Dr.Fr.Davis George

Motivation – Key to Quality Enhancement

Motivation – Key to Quality Enhancement

Dr. Fr. Davis George

(Article published in the book “Quality Education Prospects and Challenges” edited by Davis George, J.G. Valan Arasu, Pragyesh Agrawal and Mahendra K. Gupta in 2008; in the book “Higher Education: Quality and Management” Edited by S. M. Paul Khurana & P. K. Singhal, 2010; in “University News”in February, 2009 edition and in ICF Journal “College Post” in April 2010)

1. Introduction

There is a story of an eagle, which gently coaxed her offspring toward the edge of the nest. Her heart quivered with conflicting emotions as she felt their resistance to her persistent nudging. “Why does the thrill of soaring have to begin with the fear of failing?”

As in the tradition of the species, her nest was located high on the shelf of a sheer rock face. Despite her fears, the eagle knew it was time. Her parental mission was all but complete. There remained one final task- the push. The eagle drew courage from an innate wisdom. Until her children discovered their wings, there was no purpose for their lives. Until they learned how to soar, they would fail to understand the privilege it was to have been born an eagle. The push was the greatest gift she had to offer. And the decisive moment dawned and the eaglet was gently pushed from the cozy and comfortable nest into the unknown horizon. It was her supreme act of love. And so one by one she pushed them, and they flew. Even the eagles need a push.

The difference between achievers and non-achievers is that the first group is motivated and the second group is not. Most people are good and qualified. Most of them can do much better than what they are doing. But they desist and resist change as it would dislodge their comfort zone and they would prefer to remain where they are and as they are. Fewer expectations, less demands and less work. And it works, they think. They have to be shown that the same things can be done in a better way. The missing link is the spark of motivation. Achievers do not do different things but they do things differently.

Motivation is everybody’s problem. You are Principal of a college and you want to motivate your staff. You are a teacher and you want to motivate your students. Parents want to motivate their children. From the time when we get up in the morning to time we go to bed at night, we run into dozens of situations where we need to motivate others. If we’re frustrated in our efforts (and who isn’t?). We may give up.

Without motivation there is no change. No learning. No actions. And, most important of all, without motivation, there are no results. Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. Pablo Casuals, the great cellist, was asked why, at eighty-five years of age, he continued to practice five hours a day. He replied, “Because I think I’m getting better.” Life is about growing; it is about change. As it is said those who are not busy being born are busy dying. As said by Henri Bergson in, Creative Evolution, “ To exist is to change; to change is to mature and to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.”. How true it is that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are. Motivation accelerates this process of becoming. The path we shall follow in this article is not one laden with positive platitudes, but rather it is a quest for insight, wholeness, integrity and better performance. We shell embark upon a journey of discovery, to reflect upon and clarify what is truly important and meaningful to you.

2. Motivation defined and explained

Motivation is that invisible force that ignites the mind, sets your heart with feelings of zeal and zest and propels you into action. It can persuade, convince, inspire, encourage and lead you into action, changing your vision and life. It is the driving force in our lives. It comes from a drive to succeed and have fulfillment in life. One has to cultivate the right attitude and positive self-talks. Knock off the ‘t’ from can’t and constantly indulge in auto-suggestion that I can.” “Impossible” has to be turned into I’m possible. My students have taken “They can because they think they can”, - to be a magic formula. It has done wonders in the lives of thousands of students both of St Aloysius Senior Secondary School where I was the Principal for ten years and the students of St. Aloysius College where I am the Principal for the last ten years. In many of the human and spiritual resource development programme I conducted in India and abroad for the last twenty years, I have witnessed the miracle of motivation. To be inspired and motivated means to move forward with purpose and enthusiasm. Purpose denotes clarity of intension while enthusiasm is derived form the Greek entheos, a god or sprit within. The motivated and inspired person comes to life with the purpose and passion, with the daily desire to grow and contribute. Only managers who can deal with uncertainty, with ambiguity, and with battles that are never won but only fought well can hope to succeed. Motivation knows your purpose in life, Growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others, enabling you make your life a success. Success is a journey rather than a destination. You will never exhaust your capacity to grow towards your potential or run out of opportunities to help others. You will never have the problem of trying to “arrive” at an elusive final destination. The very moment that you make the shift to finding your purpose, growing to your potential, and helping others, you are on the path of success. The only true measure of success is the ratio between what we might have been and what we have become. In other words, success comes as the result of growing to our potential. It’s been said that our potential is God’s gift to us, and what we do with it is our gift to him. Our potential is probably our greatest untapped resource. Henry Ford observed, “There is no man living who isn’t capable of doing more than he thinks he can do.” Find out what you are searching that will set your soul on fire and pursue it. And then as President Theodore Roosevelt said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Never wait for inspiration or permission or an invitation to get started. That is motivation.

In Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankel relates what he learned from his experience as a prisoner in Auschwitz. He writes, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Again he said, “Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life. Everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demand fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced nor can his life be repeated. Thus everyone’s task is as unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.” Stop being a victim and be responsible. Crisis is often what author and psychologist Dick Leider refers to as one of life’s “wake up” calls. Who we are, implies responsibility. There is no tougher challenge we face than to accept personal responsibility for not only what we are but also what we can be. As the Spanish proverb says, “He who does not look ahead remains behind.” You need to identify and sail toward your destination. The past lives now only in your memory, but the future holds a myriad of possibilities. You can renew yourself mentally by replacing worn out, stagnant thinking with thoughts that simulate a sense of hope and positive anticipation about your future. Henry Ford asserted, “The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one’s destiny, and then to do it.

2.1 External motivation

External motivation comes form outside the person, such as promotion, money, social status, fame and name. It could be fear of being fired, demoted, ignored or isolated. Fear of getting spanked by parents and fear of getting suspended or terminated from work, could be examples of external motivation. Fear is a powerful source of motivation and deterrent. It gets the job done quickly, meeting your deadlines and improving the performance of the person concerned. But it is not lasting. As long as the motivator is there, the employee is motivated. In the long run, performance goes down and destroys creativity and gets limited to mere compliance of the minimum work.
Many corporate sectors motivate their employees with incentives, bonuses, commission, and recognition. It can work as long as the incentive is strong enough.

2.2 Internal motivation

“Internal motivation comes from within, such as pride, a sense of achievement, responsibility and belief.” One would not focus on external elements of success, failure, incentives, fear and so son. It is for inner satisfaction and fulfillment that one works. Feeling of contentment and accomplishment as a result of doing ones own work and translating ones own dream into reality. Vision, mission, goals and objectives have to be kept in mind constantly and a person should be self-driven. Recognition and responsibility are the two most important motivating factors. Recognition gives the person concerned dignity and respect without which one would not work hard. Responsibility would instill in the person a sense of belonging and ownership. One would be responsible and accountable and would accomplish things on ones own.We should always be proactive when confronted with problems. It is good to keep in mind that it is better to light a candle than to curse darkness. Such persons are self-driven. They will have in depth knowledge, required skill and right attitude.

3. How to motivate?

A new employee is to be molded to the culture and expectations of the organization. Training and orientation programme will be of immense help and in service training will do wonders. Often the new recruits are not properly introduced to the demands of the work and the expectations of the organizations and the students. As a result the other staff misguides them. Professional organizations take special care at the time of recruitment and induction. They explain to them the terms and conditions, conventions and traditions, expectations and demands, vision, mission, objectives and means. SWOT analysis of the teacher and college will be of immense help to take stock of the ground reality and make strategic planning. This will have direct bearing on the performance. Performance appraisal from the beginning itself will create competitive and healthy attitudes. How true, a motivated professional learns the trade and brings in the required changes and lasting result, but a de-motivated employee starts sabotaging the company. His performance is marginal. He makes fun of the good performers. He rejects new ideas and spreads the negativity all around. Performance is the parameter of motivation. A self-motivated persons performance appraisal will show qualitative results. De-motivated and ineffective staff should be identified and set aside, ignored or taken to task. Self-driven and self-motivated people will not look for reason outside themselves. They have their own inner resource to translate their dream into reality. It is about driving people and friends towards higher levels of achievement. Staff members, teaching and non-teaching, are the institutions only sustainable resource centre. If they are well motivated they will do much better and faster. Motivation is the willingness of an individual to do something betters than otherwise done.

3.1 Vision and Mission to translate your dream into reality

Before you can think about how to mobilize the staff to achieve results, you have to be clear about what results your college aims to achieve—its vision and mission. You also have to be clear about how you plan to achieve that mission—your college's strategy. The mission states in broad terms the college's purpose. The strategy lays out a plan for fulfilling that purpose—a set of more specific goals to be achieved, an array of approaches to be used, a mechanism for evaluating progress and improving continuously.

The mission should capture the very reason the college exists; the strategy should be the blueprint by which the college leader acts to achieve that mission. Your mission and strategy are critical building blocks for all the activities that fall under the term "human resources." When you recruit and select new teachers, you look for individuals that have the qualities needed to implement the strategy and achieve the mission. When you help individual staff members or teams set goals, you align those goals with the college's broader aims. When you provide coaching or design professional development opportunities, you seek to build the specific capacities that allow the college to live up to its purposes.

A dream gives us direction and increases our potential. A person who has a dream knows what he is willing to give up in order to go up. If you move in any direction other than toward your dream, you’ll miss out on the opportunities necessary to be successful. Without a dream, we may struggle to see potential in ourselves because we don’t look beyond our current circumstances. But with a dream, we begin to see ourselves in a new light, as having greater potential and being capable of stretching and growing to reach it. Every opportunity we meet, every resource we discover, every talent we develop, becomes a part of our potential to grow toward that dream. The greater the dream, the greater the potential. E. Paul Hovey said, “A blind man’s world is bounded by the limits of his touch; an ignorant man’s world by the limits of his knowledge; a great man’s world by the limits of his vision.” If your vision – your dream – is great, then so is your potential for success.

