Perfection is a damaging myth. The more you pursue it the further you are from it. A common fallacy is that we often believe people expect us to be perfect. The truth is, we all know that nobody can be perfect. In fact, people don’t want to be around perfection pursuing people. It’s a … Read more
If you have read my book, 28 Days to a Motivated Team or any of my blog posts you know I am a zealot about correctly defining the concept of motivation. When you think about being a motivating leader, you must think of motivation as the environment you create, not as something you do … Read more
Billions of dollars have been spent over the past two decades as companies seek to increase employee engagement. The measure of employee engagement became popular in the 1990’s as an onslaught of research showed the link between the measure of employee engagement, an increase in employee performance output, and overall organizational performance. Adding to … Read more
Goals are great and they are certainly a scientifically proven method for achieving the outcomes we have in mind. But while goals help us focus on our desired achievements, they can easily become the very thing that keeps us from being truly successful in life. Don’t see me as a pessimist — I’m far from … Read more
The study of human behavior and motivation is fascinating. For centuries people have sought to better understand what drives us. Many have attempted to create a taxonomy of motivation drivers, desires, values, or motives that are basic to every human. Up until recently, attempts to do so have been educated guesses and theory. The research … Read more
I was recently interviewed by Ryan Estis, noted performance and leadership expert, for a post on his blog. Ryan has consulted with some of the top companies in the world and recently keynoted for the Society of Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) national conference. Here is a portion of the interview. Ryan: What is motivation? Jason: … Read more
A coaching leader uses many different tools and techniques to help people move toward achieving their goals. I have already shared the 5 techniques I use most often but there are many more. Here are 5 more coaching techniques you can use to coach people toward success. Risk Analysis: When a person is having trouble … Read more
Praising employees often and effectively is a key skill for any coaching leader who seeks to accelerates employee confidence, ability, and loyalty. We’ve all been in situations where we’ve felt unrecognized, disregarded, or taken for granted. When we find ourselves in this kind of environment, whether at work or in our personal lives, our motivation … Read more
Think about a time when you were challenged by someone to do more or to get better. I would imagine your experience was a lot like mine. Very uncomfortable, yet the experience created awareness that your current level of focus, energy, or behavior was lacking and someone (a teacher, coach, supervisor, parent, spouse, or friend) saw that … Read more
Giving feedback may be one of the most uncomfortable responsibilities of a leader. I have talked to leaders who have admitted to giving as little feedback as possible due to the anxiety this kind of interaction produces. On the flip-side, there are some leaders who do not hesitate to give feedback and often do it … Read more