May 31 2014

5 of the “10 Most Wanted” Motivation Killers

The “10 Most Wanted” Motivation Killers

From Richard E. Clark…

1. Telling Lies.

There are no innocent lies when the misinformation reflects a topic or situation that is important to stakeholders in an organization. Trust is difficult to earn and very easy to lose. We must tell as much of the truth as possible and shut up.

2. Making Prejudiced Decisions Based on Stereotypes.

In our diverse work settings, the exciting mix of nationalities, cultures, and race are terrific opportunities for creative
ideas and for negative, hurtful prejudice. We must avoid the perception of prejudice in
performance reviews, selection decisions, and even in jokes and informal exchanges. It is best to work to convince everyone that they have an equal chance to succeed and then do our best to make it happen.

3. Expressing Constant Pessimism, Cool Detachment, and Negativity. Depressed people enjoy saying and hearing depressing things. Negativity is sometimes fashionable, but it is a motivation killer. No matter how dismal the situation, cautious optimism and positive expectations will always be more productive than pessimism.

4. Focusing on the Facts of a Situation and not on People’s Beliefs or Perception
of the Facts. What people believe and perceive in any situation controls their motivation
and their behavior. Confronting people with your version of “the facts” is simply not
enough to change their values. Start by trying to understand others’ values, reasons, and expectations.

5. Setting Vague Performance Goals. When work goals are vague, people substitute
their own goals or assume that “anything goes.” Provide goals that are clear, concrete, and challenging.

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For the other 5 to round out the Top 10 … and even more… please open/ download…

10_Motivation_Killers

From Richard E. (Dick) Clark, EdD

From LinkedIn…

Richard Clark is Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology and Technology, Clinical Professor of Surgery and has served as Co-Director of the Center for Cognitive Technology at the University of Southern California. Before coming to USC he was a faculty member in Psychology and Education at Stanford and Syracuse Universities. He is also CEO of Atlantic Training Inc.

Dick is the author of over 300 published articles and book chapters as well as three recent books – Learning from Media: Arguments, analysis and evidence, Second Edition (2012, Information Age Publishers); Handling Complexity in Learning Environments: Research and Theory (2006, Elsevier) and Turning Research into Results: A guide to selecting the right performance solutions (2008, Information Age Publishers) which received the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) Award of Excellence.

In recent years he has received the 2013 USC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award, the Thomas F. Gilbert distinguished professional achievement award, the 2010 Thalheimer Neon Elephant Award for bridging the gap between science and practice, the Socrates award for excellence in teaching from the graduate students at USC and the Outstanding Civilian Service Award from the U. S. Army for his work in distance learning.

Dick is an elected Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 15, Educational Psychology), the American Educational Research Association and the Association of Applied Psychology and is a Founding Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science.

His current research interests include the design and evaluation of online and blended instruction for adults on highly complex tasks, cognitive load theory for multimedia and simulation training, the development of the Guided Experiential Learning design systems for pedagogical applications and the use of Cognitive Task Analysis to capture and teach the complex knowledge used by advanced experts in all fields.