Leaders, what does motivation mean to you?

WO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 23 Jul 2016 03:52:25 -0400

My mentor sent this too me this morning, so I figured I'd post it here to allow you all to think about it. Feel free to post your thoughts and feedback.

MOTIVATION.....think about the word and what it means. Have we overused the term to mean nothing? What are the actions behind the word motivation? Why is it frowned upon or at least board members want to know more than just your Soldier is motivated when you're sponsoring them to the promotion board?

My Response:

I don't believe that we have overused the term to mean nothing. However, I can agree that there may be other Individuals or those in leadership positions that have overused the term. Motivation to me is driven by action, you can only say so much. We may be able to motivate ones and twos verbally, but we have the ability and potential to motivate the masses by taking action, and practicing what we preach. When I look at the last question about the board, I've always thought of it this way, a lot of Soldiers motivation comes and goes, just because I've been verbal about being motivated for a few months doesn't mean I'm ready to wear stripes and lead soldiers. It goes back to that key word you had mentioned action, looking at it from the MRT realm and that intrinsic motivation, do we truly believe in what we are doing, as well as value it. If both of those are not true, then I believe its false motivation. I really appreciate you sharing this. I forwarded it along to a couple of my NCOs and am interested to see what feed back they have.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 23 at 2016 4:33 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 23 Jul 2016 04:33:56 -0400

Motivation is a buzz word that is very often misconstrued in our environment. It really needs to be broken down to intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. Ultimately, it's the break down of "why we do things".

The board question is easy, an individual that is just "motivated" to go to the board, hasn't looked internally to see why they want to be, or should be promoted. To me it shows that their reasoning is based on the position, the prestige associated with it, and more often than not the jump in pay.

What would I prefer to see a Soldier say? "I want to be in a position to make a positive impact in my organization. I've experienced leadership in many different forms, and feel that I can contribute to not only our common goal, but to help my subordinates and junior Soldiers better themselves."

It's all about the why, and when we break motivation down to it's core, that's what it represents. Why do we do things? I want to see a Soldier get promoted because they want to be a force multiplier, wants to be a Leader. Not just to put stripes on their chest ;)

EDIT: A lot of times we tell our Soldiers and junior Leaders they need to be motivated about something, or lack motivation. Can we really say we are actually explaining our intentions, do they know what we are talking about? Do WE know what we are talking about?

It's more than just a word, and like I iterated above, it's all about the WHY. Why is this important to a Soldier? Why should it be? What are we doing to convey it's importance and why this matters so much? All things that need to be taken into consideration.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 23 at 2016 12:44 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 23 Jul 2016 12:44:00 -0400

Great Post Staff Sergeant! As an individual i'm always motivated and try my best to motivate my fellow soldiers. That's why as a recruiter I do my best to motivate my Future Soldiers by my actions when we do PT or any kind of training. I think at the end of the day once you lose that motivation to do your job or to be the best you. It's time to hang up your boots and let someone else take charge.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 23 at 2016 1:27 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 23 Jul 2016 13:27:55 -0400

To motivate people one must show courage to push through times of adversity. Its all good to say you are gung-ho and motivated but that isn't enough. Your actions will speak louder as to why you are motivated to carry on. Then you will instill the fight in your people to push on and have the motivation to tackle what lies ahead. Motivation is literally the desire to do things.

Response by SSG Stephan Pendarvis made Jul 23 at 2016 1:34 PM

SSG Stephan Pendarvis — Sat, 23 Jul 2016 13:34:32 -0400

This is a great topic and very deep when you think about it. Of course in the military...well the old military...a Sargent would motivate his soldiers by way of tough love. Soldiers followed orders because they were trained to. Most soldiers for instance....hate PT. I did...because I was lazy and when the PT was cancelled for some reason I was happy. This is most soldiers attitude. This is not motivation. It becomes motivation when it becomes personal. Half way through my career I started to do PT for ME and then motivation set in. When I did it "For the Army" or when I was told...it was a part of the job. Now even as a retiree I consider my job a part of my personal life. I love my job and do what I can to ensure team work is upheld...at least from my end. I am motivated to help out the team because I see everyone as a part of me...even though everyone does not share this mentality. Motivation comes when things become personal. The military is good about teaching us to fake it til you make it....til it becomes a reality. I guess it worked on me. Also I believe true motivation does not set in until you become a leader. It's kinda like learning and understanding what your parents went through by having kids of your own. An understanding takes place when suffering is introduced. One of my fav sayings is....chaos is a catalyst to change. Motivation is an awesome word and it must come from within...not without...if true achievement is to take place....because if it doesn't...then once that outside source is gone (cause)...so is the motivation (effect).

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 24 at 2016 8:59 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 20:59:44 -0400

I don't believe 'motivation' as a term is over used. However, this is a results-based Army... We can not be judged by our level of motivation, or how motivated our troops are. We are judged by our actions and results as well as that of our troops.

I could see how some dismiss motivation as a benchmark. It's not the performance measure evaluated.

But, it is one of the top contributing factors to mission success and shouldn't be cast aside. Motivated troops make the world spin! As leaders, we have to ensure the proper levels of motivation are there and guide them to spin the world in the right direction.

Response by CMSgt Mike Esser made Jul 25 at 2016 3:23 PM

CMSgt Mike Esser — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 15:23:39 -0400

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Said another way, motivating them to do it because they want to.....teamwork, esprit de corp, commonality of cause, brotherhood.

Response by SSG Jess Peters made Sep 17 at 2018 4:40 AM

SSG Jess Peters — Mon, 17 Sep 2018 04:40:54 -0400

Finding ways to make your job interesting enough your soldiers actually want to do their best at all times.

Response by SGT Brian Pasquarelli made Jun 15 at 2022 7:37 PM

SGT Brian Pasquarelli — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 19:37:07 -0400

To raise excitement to get you moving

Response by SrA Darwin Nichols made Jul 27 at 2022 7:47 PM

SrA Darwin Nichols — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 19:47:27 -0400

doing what is asked of you doing the best you can without shaking off

Response by SrA Darwin Nichols made Jul 27 at 2022 7:52 PM

SrA Darwin Nichols — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 19:52:16 -0400

Loving your country with all of your heart mater how bad they threatened y

Response by Sgt Leon Hoskins made Aug 31 at 2022 8:20 PM

Sgt Leon Hoskins — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 20:20:49 -0400

Helping others

Response by 1SG John Millan made Jan 30 at 2024 10:03 AM

1SG John Millan — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 10:03:40 -0500

Seeing what needs to be done, knowing what needs to be done and doing it. Initiative meets dedication.

Response by AB Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 17 at 2024 2:59 AM

AB Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 02:59:32 -0400

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Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 17 at 2024 1:40 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 13:40:57 -0400

Perhaps we should discuss how to motivate the troops. That is the $100 question.