Page 208 - Managing the Mobile Workforce

the eight principles model � 187

Know, the More You’ll Know What to Do. What it really means is that
to be a great motivator you have to understand human nature deeply,
and also to understand each person’s situation thoroughly. Without
that awareness, you will just be shooting in the dark when it comes to
trying to get the most out of the people who work for you. The third
foundational principle is, The More You Care, the More They Will Care.
If employees believe you really are concerned about them as people—
beyond their worth to you as a tool to get things done—then you will
be able to tap into their loyalty, commitment, and dedication to you,
the cause, and the organization.
Principles Four and Five are the soil in which motivation is nur-
tured. Principle Four, Do What You Love, the Motivation Will Follow,
draws its title from Marsha Sinetar’s book, Do What You Love, the
Money Will Follow. We know that, when people enjoy their work,
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the motivation comes from the work itself, and the manager has to do
very little except support his or her employees. The trick, of course,
is to be able to figure out and then provide work that people love to
do. Principle Five, Create Organizational Commitment, is the last piece
needed to set the organizational climate for highly motivated work.
Making the commitment to do something is very powerful, whether
it is for an organization, for goals, or for a leader. This principle dem-
onstrates how leaders can build powerful commitment to their pro-
gram, department, or organization.
Creating a highly motivating environment for sustaining motiva-
tion through Principles One through Five is just an important start.
Creating the milieu without clear, challenging goals that support your
organizational success is like building a Corvette and not taking it
anywhere. Principle Seven, Set Challenging Goals, gets things going.
Setting difficult specific goals is one of the most useful, motivating
things the manager can do. But setting goals isn’t enough. To be suc-
cessful you have to pursue them even during difficult times. Crossing
the Rubicon refers to stepping over the edge—making a commitment
to goals that are set. Principle Eight, Build Willpower, shows how
managers can help members of their workforce build the fortitude not
to give up. Finally, we know that when people believe in themselves