Council for Health and Human Service Ministries

Word and Deed: Thoughts on Faith-Based Leadership

Beyond Kicks & Carrots

Shirley Nelson What gets you going everyday? Is it the prospect of a brand new day and its inherent blessings, surprises, and challenges? Or, is it simply a matter of willpower--forging through, regardless of the cards you're dealt, knowing that at the end of the day you will have given your best? Perhaps your faith inspires you and that's enough to fan the flame. Or perhaps you need a little help from time to time to remain positive and focused. Because we're all built differently, it's no surprise that our capacity for maintaining momentum varies and that the only constant in this equation is that we must find our own formula to light the fire within.

If you're not born with the innate capacity to self-motivate, what do you do? Many people tap into the vast stream of books, seminars, CDs and other tools available, but all too often it takes a little of each to get the job done. This month, however, I've discovered a new book about motivation in the workplace that provides some novel insights. Written by Walking the Talk team member Leslie Yerkes, Beyond Kicks & Carrots: Motivation in the Twenty-First Century, contrasts organizational motivational techniques of the past with what's prevalent now.

During the Industrial Age, it was not uncommon for management to use a method of motivation designed for dealing with a stubborn mule. If you needed the mule to perform, you would give it a carrot, kick it, or hit it with a large stick: "The carrot made the mule want to move, the kick made it move when it didn't want to" (page 8). Back then, much of what had to be done depended on physical labor and muscle—moving, hammering, pulling, pushing, and lifting. So for mule-like work, mule motivation—kicks and carrots—was sufficient to improve output.

The Information Age has replaced the Industrial Age, and the service economy has created new dynamics of motivation. The kicks of a previous age can be detrimental to relationships, erode trust, and create fear, resentment, and anger. Carrots, on the other hand, create dependency and the expectancy that you will always be rewarded for performance. Although Yerkes admits that some situations still call for carrots, she focuses on developing something more lasting: intrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic, or inner-directed, motivation is a choice that comes from within. No supervisor or manager can give it to you or take it away, and as a result, it is sustainable and renewable regardless of outside factors. Intrinsic motivation can be developed and, in Beyond Kicks & Carrots, Yerkes reveals some techniques for doing so.

Leslie Yerkes, whose consulting firm is Catalyst Consulting, is dedicated to helping people build and develop sustainable organizations by recognizing and utilizing their own resources to find creative solutions. Many of her books have been a reliable resource for major corporations.

So, if your inner mule is open to a new direction, perhaps some of the techniques in Beyond Kicks & Carrots will spur you on to brighter days--more peace, love, and joy for the journey.

Shirley Nelson

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