A dream puts everything we do into perspective. Even the tasks that aren’t exciting or immediately rewarding take on added value when we know they ultimately contribute to the fulfillment of a dream. Each activity becomes an important piece in that bigger picture. It reminds me of the story of a reporter who talked to three construction workers pouring concrete at a building site. “What are you doing?” He asked the first worker. “I’m earning a paycheck, “he grumbled. The reporter asked the same question of a second laborer, who looked over his shoulder and said, “What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m pouring concrete.” `Then he noticed a third man who was smiling and whistling as he worked. “What are you doing?” He asked the third worker. He stopped what he was doing and said excitedly, “I’m building a Cathedral.” He wiped his hands clean on a rag and then pointed, “Look, over there is where sanctuary will be. And that over there is the main altar…” Each man was doing the same job. But only the third was motivated by a larger vision. The work he did was fulfilling a dream and it added value to all his efforts.

3.2 Setting goals: prerequisite for motivation

According to a study of American employee attitudes, only about half of employees say they understand how their organizations will assess their job performance. Supporting performance needs to start with making expectations clear. Without clear expectations, it's difficult for staff to know where to focus their energies, how to improve, or whether they're doing a good job.

When thinking about setting goals and expectations, keep in mind these points:
Align individual and team goals with college goals. To ensure that teachers and other staff are applying their energies in ways that help the college achieve its mission, work hard to align expectations for individuals and teams with the broad goals of the college. In part, doing so is a mechanical process of thinking through what each team or individual needs to accomplish for the college to meet its goals. We need to communicate the College's Mission, Goals, and Expectations to Staff

As familiar as you are with your college's mission and goals and with your expectations of staff, each staff person comes to your charter college with a lifetime of experiences that shape how he or she sees the world. To keep staff on the same path as your college, you must communicate your goals and expectations repeatedly. That means repeating the same things, in new and inspiring ways, and it means encouraging the staff to find new ways of making the mission and goals more real in daily college life. Write it, say it, draw it, talk about it, and improve it. Here are some concrete ideas:

· Focus on a particular college goal at each faculty meeting. You might do this by reviewing the benchmarks for the goal, outlining progress or highlighting particular efforts towards the goal, and/or asking teachers to speak about his/her ideas for and/or

perceptions of the goal.

· Post the mission and college goals around the college and on college paraphernalia (t-shirts, mugs, letterhead, etc.).

· Provide professional development (e.g., training, coaching) around college goals and expectations. Base teacher evaluations (e.g., self, peer, and college head) in part on how the teacher is contributing to college mission and goals.

· Celebrate the reaching of benchmarks.

· Communicate mission and goals to parents so that they may also keep teachers focused on the college's vision. Model the behaviors you demand of your staff. Set goals at all relevant levels of the college. Every college is organized differently. Some have departments, others have teams, and so on. Whatever your college's organization, create a goal-setting framework that matches the college's structure. If your teachers are organized into different departments, for example, set goals for each Department, and then for each individual within the department. As you move "down" the structure, goals become more specific and tailored. For example, all teams in the college may share broad goals having to do with improving student achievement in the core subjects. But different grade levels may have different emphases or additional goals, depending upon unique challenges faced by the team. And within teams, different teachers may have different goals based on the challenges they face and the particular developmental needs they bring to college. Consider multiple goals and measures. It would be unusual to find a college where the expectations for a teacher's performance could be boiled down into a single goal or indicator. Performance for professionals is likely to involve a range of attributes, and your systems of goals should reflect the complex nature of the professional's job.

3.3 Make Goals “SMART”

There are lots of catchy frameworks for thinking about what makes a goal or expectation a good one. Here's one such framework that may help you evaluate the expectations you currently have for staff, and set new ones. A goal is "SMART" if it is Specific, Measurable, Ambitious but Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based:

3.3.1 Specific. Goals like "the teacher will contribute effectively to the college's curriculum planning process" aren't very helpful in guiding a teacher's decisions and activities. To be effective, expectations need to contain very specific ideas about what kinds of behavior and performance are valued.

3.3.2 Measurable. Leaders and staff need ways of measuring whether a team or individual staff member is attaining each goal. "Measurable" does not necessarily mean "quantitative." But even qualitative attributes can be measured - not with simple scores on tests, but using rubrics that define different levels of performance. Creating such rubrics is hard work, but without them, it's impossible for everyone to understand what constitutes high performance.

3.3.3 Ambitious but Attainable. Setting goals requires striking a tough balance. On one hand, to spur improvement, goals must be ambitious, pressing staff toward higher performance. On the other, they must be attainable or staff will soon come to disregard them as "pie-in-the-sky."

