Recognition - it works!

I've always been motivated to work hard simply for someone to tell me I'm doing a good job.  It probably started when I was young, being the youngest of three girls.  I worked hard and did "good" to get positive responses from my parents all the in the quest for fighting for attention in a house of three kids.  I wanted them to be proud.  So something as simple as getting my report card posted on the refrigerator was very motivating for me.  Recognition.

It's funny how I forgot this simple secret to motivation - Recognition.  I actually was telling my students when I worked for the Daily Herald as an advertising sales executive.  I was motivated each month to reach my sales goal not just because I wanted to make money but especially because I wanted to get my name on a certificate which would be posted on the bulletin board in the office of all reps that reach their sales goal for that month - Recognition!  I even told my students how I even want recognition from my husband.  When I clean the house all I want is for my husband to come home, see it, appreciate it and say "wow, the house looks great." - Recognition.

So after last weeks blog post about how I was struggling with motivating a group of students, I thought more about it and discussed with with my Market Day rep.  We launched Market Day this year as a student-run business, which is a monthly grocery purchase program.  The Market Day district manager proposed a sales incentive to my high school students - increase sales and win a food party for our class. Where the kids motivated? NO.  I was disappointed.  They said they already work during class time and they don't think it would make them go "above and beyond."  I even asked - does it hurt to take the challenge?  Would you rather have a pizza party or no pizza party at all?  Its a no-lose situation.  One student even called it a "bribe." And of coarse I explained, especially from doing sales for eight years prior to teaching - its not a bribe.  It's called "incentives."  So anyway - food was not all that motivating to high school students.  The district manager pitched another idea to them - hit your sales goal (increase from 34 customers to 54 customers which is only 2 more customers per student in my class) and the district manager would place an ad in the student newspaper congratulating the class (and listing their names).  The light switched on!  The students loved it.  They wanted the recognition.  So I pitched another idea to them - I'd get them company t-shirts that said on the front Management Class / Market Day and on the back FUTURE BUSINESS LEADERS.  Again - they liked it - recognition.

So how have you been recognized that lead to motivation?  Or how were you motivated to get recognized?  Share your experiences with us.

REFLECTION - People are motivated by recognition.  Here's some ideas to recognize people:

• I always try to thank people for their hard work - a little thank you goes along way.  So send a quick email or make a phone call - it works.
• Awards, honors, announcements  - try bulletin boards, announcing at the end of class who did the best project, awards ceremonies, announce at the holiday party all the employees that got promoted over the year
• Let workers leave work an hour early for their hard work
• Create a "Fun Friday" at work or in the classroom.
• Tell your spouse/partner what you love about them

RECOGNIZE WHAT YOU THINK IS GREAT and SHOW PEOPLE YOU APPRECIATE THEM

What's in it for me? Personal interest = more motivation

What's in it for me?  What do I get if I do this?  Why work hard?  Why should I care?



Photo by Jorbasa, from Flickr Creative Commons



Oh, I have heard things like this all the time or at least I've felt it from people.  I'm finding if people have a personal interest (positive reason) or something at stake (negative reason) motivation increases. Take bees for example!  They work so hard to just to get nectur from a flower and store it in their "honeystomachs." They have to visit anywhere from 100 to 1500 flowers to fill their tummys only to then have the worker bees get involved to turn it into honey.  Thats a lot of work!  But they have a goal, a personal interest and guess what - it produces results!

 

So let's take a look at a few more examples of positive and negative things that drive motivation:

• Money- commission for sales goals, allowances for children
• Grades- the harder you work, the better your grade
• Charity - a personal cause that has affected you or your family member
• Non-tenured teachers- fight for keep enrollment numbers so they don't loose their jobs
• Loss of privilege- Bad report from school leads to parents taking away rewards
• Rewards - you behave, you get XYZ (My nephews got to sleep at Papa's house)

The sad thing is that on the opposite side of this. What happens when they don't care about grades?  Or Charity?  Or have a passion for learning?  I'm struggling with this in my classroom lately.   I hear that the class is "to hard, to much work" or I hear "I'm not learning enough."  Then I have another class, Management, where I'm having them manage and run a business.  I've given them more opportunities than I can count to come up with ideas of motivational rewards we could incorporate into class and choices on how to run the business and projects they'd like to do in class. Yet, I feel like I'm putting in so much energy to motivate and nothing is sparking the fire in them.  So I've come to realize that they are not personally vested.  But how do you get all your staff personally vested? Everyone has their own inner-beliefs and opinions.  So while I am trying several different strategies to reach everyone, I guess I'm still thinking there needs to be a simpler way of motivating a group of people.  Anyone have ideas or suggestions?  How do you spark a fire in a group of people when everyone has different motivators?

REFLECTION

• If you have a personal interest or something at stake - it motivates!
• Then - How do you motivate a group of people with different motivators?

A motivational visit from an Alumni

For every day that is challenging as a teacher, the day I get a visit or email from an Alumin makes it all worth it.  To know that I made some impact in a students life that they want to keep in touch means that I did my job.  I try to stress to my students that I truely care, understand and respect them.  I'm not sure if that's what brought Michael Isreal back to GBN today but he wanted to share his story with me.  He wanted to share how he's changed - and he's changed for the better.  Here's my recap of his story:

HIGH SCHOOL:
Grew up in an affluent area.  His high school experience consisted of social life #1 and school acadamics coming in dead last of his priorities.  I remember Michael as being all about the girls and not so much about the school work. He shared with me how he would hide his report card and lie about his grades to his parents. 

COLLEGE:
The lights went on!!!  He joined a fraternity and got his first leadership role which showed him that he had some natural talent.  Then he had an upper classman mentor him - showed him how to study, learn and be committed.  This mentor showed him that you get respect from doing well versus when your bad.  Michael worked hard to get accepted into a Big 10 University after a year at community college.  In talking to Michael I could tell that the phone call he made to his dad to tell him that he got in to IU was one of his best monents in life.  He now spends hours each day studying not just for college but to fullfill his life long dream. 

THE FUTURE:
Michael wants to be an entreprenuer...or should I say he already is one.  He's already created a start-up online business and sold it.  He's onto his next few ventures already.  Michael's ultimate goal is to be a CEO of his own company that has a positive impact on our country.  He's currently out there networking with top executives to learn from the best of the best.  SMART.

MY COMMENTS
Often I see the potential in my students.  Michael was one of them...and he heard it all the time from people - "you aren't working up to your potential".  It wasn't until he had his "moment" that the light switch turned on.  And I'm so glad it did.  I shared with Michael that many parents don't get the joy to have the story turn out positive for their kids - they must be so proud.  And so am I.  Michael - this is only the beginning. And I truely mean that because I see qualities in you (drive, passion, determination, and committment) that many famous and successful people have. Thank you for sharing your story. 

REFLECTION:

• Change can be good.  Moving to a new environment can create new opportunities to grow.
• Mentors - learn from people that know
• Recognition - makes it all worth