Motivating Yourself - It's Not As Difficult As It Seems

One of the most common questions I am asked in my professional career is "How do you know so much about this stuff?" The stuff that most ask me about are various technologies, new trends in technology, how businesses are using these new tools to their benefits, how to tackle problems, management and leadership insights, among others. It is pretty easy to explain to most; long professional experience, personal associations, firsthand experience, open-mindedness, etc. Yet the one of the key traits that I mention seems to be one of the most commonly absent for many... motivation.

In my countless discussions ranging from technical topics, leadership, project management, even personal growth the trait of motivation is one of a core few that I find myself talking about the most. Generally speaking everyone is motivated by something. By motivation I mean performing activity solely on your own without being constantly reminded to do, yet not because it is a regimen, but because it is something you enjoy doing. For example some people love playing golf, kayaking, surfing, reading, biking, running, traveling, playing with their pet, building furniture, etc. I do mean that they love doing these things. It is not something forced onto them, not something that they see as a chore such as taking out the garbage. Rather it is something that so innately resonates within them that they are compelled to do something. It is this kind of motivation that I find most professionals are lacking.

There may be many historical reasons for this. However recent events specifically the recession has forced in my opinion a significant opportunity to evaluate one's goals and desires especially when it comes to their career. For instance I have seen a number of professionals who "made due" with positions at a company under significant duress with long hours, poor compensation, high stress, and more just so that their organization could "survive" the recession. This is not a bad strategy for a number of reasons but merely subsisting eventually leads to burnout. On the other hand another group of professionals who have long hours, low compensation compared to a standard position, and high stress are entrepreneurs. Compared to the former group these individuals are excited about what they are doing, and constantly re-invigorate themselves to push ahead. Most do not suffer burnout as their counterparts understand it, rather they thrive and grow on the challenges presented to them. The difference again is based on several key concepts but motivation is chief among them.

No one will pursue what they feel is a "job" or a "task" for any length of time. Chores are done because they have to be, not because you enjoy them. But what changes a chore into a joy is a mixture of passion and belief that what one is doing is worthwhile. Once that is in place, the motivation comes easily enough. Yet for many professionals they are not motivated to do their best. The core reason for this is that they are not passionate about what they are doing. When they love what they do, they find the motivation.

As a result I often ask professionals are they "doing what they love". Not because it is a deep or trick question but simply because if they are unhappy then they are not doing what they love to do and consequently they will not be motivated.

I typically use my own professional experiences as examples. I am extremely curious. I love tinkering, and working on things. Much of the time I like to get hands on. To get a sense of the true challenges, the true nature of the work, and different perspectives on a common topic. I have worked in technology and innovation leadership through auto manufacturing, professional consulting, credit scoring, silicon valley software and hardware companies, financial services, startups, e-commerce, cloud, telecommunications, government, and many others. Naturally working in any of these industries is a challenge yet what many find fascinating is that I do such things on a regular basis. To most this seems tremendously daunting. I find it fun and exhilarating. I love learning new things and making an impact. As a result of this core passion, I am highly motivated to learn things quickly, to observe and move quickly, and to make an impact that benefits everyone. Without the passion, there is no motivation.

Almost all professionals believe they see their passion clearly enough. Which is true at least to some extent. I advise them to go deeper than a mere surface belief because often times unless someone has spent a very long time at introspection, true passion cannot be immediately nor accurately communicated. So when someone replies to my question about their passion with quick statements such as "I love project management!" I ask them "Why?" or "What do you love about?". This takes many twists and turns which is expected but it is a journey that most professionals never undertake because they have been too busy dealing with their "chores" rather than their "joys". Everyone needs to take some quiet time to really look at what they enjoy doing.

I often mention to my friends and colleagues motivating yourself is not as difficult as it seems, it is a natural result of being in tune with your passion. Once the time is taken to look at what one is passionate about, motivation to do something about it is almost instantaneous. They act more deliberately, without hesitation and with more vigor. They take charge which is an empowering action for any person no matter their profession.

Politics and Power - The Difference Between the Two

One of the most commonly recurring topics I encounter in my discussions with other professionals is politics or more specifically playing politics. Most professionals are very familiar with the idiom of playing politics as it is classically referenced: to deal with people in an opportunistic, manipulative, or devious way, as for job advancement. It is the source of much consternation, frustration, and quite frankly worry. Also usually in the same discourse many of my fellow professionals complain about power, mostly their lack of it. Again they tend to address power in it's classical definition; the ability to do or act; the capability of doing or accomplishing something. 

What I find absolutely fascinating is how common these two terms are in any conversation and how fundamentally critical they are to the professionals career satisfaction. Interestingly almost all professionals note how playing politics impacts their power. To be honest I have never really understood the tight relationship between the two concepts in terms of impeding career advancement. They are and have always been two separate and distinct concepts whose only common ground is that they are as old as humanity and quite obviously are as unique as the individual that encounters them.

Let me be frank. Any workplace, no matter where it is, has some professionals that play politics. In my experience the organizations who have a significant amount of this activity are typically the ones that have lacked strong leadership, who have been inconsistent in their values and their missions, and that have ineffective communication.  Yet in spite of this fact, most professionals still let these activities directly impact their power. 