3.3.4 Relevant. Think of relevance in two ways. One, noted above, is relevant to the college's broader goals. The other is relevance to each staff member's own professional development. Most people work harder to attain goals they find intrinsically valuable, and decades of research on educators makes clear that this generalization applies particularly to people working in colleges.

3.3.5 Time-based. Goals should have a timeframe attached to them - a statement about when the goal should be achieved. This month? This semester? This year? Over the term of the charter? There's a place for all kinds of timeframes, but each goal should have one that makes sense.

3.4 Performance appraisal

Evaluating, improving and rewarding your college and its staff are critical parts of creating a motivating, high-performance climate. Good performers in organizations of all kinds find it motivating both to hear what they are doing is well and to learn how they can improve staff members who are committed to their own and college success will be hungry for any information that helps them understand how they can keep doing better and better. A well-designed performance appraisal process and appropriate reward system can help you feed the natural desire of committed staff to succeed.

Your evaluation process should begin with your college mission and goals and individual staff role expectations. You then must seek ways of measuring how your college, teams and individual staff members have contributed to meeting goals and expectations. The best evaluation processes address both measures of achievement (to what extent have we met goals?) and underlying causes (why?).

3.5 Rewards, recognition

Rewards, recognition and non-cash awards reinforce and guide behavior whether you want them to or not. For example, not using rewards to discriminate between high and low performance (at a college, team or individual level) reinforces the message that performance does not matter. Not surprisingly, research has shown that high-performing organizations are more likely to use rewards that discriminate between high and low performance than are average performing organizations. Rewards must be designed carefully to reinforce the behaviors and results that reflect your college's mission, goals and work process. Monetary rewards are temporary and short-lived; they are not gratifying in the long run. In contrast, seeing an idea being implemented can be emotionally gratifying by itself. People feel that they are not being treated like objects. They feel part of a worthwhile team.

4. Motivating Actions

Reengineering Performance Management: Breakthroughs in Achieving Strategy Through People, offers a simple list of such motivating actions:

Defining staff performance expectations

Communicating expectations with staff

Creating a "motivating environment" (using influence strategies and visionary leadership)

Coaching employees (both before and after assessment; to improve both strong and weak performance)

Assessing performance (both achievement of goals and behaviors used to get there)

Confronting poor performance

Reinforcing good performance

Modeling the behavior you want your staff to emulate

4.1 Build a “college climate” that encourages performance

4.1.1 Write out and make inspirational speeches. Let the staff and the public knows whom you are and what you stand for, what the organization's purpose and mission are, what your expectations are and what others can do together to make the mission happen.

4.1.2 Articulate the mission statement often and passionately. When every you speak to the staff, write memos, or issue bulletins, reiterate the mission statement.

4.1.3 Develop a yearly theme that is consistent and connected to the college's mission. This is necessary to break the mission into doable, understandable segments.

4.1.4 Be visible to the staff, students, to the parents, to all constituencies. Walk around. Be in the classrooms. Observe work in progress. Everyone needs to see the leader and know who he or she is and what his or her expectations are.

4.1.5 Publicize successes and the celebration progress of individuals, groups, or a class. Recognize small wins as well as large ones.

4.1.6 Departmental meetings, Academic council meetings, and staff council meetings will keep everyone informed and abrest. Programmes like art of living, Vipassana and yoga will infuse new life into the staff.

4.1.7 We have developed a new motivational programme for the staff called “onward inward journey”, wherein each Head of the Department gives an input session on topics of academic interest and the discussion is concluded by the Principal with his comments, observations and concluding remarks. This has been found very interesting, enriching and participatory.

5. Motivational Factors

In reflecting upon how to build college spirit, it is interesting to note that organizational factors that contribute to job satisfaction may be distinct from factors that contribute to job dissatisfaction. In an article in the Harvard Business Review, Frederick Herzberg outlines both types of factors based on a number of studies conducted in a cross-section of organizations and with a broad range of employees. These studies suggest that factors responsible for job satisfaction include: achievement, recognition for achievement, the work itself, responsibility, growth or advancement, Factors responsible for job dissatisfaction include: company policy and administration, supervision, interpersonal relationships, working conditions, salary, status and security.

This distinction between job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction factors suggests that measures you would adopt to keep staff happy are not necessarily the same ones you would adopt to keep staff from being unhappy. Thus, you must assess the status of the "spirit" at your college. If your main objective at this point is either to encourage people to join or to keep people from leaving, it might be wise first to concentrate on factors of job dissatisfaction such as salary and working conditions. If, on the other hand, turn-over is not high and morale not low, it might be better to focus on issues of job satisfaction--for example, by creating a sense of achievement and increasing the levels of responsibility, rather than focusing on salary, status, and other job dissatisfaction factors.

