4 Levels of Motivation

Psychologists define motivation as wanting a change in behavior, thought, feeling, self-concept, environment, or relationship. It is described as an internal process defined as a drive or need. While I concur with all of that, the problem with motivation in leadership is that we think if we are simply “motivated” that we will be good at leading others. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Motivation does come from deep within, but too often we wait to be motivated before actually taking action. What is needed instead is a commitment to a disciplined process that creates the continuous motivation to take action.

Sometimes while relaxing, I will scroll through videos on Instagram, Facebook, or even TikTok. One Saturday while doing that, I came across two Division 1 football coaches talking about this topic. One was the Georgia Tech coach who simply said (and I’m paraphrasing), "There are those who work hard for a day and think they’ve done enough, while there are others who work hard all day every day and worry they’ve not worked hard enough." Which category are you in? Do you work hard for a day and then say to yourself that you can take the next 3 days off? Be honest now, because we have all been there. 

The second coach was Nick Saban from Alabama and he was talking about the type of athletes he has. Simply put, this was an "Aha, Bam, Kaboom" moment for me that fundamentally changed how I view motivation and why I say it can be a trap. Borrowing from Saban’s comments and then adding my own flare to it, I came up with the 4 Levels of Motivation:

LEVEL 1: Kinda Wanna Do It. Honestly, if you are at this level with any particular task, you have about a 25% of accomplishing it. You just aren’t that into it.

LEVEL 2: Determined. This is where most of us get trapped. We think that just because we are determined that we will get it done. But the problem with determination, is that there is often someone more determined than you are, which leads to discouragement. At this level, it’s a 50/50 shot you’ll accomplish your goal.

LEVEL 3: Driven. My guess is that the top performers in your organization are at least at this level. When you are at this level, you have a true internal desire to accomplish your goals by staying the course despite any setbacks you may have. At this level, you are about 75-90% able to accomplish your goals. Driven is still a “feeling” though, because you have to talk to yourself to create it, which is why the next level is reserved for the elite level performers.

LEVEL 4: Disciplined. At this level, nothing will stop you. You don’t allow yourself to talk you out of things, but instead you have trained yourself to talk to yourself into how and why you will accomplish the goals you’ve set. It’s no longer a feeling, because you’ve created a process that ensures you will accomplish your goals. You do things differently every day of every week. At this level, you will be 100% able to accomplish every goal you set, because you have created a disciplined approach to your goals.

Back to Saban’s comments, he talks about how most Division 1 athletes arrive on campus already at the Good level of performance - meaning they possess natural talent that has gotten them to play at a Division 1 school. To be Excellent or Elite, he goes on to say that it means they have committed to doing things differently. They know their natural ability will only take them so far and that to achieve Excellence and ultimately Elite status as an athlete, you must do things differently. It means going the extra mile, disciplining yourself at a different rate than those around you, and simply doing things that really start to elevate your performance to an Elite status.

Finding the right formula to achieve Elite status in whatever position you find yourself in isn’t easy, but it is so worth it. If you want to lead others successfully, you must become disciplined in order to achieve your goals at a higher level and then teach others to do the same! Getting to the "Disciplined" level of motivation is a difficult process to embody and it must be what works for you and only you, so find what works, be consistent in your efforts, and give it all you've got!

Learn it. Live it. Give it.

- Dean