Beyond Folders : appreciation

Motivate Yourself!

Community Manager — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:27:00 GMT

As anyone who has ever thought about going to the gym can tell you, thinking and doing are vastly different verbs. The difference between the people who hit the gym every morning and those that mean to get there but rarely do is motivation: self-motivation.

Onwards

Self-motivation is a building block of success. Getting from A to Z requires an internal drive that propels one forward, especially when it's easier to hit the snooze button when the gym beckons. With summer in its waning days, and the fall back-to-school season upon us, it's time for some tips to get our self-motivation mojo back in form.

First, a status check. How self-motivated are you? This revealing quiz from Mindtools.com provides a chance to assess your strengths and weaknesses.

If you feel in need of a tune-up, here are a few tactics to help shape up your self-motivation skills.

Start Simple: Set small, achievable goals and own them! Success breeds success.
Carrots & Sticks: Perform well and reward yourself. Pretty simple.
Consequences: Picture the negative outcome of not moving towards your goal. Don't overdo this, a positive attitude is necessary but a realistic outlook is a must-have as well.
Keep good company: Hang out with motivated people. Can-do is contagious!

Looking for inspiration? Check in with this wonderful Huffington Post piece from time to time: How to Motivate Yourself: 21 Quotes to Help You Refocus and Renew.

How do you self-motivate? Share your thoughts here and on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Carly Fadako

Feeling Low? Give Your Office Morale a Boost

Community Manager — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:08:00 GMT

For the better part of the last two years, we have been inundated with the harsh realities of the economic downturn. So, it likely comes as no surprise that a recent survey showed that almost a quarter of all businesses are experiencing low employee morale.

As this Reuters report on the poll sets out, survey respondents attribute the problem to:

High stress levels
Increased workloads
Favoritism

According to this post on the causes and cures of low morale in the workplace, another driving force is poor leadership.

If you are an employer or office leader, it is important to be proactive in recognizing and remedying low morale in the workplace. You can start with some guidance from this CareerBuilder.com post on 5 No-Brainer Morale Boosters. Topping the list is "do as you say." Hypocracy is a very destructive force and "you should hold yourself accountable just as you do your employees." More tips can be found in this HR World post on boosting morale, including:

Celebrate personal milestones
Establish employee-recognition programs
Treat employees to lunch
Check in regularly through individual and group meetings
Bring employees together to perform community service
Offer financial incentives
Conduct employee-satisfaction surveys

As this TechRepublic post on team morale points out, no one should ignore the uplifting power of being a good listener and saying "thank you." If you are looking for a group exercise to raise office spirits, you should take note of this post discussing the office morale-boosting effects of NCAA office pools .

Do you have any suggestions about boosting office morale? Please share them with us here or on the Beyond Folders Community's Facebook and Twitter pages.

By Bradley Eggers

Do Not Be Invisible at Work

Community Manager — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:55:00 GMT

You cannot make it as a wandering generality. You must be a meaningful specific.

Become Your Own Advocate

This is a well-known quote from author/motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. While open to multiple interpretations, for me, it resonates as a call-to-action - a call to make our unique accomplishments known so we can stand out in the crowd.

This can be a challenging call. As an initial hurdle, many people find it hard to self promote because they are shy or think it is too egotistical. We need to get over this hurdle quickly because, in our tough business climate, knowing and touting the brand called you is more important than ever. This is especially true for those of us who - by choice or otherwise - work away from our managers and co-workers most of the time.

Here are some tips for gaining that much-needed visibility for you and your professional accomplishments:

Check in informally. Whether by email, IM, phone, video conference or Twitter, reach out to your boss and teammates on a regular basis to update them about projects you are collaborating on. Send links to articles and other online resources that can help them accomplish tasks or solve problems. Of course, you should keep informal check-ins in check so that the team stays on course and people know that you value their time and attention.

Arrange face-to-face meetings. To the extent possible, request to meet with your manager and team members in person at least once a year at the company's headquarters or in another convenient location.

Share your schedule. Using online collaboration platforms like Basecamp, OfficeMedium or CubeTree, you can easily let others know where you are, when you are working and what you are working on. If you want a more pared-down - yet still versatile - collaboration tool, try an online calendar from Google or Yahoo .

Speak up! Do not shy away from sharing your achievements and expertise. Write a blog or guest blog post, contribute articles to trade publications and participate in conversations taking place in your field on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. If your company hosts forums or discussion groups, become an active participant.

By taking affirmative steps to stay visible, you can nurture and safeguard your career. If you have any tips for keeping yourself and your work accomplishments on the radar screen, please share them with us.

by Candie Harris

Debunking the Myth of Carrots and Sticks: What Really Motivates Us?

Community Manager — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:06:00 GMT

Fame?

Fortune?

Power?

Most business owners and leaders would give anything to know what motivates employees to do their best work.

As this article on the science and psychology of motivation sets out, there are numerous theories of motivation. Most focus on two principal categories of motivators. Extrinsic motivators come from outside forces like people, situations, events and environments. They include:

Pay raises
Accolades
Promotions
Bonuses
Vacation time
The corner office

Then there are intrinsic motivators deriving from internal forces like:

Personal pride
A Strong work ethic
Love of the work itself
A particular value system

Scientists studying motivation have long questioned the value of external motivators in the workplace - the carrots and sticks offered workers in the form of rewards and punishments.

This is the science and questioning behind bestselling author Dan Pink's latest book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.

Pink has previously written about the rise of right-brain thinking and the growing importance of traits like empathy and creativity. As he explains in this interview, his latest research on motivation confirms that "[c]arrots and sticks work, but only in a surprisingly narrow band of circumstances. For enduring motivation and high performance," workplace leaders should offer incentives that foster workers' drive for:

Autonomy - Our urge to direct our own lives
Mastery - Our desire to get better and better at something that matters
Purpose - Our yearning to connect to something larger than ourselves

Pink gave a very motivating talk on the science of motivation at TEDGlobal 2009. You can watch it in its entirety here.

We would like to know what motivates you to do your best work. Please share your thoughts with us in the comments area here or at our Facebook and Twitter pages.

by Bradley Eggers