Rewards Drive Motivation

It's so easy to find motivation in everything around us. But it's not always what we're expecting. What's the most important aspect in making people feel motivated? Without a doubt, it's feeling that the payoff is worth the effort. Rewards are the mechanism, that let people know that the payoff is worth it and the stronger the rewards, the better the motivation.

What motivates you? More than likely it's something that is given to you for no other reason, than to drive you to do what you want or need to do. Whether that is to finish a work project, take a great vacation, or just stay healthy. The idea of receiving a reward for a task has been around for centuries and it has been used effectively by some of the greatest leaders in history.

Some people have a hard time understanding why motivation is so important. People who don't find it easy to stick to their commitments. They're usually the ones that under perform and end up being shown the door eventually. The ability to stick to your commitments is vital to being successful in life and without it, life can be very frustrating and difficult.

Life Is Full Of Trade Offs

We like to think that we're making the "right" choices all the time, but in reality there are no guarantees. Not in life and not in business. The only way to guarantee something is to not have a choice. That's not how life works. Life works through trade offs. It's a question of finding the right balance. What's the right balance for you in this situation? You're given the choice to do one of two things. Both are equally undesirable and both have a cost. When it comes to rewards people are most likely motivated to do even the most unwanted tasks. The key is to find the right price point for your reward. Something that is high enough to matter, but not so high as to be unrealistic.

Motivation Is A Tool

People respond to different kinds of incentives. Some are visual, some are audible, and some are physical. Motivation is one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal. You can use it to get people to do just about anything. The trick is to find the proper way to motivate someone. When done incorrectly, the results can be very dangerous.

Not everyone responds the same way to motivation. That's probably the hardest part about using it effectively. You have to be able to read the reaction of others to determine how useful their response will be in getting them to something. With that, you can then adjust your response to fit that criteria.

Rewards can be very powerful motivators. You just have to find the perfect balance between reward and consequences. That is what keeps everyone going. The desire to achieve something so powerful, that it is almost impossible to give up and the threat of losing something, that someone really cares about is almost as good of a motivator.

Rewards And Consequences

The most powerful thing about rewards is that they can be given and taken away at any time. If the consequences don't fit what is being asked, then you are likely to look for another way to get the job done. In any other situation, this kind of flexibility would be extremely useful and reassuring.

But rewards and consequences are also very tricky to manage. The wrong kind can destroy you. The right one can build you a strong foundation for success. One of the most important things you need to consider when offering a reward is whether the person you're rewarding truly deserves it or not. If they don't, then it will almost certainly be rejected. You'll lose credibility and the trust, that you've built up with them.

Another important thing to consider is the nature of the reward itself. Is it something that can be given or taken away? Depending upon the situation, a reward can be far more powerful, than you might realize. The key is to offer a reward, that is valuable to the person that you're motivating, but not so valuable that it would be wasteful to give it to them.

It's also important to consider, that while you have full control over the consequences, you do not have control over the nature of the reward. That can be something that is good or bad for you depending on what you're trying to accomplish These strategies are not exclusive to motivation, but they are very common ones used for it.

Use rewards and consequences in combination. The most powerful way to use them is in combination. When you give a reward for a job well done, then the consequence is that you have been assured a future reward and so on and so forth. In other words, the reward and the consequence are two sides of the same coin.

How To Find The Right Balance

You don't want to overuse rewards and you don't want to underuse them. That's just dumb. The key is to find the right balance between the two. It's not an exact science though and it's very much a feel thing. You'll know you've found the right balance when people have no choice, but to do what you want them to do.

It's easy to over use. You might promise the world to someone and give them something, that is worthless or so small that it washes away with the first flood. It's also easy to under use. You might have people do something so menial, that it doesn't even count as a task and they feel as if they've been tricked or taken advantage of.

The key is to find that sweet spot. Where people are doing what they're being asked to do, but aren't so happy about it that they feel the need to revolt or complain. Where they see a future in doing what they're being asked to do. Where they believe, that they're given a fair shot at a good life and the respect that they deserve.

You just have to feel it out. The best way to do that is to give people choices. You give them a little power. Let them make choices that matter. Small choices that make a difference. Give people a sense of purpose and they will respond accordingly. You give people choices and you watch them make the right choice. That's how you know you're doing it right.