Many of us remember us as kids being made to tidy our room or made to submit an assignment on volcanoes. Why did we do these things? Our motivation was that if we did not then there would be some sort of negative consequences – i.e., punishment for not doing so. It might mean being growled at by mum or getting detention from the teachers. When we are made to do something, we do it to the absolute minimum standard required. We are externally motivated. Even when we do something because we think we will get a reward, we are still externally motivated and will still do it to the minimum standard required.
Research with children shows that the more external motivation that is provided (encouragement and rewards from parents), the less internal motivation comes from the children.
Compare this to practicing our karate moves because we love karate and want to grade to the next belt level. Or maybe we complete a project to build a billy cart because it is interesting and we can’t wait to use the billy cart when it is complete. When we do these tasks that we do, we do them with enthusiasm and to our best ability.
So motivation must come internally.
In the case of a parent, this involves finding interesting things or ways that engage the child so that they are internally motivated to learn and achieve. It also involves avoiding using a system of punishment and rewards to make them do what you want. Choose schools that have a philosophy of a child-led approach.
In the case of managing staff, it means matching the right person to the right role. The most important criteria for hiring is their interest in the role. You can easily give them training and experience. You have no control over whether a role or task is of interest to them. Engage your staff in how a task should be completed – don’t dictate it to them.
