Most people are tuned in to station W I I F M which stands for “What’s In It For Me.” Understanding this fundamental human need for self-interest is important for leaders to be successful in motivating employees and inspiring team members.

Leaders could mistake the natural innate instinct of humans to look after self-interest as being selfish. It is not! Selfishness is seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others.

Self-interest does not disregard others, but rather seeks to understand the benefits to self first, then others.

Understanding what a person gets for themselves is the key to motivation.

Many leaders understand motivation as the ability to move others. The connotation of this understanding is the leader is causing the other person to act.

Motivation is providing a motive for others to act. Therefore, motivation in leadership is about assisting another to see what is available for them, which in turn causes them to take action.

In other words, the leader causes motivation to exist.

Do you want to have your team motivated to achieve team goals and objectives?

If you answer yes, there are two aspects of motivation to keep in mind. There is the extrinsic aspect, and the intrinsic aspect.

Since leadership motivation is causing motivation to exist, the external environment must be conducive to create motivation.

Here are some key environmental factors for a leader to consider that causes motivation.

The leader must create an environment of:

1. Trust – People are motivated when they know that everyone else on the team has their back. Trust also allows each team member to be fully self-expressed in communications and actions. They know that personal or hidden agendas do not exist in an environment of trust.

2. Integrity – An environment of integrity means that people do what they say they are going to do. In this environment, what is declared is held in the highest esteem. Integrity creates the space for things to work as they are designed to work.

3. Purpose – People want to be a part of something larger than themselves. That is why people become attached to a movement, or for that matter, a sports team. Human beings are hard wired to connect. Therefore, they want to connect to people and purposes.

4. Ownership – When an environment of ownership exists, people have the sense that the results or outcomes belong to them. They have a vested interest in the success of the team. One of the key identifiers that you have an environment of ownership, is that people will not use the word “they.” Your team members would say “we”, or “I.” After all, who is “they” anyway? Isn’t it all “we?”

I liken the “they” conversation to we are all in a rowboat and someone says: “you got a leak on your side of the boat!” If there is a leak in the boat everyone is going down!

5. Acknowledgment – Everyone wants to be recognized for who they are and for what they have accomplished. Acknowledgment is not just about recognition for a job well done. Although, that is a part of acknowledgment. Acknowledgment is also about getting who the person is, and where they are coming from in their communications and actions.

6. Goal Oriented – Goals provide focus and concentrate efforts. When an environment is goal-oriented people are confident they are working on the most important thing at any given time.

Also, goals provide a vision for the future. When goals are set properly, people not only see the future state, they act as if the future state already exists.

Creating an environment that causes motivation takes effort. The rewards are a team that finds the motive that drives them to achieve. Take your leadership to the next level by working on creating an environment that causes motivation.