SEPTEMBER 1, 2026

How to motivate myself, then my staff

We always hear about a leader inspiring and motivating others to action…but, how do we, as leaders keep ourselves motivated? How do we motivate ourselves, and then motivate our staff?

First, we have to look at some of the myths of motivation:

Myth #1 -- "I can motivate others." Actually, you can’t! People must be self-motivated. You can use rewards and punishments, but those only work for so long. To truly get someone motivated they must choose to be involved and want to strive towards whatever the goals are.
Myth #2 -- "Money is a good motivator." Not really! Money has been proven repeatedly to not be a very good motivator. As a matter of fact, it tends to work the opposite way. (Check the book “Drive” by Daniel Pink.)
Myth #3 -- "Fear is a good motivator." For a short time, only. Fear is a hard-wired emotion, but after a short while people learn what is really a threat and what isn’t. So, someone who just yells and screams, but can’t really punish you, you may fear for a while, but they will not inspire anyone.

Myth #4 -- "What motivates me, motivates my employees." No, no, and no. Motivations are different for everyone. You’ll have to learn what motivates each individual. This applies to you as the leader also.

Myth #5 -- "Increased job satisfaction means increased job performance." Not really, someone may be satisfied, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to perform better. Increased job satisfaction, plus increased motivation, tied to the goals of the organization is what increases performance.

So now, that we know we can’t motivate others, how do we get people motivated?

First, you must model the behavior that you want replicated by your staff. So, that means you as the leader need to do what you want your people to do. So, you must get yourself motivated and then tell and show them how you do it.

Step 1: Start by identifying your motivators. Do this by asking yourself: What motivates me?

Step 2: Make a list of the reasons why you do what you do. Is it because you enjoy working with others, or to provide for your family, or for your own enjoyment, or just to get better? These are your motivators. Remember, they’ll fall somewhere in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs chart, and the lower order needs must be met before you can move up to Esteem and Self-Actualization.

Step 3: List out how your job is set up to help support your own motivators. Example: I enjoy helping others, so writing training bulletins that helps others, supports my need to help others. Once you have listed the needs and how the job supports those needs, you have successfully connected the need to the behavior in the job.

Step 4: Align the individual needs and motivators to the goals of the organization, and behaviors within the job that help reach those goals.

Step 5: Provide feedback about how the performance or behavior helped achieve the goals of the organization, as well as meet the personal needs of the individual.

Each of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can be met on and off the job…Your challenge in motivating yourself, is to help meet the needs on the job as much as possible and then get feedback on how your personal needs were met along with achieving the goals of the organization.

Putting It All Together:

To motivate others, you must first motivate yourself and then model the behavior of that motivation. People get excited to work for someone who is excited about working. People become motivated and love to follow others who they know are motivated themselves. To learn what motivates others is the same process you use to learn how to motivate yourself. So, start with you! Then, when you become motivated you can help others become motivated by sharing how you do it and what “it” is for you!

Quotes to Put Into Practice:

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” – Mario Andretti
“Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, WWII, President of the United States of America