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The Smart Techie was renamed Siliconindia India Edition starting Feb 2012 to continue the nearly two decade track record of excellence of our US edition.

February - 2007 - issue > People Manager

Sparking the Fuse – Motivating People

C. Mahalingam
Thursday, February 1, 2007
C. Mahalingam
Ever wondered, as a Manager, how to motivate people you manage? I am often asked to talk on this subject and I have over time built a few clear points of view on this. I often start with a quote that I happened to read attributed to Peter Drucker: “You can only write books about motivation, you cannot motivate people”. Implied in these words of wisdom is that essentially all motivation is internal and as Managers, what we can do is basically create an environment where people motivate themselves.

However, we do come across managers in every organization who find it difficult to create a motivating and invigorating environment where the members of the team feel like owning the work, stretching themselves to complete the tasks and helping each other succeed. In this piece, I would like to focus on some simple truths about motivation and tips for managers to create the right context for people.

Are you one with difficulty in motivating others?
Center for Creative Leadership in USA., has analyzed and listed the following as the characteristics of managers who have difficulty with motivation:
Has no idea what motivates others and how to do it
Not empowering type- not a person people want to work with
Has difficulty with those who are different than himself or herself
Fails to read others correctly; misses cues and needs

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