5.1 The key to motivation: respond to human needs.

Motivation is all about finding out the need inside a person, which if satisfied, will make him work more efficiently and produce better results about which he takes pride. The process of motivation begins with an unsatisfied need, anything that he desires abut is deprived of. This creates tension, and when it is positively dealt with, results in increased efforts and better performance. When it is negatively dealt with it results in poor performance, frustration and aggression. When needs, legitimate or otherwise, are not met it results in employees’ indifference and inefficiency.

Needs can also be classified into two categories: organizational and individual. Individual needs will have to be structured, regularized and channeled into organizational need fulfillment. Individual willingness to make extra efforts and walk the extra mile must be enlisted for optimum performance and productivity. This should also cater to satisfy the individual, personal needs of the persons concerned. The failure to perceive what people really need is the biggest motivational problem. The more you understand about the needs that motivate people. The more effective a motivator you can become. The core of motivation is meeting needs. If a person’s needs are all being met, he’s totally satisfied with his situation and isn’t open to any kind of change. The satisfied person is generally self-motivated – but if he isn’t, he’s pretty hard to motivate. Trying to fit everyone into the same mold yields people who don’t fit in at all. Different strokes are needed for different folks. “The only person who behaves sensibly is my tailor,” said George Bernard Shaw. “He makes new measurements every time he sees me. All the rest go on with their old measurements.”

As individuals we have four basic needs and these needs become a powerful motivator in our personal lives: need to love and loved; need to belong; need for autonomy and need for self worth. Often we are driven from within to meet these basic human needs common to all people all over the world. The need to love and love is the basic of all needs. Without love one cannot survive. So also we all have a need to belong to some one or the other, to some organization or the other. The next stage is intense need for autonomy. All need their own space and time. Without intruding into the mystery of the other person we need to let him or her work. Without a sense of self worth people will create problems for oneself and for the other. A positive self-image will play a vital role in making a person self motivated. Needs of a child will be different from a teenager? It will again change when one reaches adulthood. At a later age the needs would be different. In the same way the needs of a deprived person would be food, clothing and shelter. When he acquires all these, his needs will change. Both the employee and employer should be aware of the dynamics of human needs.

Abraham Maslow was the father of the human potential movement. He spent years researching the healthy personality and learned that all of us have the same basic needs. These needs always come in the same order, for everyone on earth. The second level need won’t even be considered until the first level need is met. The third level need will become an important priority when the first and second levels are taken care of. And so on. Maslow’s hierarchy shows that you can’t motivate a person through his higher needs until his more basic needs are met. In his theory on the hierarchy of human needs said that an individual progresses through five need levels- physiological (relating to his need for food, sex and other basic requirements), safety (relating to his need for shelter, security), social (the need for friends, family)’ esteem (relating to his need for recognition and respect)’ and finally his self-actualization reflecting need for achieving greater things. A successful manager will have to discern the changing profile of individual needs. Once employed and confirmed in the job, one would clamour for other things. The needs of a child are different from that of an adult. Again the needs of bachelor would change as soon as one gets married. This again would change when gets older. Our perception, understanding and needs vary as the years go by. We are constantly changing. Change is the only thing that does not change. As one grows in age and in his profession the needs will vary, and to optimize productivity we will have to find out the growing individual needs and make it compatible with the organisational and institutional needs. We should work on synergy and synthesis; collaboration and co-operation, avoid unhealthy competition and comparison.

Often people think that money is a big motivator. The higher the salary the greater the motivation. But slowly on it will wear out and some other need will arise. The real motivation will come from recognition. Positive strokes will take care of one’s basic need and hunger for recognition and respect. It gives a sense of being acknowledged needed and appreciated, instead of being taken for granted their presence, work and unique contribution. Unfortunately it is short supply, though it is cost free and has magical effects. We must take initiatives and make others feel that they exist and they are important “People are your most important resource and if the people you work with can become your friends they would be with you even in hell helping you taste success.”

5.2 Management of time: key to efficiency

Though time and tide wait for no one, we often while away our time. Free time in the college is often used for socialising and gossip. In a college it is left to the conscience of the individual teacher how he/she can have optimum utilisation of the given time those who don’t control their time will find that it controls them!

Some steps that will lead to more effective use of time:

· Every day, make a list of the things you need to do.

· Decide which of the tasks you need to do are most important. Mark an A beside those. Mark a B beside those, which need to be done, but not as soon as the first list. Mark C beside all the others.

· Spend your time doing only a task, until they’re all completed. Let the Bs and Cs remain undone until the day they move into the A category.

· If an A task is too big to do all at once, do it a little at a time until it’s done.

· Promise yourself a nice reward for when you finish a big project – and give it!

· Learn how to say “No” to requests that are not directly connected to your vision and mission in life.

· Use normally wasted moments to accomplish something worthwhile.

· Learn to relax, so you’re not pushing all the time. Then, when you return to your work, you’ll be more effective than ever before.

· Set goals to help you determine what’s important in your life.

