MOTIVATION
STEPS TO MOTIVATING THE
“PROBLEM PEOPLE” (Nicholson)
1. Create a Rich Picture
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Seek first to understand/Listen
What drives the person? What are his/her
needs?
How do they see the world?
What are his/her passions? What stifles
them?
Self-awareness – What is your role? How
do you contribute to the problem?
Analyze the context
STEPS TO MOTIVATING THE
“PROBLEM PEOPLE” (Nicholson)
2. Reframe Your Goals
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Stop projecting your “scripts” onto person
Open up possibilities, think win-win
Know what you need, set boundaries
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Use Emotional Intelligence, be aware of and
regulate your emotions. Show empathy.
Go to a neutral location
Affirmative Assertion/Feedback
Leverage Questioning – Seek win-win
3. Stage the Encounter
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HAZARDS IN HANDLING
“PROBLEM PEOPLE” (Nicholson)
• The Mulberry Bush Chase
– Same fruitless conversations over and over
• The Huckster Hazard
– Tell and sell, convince person of your position
• The Ignorance-Is-Bliss Syndrome
– Clueless about what really makes person tick
• The Self-Centeredness Trap
– Do you only see the situation from your point
of view?
HAZARDS IN HANDLING
“PROBLEM PEOPLE” (Nicholson)
• The Hanging Judge Tendency
– Taking the moral high ground. You sit in
judgment. You are right, he or she is wrong.
• The Monochrome Vision
– Selective perception. Are you seeing only the
negative?
• The Denial Danger
– Low self-awareness. Not acknowledging/
understanding how you are perceived.
THE TEAMMATE FROM HELL (A)
• What motivates John?
– Social Needs
• In fraternity.
• Talks about social life.
• John is working and already has a job opportunity.
He is not motivated by his class work.
• Might have dropped out if not for friends.
• Only discussed partying.
• When saw good time people having, he tried to
work way into group.
• Semi-formal was highest priority.
THE TEAMMATE FROM HELL (A)
• How are the team members contributing
to John's motivation problem?
– John has social needs. Team members do not
recognize and meet them.
– Team members project their scripts about
motivation onto John.
– Make assumption about what coming late
means. This sets up a self-fulfilling prophecy.
THE TEAMMATE FROM HELL (A)
• Using the "How to Motivate Your Problem
People" article, assess the methods the team
used to motivate John. Which, if any of the
"Seven Hazards" do they fall into?
– Mulberry Bush (going round and round fruitlessly)
• Call John and tell him to do his part.
• Beg him to attend meetings.
• Confront him and ask to make more consistent contributions.
• Member blew up and told him he was disrespectful.
• Things work for a little while but problem returns.
• He was laid back and would always say he was busy.
• Came to meetings but didn't contribute.
THE TEAMMATE FROM HELL (A)
• Huckster Hazard (tell and sell)
– Try to motivate John by focusing on grade.
• Ignorance is Bliss (don’t care what makes
him tick)
– There is no real attempt to get to know this
person.
– Judgments were made from day one.
• Self-Centeredness Trap
– There does not seem to be an attempt to
understand the situation through John’s eyes.
THE TEAMMATE FROM HELL (A)
• The Hanging Judge
– “students who come to class a couple of days
after it begins are the slackers”
– “I found out John is a member of a fraternity
and he did nothing but talk about his social
life.”
– “He just did not understand the difference
between social hour and work life.”
– “What are his priorities, school or partying?”
THE TEAMMATE FROM HELL (A)
• Given what you know about things like
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perception, emotional intelligence, group
effectiveness, self-fulfilling prophecy, etc.
explain the dynamics in John's group.
Given what you know about setting your group
up for success, evaluate how well the group
set itself up to handle the problem with John.
What suggestions would you make to the
group both in setting itself up for success and
in addressing John's motivation?
THE TEAMMATE FROM HELL (B)
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Mike seems to be causing somewhat of a problem for
other group members. Using the theories of
motivation, what do you think motivates Mike? How do
you think Mike perceives his behavior?
Using the theories of motivation, why do you think
Mike's behavior might be demotivating to other team
members?
If you were a member of Mike's team, what would you
do to effectively address the issue?
Assume John from Case A and Mike from Case B are in
the same group? How would you explain the group
dynamics? Use the concepts, readings, and theories
we have studied to this point in the course.
Write in Your Insight Journal:
• If you haven’t already done so, use your
journal to think about how you have tried
to motivate a group member or other
person in your life.
– Have you fallen into any of the traps
Nicholson identifies?
– What might you have done differently?