How it actually works with motivation...

“I am not motivated,“ is the most frequent answer a
lecturer will hear when he asks the participants of managerial skills
development courses why the long faces when he started speaking about managerial
ability to motivate employees.

“Why aren’t you motivated”

“My manager is not trying; he does not care”

“Your manager is not motivating you?”

“No.”

“Does it mean he does not sufficiently motivate you,
so you would enjoy what you’re doing?”

“No. He cannot engage people, promote values, excite
me to work harder.”

“And your subordinates are motivated?”

“No, because they also don’t know those values and we
are treated in a way that is not very motivational.”

“Well, I understand that your personal demotivation is partially caused by your superior’s approach, but, using the same logic, the
motivation of your subordinates is (partially) your fault as well. Your superior can influence the motivation from the top down to your level, but from your level below it is your responsibility.”

If the article spoiled your mood, I would recommend reading about the fact that the colleagues are much more important when it comes to motivation than superiors. The research conducted by Oracle found out that engagement is mostly influenced by the team and that management’s influence is rather not significant.
It is a comforting opinion.

Our clients