproduced so long as there i...

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  Our word motivation comes from the Latin word movere, which means to move. Obviously, we can move ourselves and we can move others — so a complete discussion of motivation involves both of those dimensions. Our focus here is on motivating others. But in the course of examining the dynamics of motivation from that perspective, you are likely to pick up some insights regarding motivating yourself. Usually one definition of anything is sufficient. But with something as complex as motivation, a few definitions are helpful. Each of these definitions has something unique to contribute to our understanding. ...

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  “... strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (1 Cor 12:31-13:1) More than anything, motivating is a matter of intimacy. The more you know and the more you care about someone, the better you will do motivating them. That explains why the most successful organization in history is the family. No other organization or type of organization has come anywhere close to making the family’s contribution to the development of people — measured...

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At some point, each of us has to ask: What am I here for? As a rule, we ask that question several times in our life -- sometimes about particular situations, sometimes about the larger issue of life itself. Although you won't find this answer in any Catholic catechism, apparently for many of us the answer is: "To make as much money as I can possibly get." How else do you explain the rise in top executive compensation even while the buying power of most workers is eroding? Especially, how do you explain paying CEOs huge salaries and bigger bonuses even when the earnings and the stock values of the compan...

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  Leaders have five potential bases of power: Reward power — ability to give others rewards in return for supportive behavior. Coercive power — ability to threaten and administer punishment. Legitimate power — formal position within an organization that confers authority. Expert power — knowledge or information that is valuable in achieving desired ends. Referent power — also known as charisma; one accords this power to his or her role models. These five bases of power share three sources: The first three of these power bases originate outside the personal re...

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  The word “inspired” comes from the root spirare — which means to breathe.  In + spirare means to breath into. When we inspire others to greater development and higher performance, we are breathing new life into them. Copyright © 2006 Yeshua Catholic International Leadership Institute, 208 E. North St., Durand, IL 61024. Any part of this newsletter may be reproduced so long as there is full attribution, our web site is listed, and any electronic reproduction includes a link to our site: http://www.yeshualeader.com.

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Since Lent is a time of penance, I thought it a good time to approach the topic of Jesus-like Leadership by talking a bit about to be an ineffective leader. My inspiration comes from two places: The 77 Habits of Highly Ineffective People, a hilarious but out-of-print parody of a wonderful book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. A blog by Gary Cokins called Rules for Assuring Poor Performance. To get the flavor of The 77 Habits of Highly Ineffective People, of which you can find used copies on Amazon.com, let me share with you the first suggestion of authors Jim Becker, Andy Mayer and Ba...

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