· Keep in mind the 80/20 rule; we get 80 percent of the benefit from working on a project in the first 20 percent of the time we spend on it.

· Concentrate on only one thing at a time.

· Delegate all possible tasks to others and spend time in providing academic leadership to the college.

· Group activities together – spend a block of time doing creative work, another block for phone calls, another block when you’ll be open to interruptions, etc.

5.3 Communication is at the heart of motivation

One of the biggest impediments of good motivation is bad communication. The problem runs all the way from our most stately boardrooms to our most humble homes: workers and children alike are unable to please their motivators because they frankly don’t know what’s wanted. Motivation will improve when communication improves. When you want someone to do something, make sure you communicate very plainly what’s wanted, specifying how big, how soon, what for, how expensive. That means you yourself need to know what you want. Sometimes management is the blind leading the blind out to shoot – and the casualties are people. When the staff knows precisely what’s wanted he or she will be able to provide it.

Some suggestions on communicating effectively:

· Define why you need to communicate. Decide how you want the teacher to respond – what do you want him to think, feel, and do? Set clear objectives.

· Carefully choose the setting of the communication. People respond differently to communications in different settings: in an office or out in the hall, over the phone or in a memo, from a podium or sitting around a table. Select the setting that will best help you accomplish your objectives.

· Select the right time for the communication. Mondays are different from Fridays for anyone. Don’t try to have a heart-to-heart talk with your staff at the very moment when he’s ready to leave for home

· Use a variety of effective ways of communicating ideas: charts, pictures, stories, metaphors, analogies, apperception, and feelings.

· Get the audience involved in the message. The more they personally do during the communication, the more they’ll remember.

· Make use of verbal and nonverbal communication.

· Learn to communicate your feelings and thoughts; your new vision and mission in life, in such a way that they understand the benefits of it.

· Communicate positive strokes, timely correction and guidance. Rather than fear, motivate by caring, Persuasion, a challenging assignment, a little praise, with a pat on the back. Encouragement and clear indication of the advantages and disadvantages of the given assignment will spur them on to greater accomplishment.

· Communication is not only speaking but also listening. One must learn to listen not only with his ears but also with his/her heart to the ideas, suggestions and other comments. Academic Leaders who establish a climate that’s conducive to suggestions end up being more effective. They feel more motivated and assume responsibility for what they’re doing, and they respond accordingly. Leaders make all the difference in how they respond to suggestions. The leader doesn’t have to follow all the suggestions he or she receives, but each suggestion should be treated with respect.

5.4 Minimax: minimize weakness and maximize strengths

The more you’re able to minimize weaknesses, the stronger your group will become. If, in addition, you’re able to maximize strengths, your staff will be incredibly motivated. Minimax is a valuable motivational tool. The person who uses it is able to get the most out of those he works with.

Step 1: Avoid emphasis on weakness.

If you waste time trying to correct a lot of weaknesses, you’ll just end up with frustration and dejection. And if you look for weaknesses to avoid when you’re hiring, you’ll probably end up with mediocrity. Emphasis on weakness destroys morale. It can destroy your entire operation.

Step 2: Build on strength.

It’s not enough to avoid emphasis on weakness. That first step will make the employee glad you’re off his back – but it won’t help him grow. So you build on his strengths. Learn what he does best, and then help him do it better.

When you recruited your staff you have seen something outstanding about him, something that made you say to yourself, “This one can really do the job!” Always keep that initial enthusiasm in mind. What job was it you knew he could do? Answer that question and you’ve got a good lead on his main strength. Now build on it.

5.5 Help teachers to enjoy their work

Here’s the secret: If you want to motivate your teachers, make their teaching assignment enjoyable! Apply to work the reasons why playing games are enjoyable. The students in the classroom moan and groan every time you give them an assignment? Turn the assignment into a game, complete with rules and rewards. Then watch them work like never before, because they’re having fun!

Teachers gravitate to their types of jobs because initially they enjoy them. Then something happens. Someone, probably a principal/ manager, says, “Hey, work shouldn’t be fun. Work should be work! If the workers are having fun that means that they aren’t being as productive as they could be. Fun is against the Puritan ethic!”

Then the manager goes about establishing rules and regulations and college policies that methodically destroy the spirit of his workers. And, before too long, they put up with their job only because they have to. The paradox is that people generally get a heck of a lot more done when they’re having at least some fun than when work is drudgery. Make work fun for your teachers– and they’ll really be motivated to work!

5.6 Create healthy habits

As habits die header, we need to create healthy habits in the college. Aristotle has said, “We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act but a habit.” Ninety-nine percent of everything we do is a matter of habit. Give or take a percent. It is said “sow habit, reap character; sow character, reap destiny”.

Too often people will be ordered to change their old patterns, but they won’t be given another way to go. Provide a Better Route. If you want someone to change, show him or her the better way you want him or her to go. If you don’t they’ll only see a threat- and they’ll positively balk (and snort) at your proposed. But you need to do more than given them a better alternative: they need to see that it’s better. People are usually quite comfortable with how they are. So when you go about changing them, you need to show them that your approach will be even better for them.

