Week 5 Assignment - Former United States President

WEEK 5 ASSIGNMENT

Former United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.” This definition captures the true essence of motivation: it is important that people want to do what it is that the leader is asking. Although the concept of motivation is complicated to many, it can be broken down into a learnable skill. While the goal is to be intrinsically motivated, many employees need extrinsic strategies to get them started. Although understanding motivation from its theoretical foundations is important, a practical approach to motivation is useful too. The key is for leaders to understand what motivates individuals within their organizations, and effective motivation requires an individual approach. Observing the strategies of effective motivators is helpful in learning how to make employees more productive. This includes sport settings where coaches need to understand what motivates individual athletes, employees, or others. The goal is still the same: to provide what will elicit optimum performance. Motivation must be applied individually because people are motivated by different things. For example, some individuals need praise and others do not. Similarly, fear is used effectively by some coaches, but not all athletes respond favorably to fear and punishment. Although salary and benefits might be among the main motivators, the other motivators frequently cited are respect, challenging work, and a feeling of involvement. Interestingly, those motivators do not have to cost anything (Cohen, 2000) Cohen, W. A. (2002). The new art of the leader. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall. Instructions Search the UM Library or the Internet to identify a sports leader known for being a great motivator. Submit a 2- to 3-page paper that includes the following:

• Explain three to five specific motivational strategies used by the leader that go beyond rewards and punishment.

• Explain how these motivational strategies affected team members and team success.

• Evaluate which strategies or influence tactics were more successful than others and why

they more successful. Support your writing with concrete examples from your personal experience, observations, and the Learning Resources. Be sure to use proper APA citations where appropriate. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY