Incentivising yourself to progress your career
Discussion
How do you incentivise yourself to go above the bare minimum required in order to progress?
I've tried various things to motivate myself. An example is placing a picture of a BMW M135i on the "home office" wall as a target to buy in a year or so, but this has no effect on my work effort.
Working from home makes me think the absence of a competitive environment is the root cause, so perhaps a change of job is in order?
I've tried various things to motivate myself. An example is placing a picture of a BMW M135i on the "home office" wall as a target to buy in a year or so, but this has no effect on my work effort.
Working from home makes me think the absence of a competitive environment is the root cause, so perhaps a change of job is in order?
Every year give yourself an ultimatum and act accordingly:
1.) Hit whatever KPI's are set by your management.
2.) Learn at least 1 tangible skill that can be demonstrated if needed.
3.) Improve at least one facet of your business / department / area that can be demonstrated if needed.
4.) Make sure that your management and your own staff know that you are more than competent in everything your role requires.
If every year you complete those things you should expect to progress on either the remuneration scale or responsibilities scale (if its the latter this is still progress and you should take a long term view). If you are rewarded with neither, you should look elsewhere with a view to move up the ladder not sideways.
I have "5 year plans" that I work towards and its these that include "new house" & "new car". One thing to note is that personally its not a BMW M3 or annual trip to St Lucia.... The goal is to get myself in the position where its possible. Goals change, priority's change so don't fix to firmly on one thing.
If you are stagnating and its affecting your overall plans for your career development I would encourage you to start looking elsewhere. With a well worded CV and good interpersonal skills you could land a role better paid than your current. This would then kick start your motivation and further your development. You would have an M140i on the driveway and a big smile on your face
1.) Hit whatever KPI's are set by your management.
2.) Learn at least 1 tangible skill that can be demonstrated if needed.
3.) Improve at least one facet of your business / department / area that can be demonstrated if needed.
4.) Make sure that your management and your own staff know that you are more than competent in everything your role requires.
If every year you complete those things you should expect to progress on either the remuneration scale or responsibilities scale (if its the latter this is still progress and you should take a long term view). If you are rewarded with neither, you should look elsewhere with a view to move up the ladder not sideways.
I have "5 year plans" that I work towards and its these that include "new house" & "new car". One thing to note is that personally its not a BMW M3 or annual trip to St Lucia.... The goal is to get myself in the position where its possible. Goals change, priority's change so don't fix to firmly on one thing.
If you are stagnating and its affecting your overall plans for your career development I would encourage you to start looking elsewhere. With a well worded CV and good interpersonal skills you could land a role better paid than your current. This would then kick start your motivation and further your development. You would have an M140i on the driveway and a big smile on your face
Job satisfaction is usually a great stimulus to want to do well and, in some cases, do more.
This is why it's linked to a core interview question too; 'what excites you about this role you've applied for?'
Job satisfaction comes in different guises, so identifying what triggers it for you may be a good start. And if your current role isn't delivering, and you think never will, then it's usually time to reconsider.
Many of my clients are keen to move roles because they're unfulfilled in their current role. Much of this is due to their lack of due diligence when changing roles; they've not adequately identified what it is about the new role and their new manager that excites them.
Good luck!
This is why it's linked to a core interview question too; 'what excites you about this role you've applied for?'
Job satisfaction comes in different guises, so identifying what triggers it for you may be a good start. And if your current role isn't delivering, and you think never will, then it's usually time to reconsider.
Many of my clients are keen to move roles because they're unfulfilled in their current role. Much of this is due to their lack of due diligence when changing roles; they've not adequately identified what it is about the new role and their new manager that excites them.
Good luck!
Interesting question. It's easy to push yourself when you're enjoying the job in hand anyway, as you'll usually start thinking of ways to tangibly improve or demonstrate your additional skills. I used to be able to do this quite easily my job and got payrises and an award from it.
However in the last few years, I found it a bit of a struggle to go the extra mile, management were still bleating on about needing to 'make an additional difference' to stand out. Truth is, I'd grown bored of the role and the company, so it's time to move on.
My point is - if you want the Beemer, find a new job, negotiate a pay rise and see how you can make a difference with your new found enthusiasm - good luck!
However in the last few years, I found it a bit of a struggle to go the extra mile, management were still bleating on about needing to 'make an additional difference' to stand out. Truth is, I'd grown bored of the role and the company, so it's time to move on.
My point is - if you want the Beemer, find a new job, negotiate a pay rise and see how you can make a difference with your new found enthusiasm - good luck!
Cneci said:
An example is placing a picture of a BMW M135i on the "home office" wall as a target to buy in a year or so, but this has no effect on my work effort.
It wont because its unlikely that any additional effort or effect you deploy will result in the extra spare cash needed to afford it. The only exemption to this is if you work in sales or you are entirely the master of your own destiny (self employed).What you've described is what some 'coaches' might describe as positive visualisation techniques...imagining yourself driving the car to the point where you are thinking about the colour you'll choose, the options you'll select and so on. This invariably has the effect of stimulating despondency as the reality is that short of a lottery win, you'll not attain the goal without taking huge risk.
Take the example of public sector workers. They come to work and either work absolutely brilliantly or just plod along. Either way, each month, the same amount of money lands in their account on the 25th.
The most effective motivation and incentive is the risk you take to attain your goal. So to get your BMW M135i might require you to take a sales-based role, one where your salary is pegged to the sales you make. The risk here is that if you aren't a good salesman then not only will you earn less but you will not last long in your job so in this scenario, you make 10 more calls per day than everyone else. You attend 10 more sales meetings per week and so on because if you don't, it's game over.
If you want a new Ferrari, then that will invariably require you to start your own business. Here the risks are greater as you'll need to raise capital against your home so the motivation here is the avoidance of loosing that home.
It's often said that only justification for profit and financial gain is risk and thus risk affords you the greatest incentive.
There are exceptions and one way to avoid the risk is to strive to become a recognised expert in your field. This requires considerable personal effort; research, study, writing articles, speaking at conferences, much of this being unpaid and in many cases, the need to invest in the process. But the outcome is that you can become a saught-after individual and your worth to other employers increases considerably. There's still risk as you might exert all of this effort and energy and not gain such status and even if you do, it can take a long time.
It all boils down to the level of risk you are willing to take.
StevieBee said:
Take the example of public sector workers. They come to work and either work absolutely brilliantly or just plod along. Either way, each month, the same amount of money lands in their account on the 25th.
Not always! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8635859/C...
devnull said:
Interesting question. It's easy to push yourself when you're enjoying the job in hand anyway, as you'll usually start thinking of ways to tangibly improve or demonstrate your additional skills. I used to be able to do this quite easily my job and got payrises and an award from it.
Again, thanks to everyone for the replies, much appreciated.My improvements and effort in my role fall into a "black hole", so to speak. There isn't a direct feedback loop telling me if my work has helped a client. All I receive is "thanks", and nothing more than that really. It doesn't provide me with any career capital to put on the CV, or leverage to gain a better salary etc.
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