5.7 Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Frederick Herzberg is a behavioral scientist that has seen people and their relationship to work in a new way. He has done extensive studies, asking his subjects to think of times when they felt particularly good or particularly bad about their jobs,

Herzberg learned that money is not a prime motivator in getting people to do better work - although it may be very important as a means of getting things that do motivate, such as prestige and recognition. He learned that security is not a prime motivator either, nor is a bright cherry atmosphere in the workplace.

In his final analysis, Herzberg showed that every manager has two different kinds of factors he must consider in dealing with his workers. Both kinds are absolutely necessary in getting the job done, though they must be considered separately - the factors are not directly linked. These factors are labeled motivation factors and maintenance factors.

Motivation factors directly affect the motivation of the worker, making it higher or lower according to whether or not the manager is using a particular factor. The presence of these factors will both satisfy and motivate. Though their absence may not necessarily cause dissatisfaction, it will ensure an absence of motivation. The factors:

v Achievement: The worker needs to feel that he has accomplished something.

v Recognition: The worker needs to feel that his achievement has been noticed.

v Interesting duties: The worker needs to feel interest in the work itself.

v Responsibility: The worker needs to feel that he’s responsible for himself and for his own work. Responsibility for new tasks and duties is also important.

v Opportunity for growth: The worker needs to feel that he has the potential to grow within the organization.

Maintenance factors simply keep the worker on the job. They keep him or her from going elsewhere for work. The presence of these factors causes satisfaction; their absence causes dissatisfaction. Their presence or absence has no effect on motivation, however. The factors:

v Supervision: The worker feels that the manager is willing to teach and delegate responsibility.

v Administration: The worker feels that management has good communication with the worker; also the worker feels good about company and personnel policies.

v Working conditions: The worker feels good about the physical conditions at work.

v Interrelationships: The worker feels good about his relations with peers, subordinates, and superiors.

v Status: The worker feels that his job has status and rank.

v Security: The worker feels secure about his job.

v Salary: The worker feels adequately compensated for his work.

v Personal life: The worker feels that the job (hours, transfers, etc.) does not adversely affect his personal life.

The maintenance factors must be met to keep the worker doing the job. But the manager must separately use the motivating factors to get the worker to do the work better. It’s like we’re all a bunch of batteries. The battery has a limited amount of energy available to it-but the demands are almost unlimited. First you light up one 50-watt bulb. Then you need to light up a 100-watt bulb as well. Then a motor is attached to your battery. Each new problem adds another drain on your battery. So far you’re all right. But if another energy drain is attached, you’re in trouble.

If you take too much out of it, you’ll only end up with a dead battery. Then you’ll have a lot of down time while you recharge it again. People need to be recharged. Time, encouragement, a change of scenery can all create more energy flowing in than out.

5.8 Belief system and self fulfilling prophecy

It is said that the greatest motivation comes from a person’s belief system. That means he needs to believe in what he does and accept responsibility. That is where motivation becomes important. When people accept responsibility for their behavior and actions, their attitude toward life becomes positive. They become more proactive and productive, personally and professionally. Their relationships improve both at home and at work. Life becomes more meaningful and fulfilled.

Your beliefs determine what you do in life. They become a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy. One person says. “I can’t do math.” Because he doesn’t believe in himself, he fails. And then he says, “See, I told you I couldn’t do math.” Everything about us stems from our beliefs (or lack of them). “Kids are irresponsible. The won’t do anything you ask them.” People in organizations are like sheep: they look to their leader for guidance before they’ll do a single thing.” Think of how much of our lives are controlled by these beliefs. Everything about us stems from our belief (or lack of them).

Reasons for Japanese productivity have been sought for more than two decades. What is the answer? Is it the programs or techniques or approaches? Actually, it’s none of the above. Processes or methods are not the answer. The answer lies in the shared beliefs of the Japanese workers. Shared beliefs can make a difference in other ways. Suppose you’re a teacher in a classroom and the students share this belief: “We’re not as good as the kids in the private school down the road.” How will your kids act? Unfortunately, they’ll fulfill their own prophecy, and they won’t do nearly as well as the kids in the school down the road. But what if you as the teacher can change those beliefs? What if you can get them to believe this: we’re every bit as good as the kids in the private school.” Then they’ll start to act like it. And what if you can take it a step further and they start to believe this: “We’re a heck of a lot better than the kids in any other school in town, including the private schools.” Then they fulfill that prophecy and become the best students around. What we need is a paradigm shift.