In some of my most recent discussions I have leveraged my own experience which has been honed over years of applying it. My insight is mixture of experiential, religious, philosophical, historical, and martial arts viewpoints. While quite eclectic it is amazing to see how many of the insights have common ground. Succinctly put the activities of playing politics should NEVER have any impacts on your own personal power. After all we do this every day in our normal lives. We know about all the scams, ploys, plots, and what not that everyone uses to ply our earnings from us. Yet we all, for every one of these attempts, have successfully created defensive mechanisms to protect ourselves from them. However it is rare to find such mechanisms used in a business setting. My efforts with my colleagues and students concentrate on re-affirming their own personal power both the benefits and the consequences. After all having power is an awesome responsibility that can be yield both positive and equally powerful side effects. There are no silver bullets, no absolute guarantees, no safe havens in asserting one's own personal power which is as it should be.

Giving personal power over to someone else is a rare feat, one that is only done between individuals that have significant devotion and relationship to one another. As a result this is not what motivates most professionals. Instead they spend a significant amount of time creating their own barriers to entry in attempts to distance themselves from becoming too attached to co-workers. After all you can feel less guilty about playing politics with someone if you think of them as non-entities. It takes far more bravery and courage to see people as people in a business setting, and working with them in a accordingly human manner. 

Exactly how each individual professional asserts their individual power, where and when is up to their unique circumstance. Typically I advise simple exercises that can be measured so that professionals can see their impacts. It takes only a fraction of a second to make a critical decision and with so many decisions in a typical work day, there are certainly no shortages of chances to improve. 

The goal of mentoring someone I find is not just of benefit for them but myself. After all, in the end all I or anyone can do is offer advice. It is up to the individual professional to find merit in that advice and to use it in a way that makes their life more rich and enjoyable. I find that by helping other professionals with my advice such as seeing the difference in politics and power, has made both of our lives better and our outlooks more positive. 

Playing Politics - A Game that Loves Win/Lose Results

In my long career politics are a common encounter. Most people do not like them but many understand that politics are a part of every organization. Now contrary to the classic definition found in any dictionary, politics as it is referred to in the workplace is usually expressed where a very small group or even an individual makes a decision for everyone typically without their consent or even considering their viewpoint. 

Now in many progressive organizations there are strong cultural imperatives and actions that promote great ideas and results, and minimizes back-room deals through high degrees of transparency of data and metrics. Also there are strong traditions of team work and open, consistent communication. 

At this point in the conversation most of my colleagues mention that they have little to no politics. Ultimately politics manifest in very simple results to evaluate. For example let's take someone who is titled as an engineer. A true engineer is up to date with current trends and progress in their field. They are aware of new breakthroughs, respected individuals, latest thinking, and being able to apply these ideas to their deliverables in the workplace. A political engineer on the other hand is more in tune with the personalities, motivations, and insights of certain individuals within an organization. Rather than focus on results, they campaign throughout the organization focusing less on what they are going to deliver as opposed to the shortcomings of what they consider competing ideas. In short the chief difference between a politically motivated individual as opposed their counterpart are results.

It is also amazing to see how many professionals do not understand how much politics plays a role in their career. In many legacy organizations, politics are a commonplace condition to be promoted or to progress one's career objectives especially among executive ranks. This has a lot to do with the fact that there are numerous individuals within the organization that predate newcomer that feel a sense of "entitlement" or "experience with the company" due to their length of tenure. Basically it boils down to the fact that these individuals feel that since they were at the organization longer and before the arrival of newcomers, that they should be the first in line or a cut above the latest entrants. This is the root of the problem since view any form of outcome as a "win/lose" - they have to win, and no one else. Winning basically means looking good to others and maintaining their valuable level position in the face of changes. Any professional that these individuals feel is in any way a competitor either by direct competition for their position or diminishing their "value" are targets or enemies. Hence many newly arriving professionals are immediately beset upon in an attempt to insure that they do not pose a threat. 

Overall political individuals are very easy to recognize. They are very personable and approachable, but very light on any form of documentation or visible sign of support for efforts. They are quick to provide their insights about the hidden workings of the organization, and to provide "advice" in how to handle things usually brokering a position of power as a key go between. They also always insist on being "kept in the loop" on activities with the facade of being helpful. 

On the plus side most political professionals are very easy to recognize and ferret out. Their very abilities are easily transferable between organization to organization and common to all politicals. They dislike the truth and they especially dislike talking about the truth in public. Imagine any government official in any position and how they react when confronted with difficult issues publicly and that pretty much is how politically motivated professionals act as well. 

Truly talented professionals very rarely remain in political organizations. The idea of putting in efforts that are evaluated on purely subjective values is neither fair nor very career enhancing. Also talented professionals have numerous outlets and opportunities in the marketplace. In the end the organization that only has political individuals gets very little done and starts to lose ground to competitive market forces. The resulting turmoil to survive takes it's toll on the organization. In many cases, the ultimate lose is the organization who allow too much political power into their value propositions.