What are your work motivators?
One of the things I love most about my job is being with a client when they talk about what motivates them.
They literally come more alive in front of me. You can see the energy fizzing out of them as their eyes go wider, or they lean forward in their chair, or start gesticulating, or as in one particularly memorable session, jump up and down on the balls of their feet because they were so enthused.
We can feel what motivates us. Wikipedia says that motivation is “an internal state that propels individuals to engage in goal directed behaviour.” And often, this is what I will see clients do when they are talking about work motivators- lean forward, point forward, move their bodies forward.
Knowing the things that are going to move you forward - to propel you - at work can be very helpful. Namely, so you can do more of them. In order to get to where you want to be. Because motivation can help you reach your goals. Whether that’s to change jobs, or get promoted, or nail that big project, or become a Chief Financial Officer.
Because I am a helpful soul (and I want more of you to move to the paid side of my Substack), here is another Firework exercise for you. (Firework is the wonderful career coaching programme I am accredited in.)
In this exercise, we’re going to explore what’s motivating you to work. We’re looking for the conscious and unconscious drivers that make work fulfilling for you. Knowing this will help you get greater satisfaction and feel highly motivated.
Look at the list of work motivators below.
Take a moment to consider each motivator and its importance to you personally when you think of why you work at all - not to be confused with how well your current work motivates you!
For each motivator, ask yourself is it (1) not at all important (2) fairly important (3) very important (4) extremely important.
Against each motivator, in the right hand column, mark 1, 2, 3 or 4 depending on its importance. When you’ve finished going through the table, if you feel there’s something else that motivates you which isn’t listed, please add that to your list and score it.
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