5.9 Faculty development programme

For motivating the staff our focus and thrust should be on human resource development programming for the staff. Much of the college development would depend on the inner disposition of the staff. On going in-service training programme, refresher courses, attending national and international seminars and conferences will enable and empower them to explore the unexplored frontiers of knowledge. Often stagnation in profession is the result of lack of academic exposure. Encourage the staff to invest their time in research and publication. A good teacher is the one who is willing to learn till the very end. Reading motivational books and the latest books and journals in the subject concerned will give the necessary insights and fresh ideas to become better and more effective capacity builders. Our students are entering into a highly competitive world and they should have the benefit to a really learned professor. He should be able to inspire and motivate the students to have a scientific temper and the required skills and attitude to apply his knowledge to build up a better world. He should be aware of the national and international challenges and should have the ability to respond positively and proactively. A teacher who is a role model in academic excellence and excellence character formation will be able to bring the required transformation in the lives of our youth.

Education is not just filling the empty minds with information but formation and transformation of the mind, heart and soul. Education is a process of exploring possibilities and blossoming our own innate and God-given talents, so that students can make a difference in the lives of others. Going beyond the concept of giving analytical intelligence (IQ) alone, one should be able to give emotional intelligence (EQ) and spiritual intelligence (SQ). Who else can do this better than a well-informed, committed and motivated teacher? As it is said, a teacher affects eternity, and no one can say when his influence stops.

6. Conclusion

Mobilizing and motivating people to achieve results is one of the principal imperatives of the college principal. But effective colleges also face a compelling opportunity to do things differently when it comes to mobilizing and motivating the staff, just as they do when it comes to teaching and learning. But the hard work of helping people achieve their best ultimately happens not on the pages of a guidebook, but in the colleges themselves. This hard work starts with the building blocks of mission, strategy and governance. It moves from there to creating the major systems of people and resource-management discussed in this publication—recruitment and selection, setting goals, coaching and development, evaluation, and rewards. It comes together in the culture the college creates, the ways of working together that make the college a unique place to be employed, and to be educated. And—if it's successful—hard work pays off resulting in improved learning for children. President Theodore Roosevelt, said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Yet never act on it. They are waiting for inspiration or an invitation to get started. The only true measure of success is the ratio between what we might have been and what we have. In other words, success comes as the result of growing to our potential. It’s been said that our potential is God’s gift to us, and what we do with it is our gift to him. Our potential is probably our greatest untapped resource. Henry Ford observed, “ There is no man living who isn’t capable of doing more than he thinks he can do.”

Helping the people carry out the college's strategy and achieve its mission is the job of the college's leadership. The Principal plays a pivotal and crucial role in building the college community. When we study the powers and functions of the Prime Minister of Britain, we see that he is the first among the equals and he is the sun around which the planets revolve. He is the cornerstone of the cabinet arch and he represents the people and government. Similarly, the Principal of a college has the most significant function to fulfill in providing academic and visionary leadership and sustained progress of the college. The way governance is structured in the college can have a great influence on how Heads of various departments carry out their work and produce results.

Today knowledge is power: knowledge of self and others; knowledge and expertise of the subject matter concerned. Such knowledge will lead a person to have the right perception and discernment. SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) analysis will be of immense help to take stock of oneself. Motivated persons will acquire the necessary skills to handle any situation. Knowledge without skills will like having a car without anyone knowing to drive. Attitude, positive or negative will be decisive of your success. They say that attitude decides your altitude. How rightly it has been said, “they can because they think they can.” You must believe that you can. For this, one has to believe in oneself and learn to love oneself. Discover your own hidden talents. Have enthusiasm and passion for life your life goals. Indulge in taking and reasonable risks and creativity. Creativity will lead you to serendipity. Serendipity is discovering something totally unrelated to the problem you are trying to solve. Columbus discovered America while searching for a route to India. Pioneers travelling westward stopped for water and found gold nuggets in the stream. Self-motivated person will believe in change and growth, be willing to take the risk of stepping from the known to the unknown. One who has learned to love oneself will have Self-confidence. Such a person will not be under the tyranny of anger. Anger dissipates your vital energy. A self-motivated person will handle tension and not let it manhandle himself. Conflicts and tensions are part of life. One must learn to handle it with care. Failure is stepping-stone to success. Successful people are those who have learned from their failure. To fail is not to be a failure. You can never be a failure unless you give up and quit trying. Jesus told Peter to cast your net again when he was giving up. We learn from our failures how not to do things. Edison failed at his first 6,000 attempts to develop a light bulb. When asked if he were discouraged, he replied: “No, I am now well informed on 6000 ways you cannot do it.” It is perception that matters. Failure is never final. Robert Schuller, the famous author said that success isn’t the opposite of failing. A runner may come in last, but if he beats his own record, he succeeds. As Aristotle has said, “We are what we repeatedly do; excellence then, is not an act but a habit.” Develop this habit of pursuing excellence. And success will follow such a motivated person.

A leader is best when people hardly know he exists. Less good when they praise him and obey him. Worse when they fear and despise him. But with a good leader, when his aim is met and his dreams fulfilled, they will say: “We did this ourselves. ” (Lao Tsu).

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