SR - Motivation- long

[Casey&Coni]

Dieterich on behalf of motivational freedom,

This is wierd... I juuust got done debating this very subject with another
person off the list not a half an hour ago...  this should be an easy lot of
cut and paste!

Donal wrote this in response to Lyonels post:

>That's an over-generalization, Lyonel. I expect any volunteers to have
>one agenda in common with me - that of getting the work done. What
>private or public agendas, if any, they have beyond that, I don't
>really give a hoot.

As it should be.  Sweat is still sweat, regardless of motivation.

>With one exception.

Uh-oh... here we go.  Now we're going to turn sweat into something else.

>Oh, and like Her Excellency
>before you, you have failed to address the question of problems
>filling treasurer's offices. But I digress.

You certainly do.  But in answer to this issue, I might forward an idea to
both you and Don Donald.  Namely, when you have a vacant office, you might
consider listing it as such in the Blackstar.  Particularly if that office
is a regional one.  I recently heard that there may have been an issue with
the regional reeves office for quite some time, but I notice as I look in
January, February, March, April and May's Blackstar (my wife has June and
July in her purse and I dare not go there) that nothing seems amiss.  The
office is filled and in good order.  A small expenditure in ink with the
words: "accepting applications" might be in order in little instances like
this as the entire kingdom doesn't usually attend G.O.o.S meetings to find
these things out.  Even a phone call to the senechal of the group the person
lives in might help (I have it on good authority that this was not done)
Listing vacant offices in the Blackstar every month might also be an
excellent incentive for individual groups to hurry to fill them as it is
often thought to be embarassing to have them open for any period of time.

Just a thought.  Now on to the real meat of the situation...

>The exception is this: If
>all a person cares about is the cookies that can be had for "volunteer
>work", if they reserve their passion for shiny danglies and save none
>for the satisfaction of getting a job done - no matter what it is -
>then no, I don't care to work with them. This may seem like an
>intransigent, even snotty attitude. So be it. I can work with just
>about anyone who differs with me in the way things should be done,
>what needs doing, what direction things should go. Don't ask me to
>work with someone who sees the doing as just a stone on the path to
>recognition. I guess it's just the Boy Scout in me coming out.....

Well, I am sad that because of a persons desire for an award you won't
consider them for office.  I think this is unwise especially considering the
fact that personal motivations like awards are some of the most powerful
performance enhancers.

I'd like to forward an example ...

There's this guy, this funny looking guy with really loose morals and wierd
hair who's main concern by his own admission is what *he* gets for what he
puts out.  But maaan is this guy good at what he does!  So is it worth
having him work for you when you know that all he's after is more money and
fame next year and perhaps an award?  Ask the coach of the Chicago Bulls...
no better, ask the Utah Jazz.  And if you're in that position and you decide
to trade him on  moral grounds, I hope the denizens of Chicago don't know
where you live because you're in the *minority*, pal.

And another thing... isn't the 'merit badge' system an invention of the Boy
Scouts?  Thought so.

>
>If either Lord X or Lady Z are such fools as to state in public that
>they did the work only in order to get a service award, it is to be
>devoutly hoped that the Crown would manage to avoid giving it to them.
>I will also note in passing that folk who do such things rarely take
>on those jobs which are behind the scenes. I doubt it would be
>necessary to "*refuse to let them do the work.*" Lord X would
>undoubtedly find some much higher-profile work to do than cleaning
>smelly ol' toilets where no-one could see him, and Lady Z's hundred
>hours would most likely be far more profitably spent in the kitchen,
>supervising set-up and clean-up of the hall at an event, or acting as
>attendant for  Someone. All of which, by the way, are perfectly
>respectable activities - if done for their own sake.

Let me tell ya something, brother... if a person wants to be recognized for
a job, they will *find a way* to tell people about it and beat their chest.
You can sew banners at home in the dark where not a soul sees you and find a
way to let the whole world know that *you* were the one that did it...
somehow.  Everything you state above is simply opinion with no factual
basis.  I know people who do the worst jobs imaginable completly in the dark
and 'behind the scenes' (whatever that is) and make *damned* sure everybody
knows about it.  In short, I'm saying that the 'behind the scenes' argument
is invalid.

>I should hope,
>Lyonel, that if ever someone comes to you and says seriously that they
>would like to help you with something so they will be visible and
>maybe get a service award out of it, that you would be careful to wash
>your hand after shaking theirs and sending them away.

Now here, we agree... so long as you send them away after the work gets
done.  But keep in mind that just because you find that type of motivation
distasteful *still* does not negate the fact that the person got the work
done and did a good job.  I'm not saying that it conforms to my personal
moral code; just that nobody has authorized me to invalidate their works due
to our differences.


I'd like to take this argument and turn it on it's ear by pasting in a bit
of what I wrote to someone else...

The issue is not that fame and glory are a prime motivator... simply that
they make jobs more appealing.  I think you may be trying to turn this thing
into a greed issue.  Here's my proposal:  When you make a thing shiny,
prestigous, or give it a name, it *gets more attention*.  And the more
people who notice it, the more that are likely to want it.

Another analogy:  you have a truck with a GREAT engine but a poor paintjob
and you're trying to hire  a driver.  How many apply if you put that truck
on the corner with a sign that says, 'driver needed'?  and how many apply if
you put the same truck on the same corner with a new paintjob, chrome wheels
and a sign that says, 'this truck has a great engine! Wanna drive it?"?
These people
aren't greedy just because the thing snatched their attention easier... it's
just a fact of the human condition.   My best friend (Jovian) and I laugh
about it at A&S competitions- we call it the 'raven effect'.  Arts that are
*shiney* often get tons more attention than those that have less glamour but
may be more complex... particularly in costuming (my art). Watch people at
an A&S event look at costuming.  The fabric can be all wrong, the
construction can be horrible, and the
historical accuracy and documentation can be attrocious, but if that bugger
has a lot of trim and lame on it, it'll get a TON of attention.  It's just
simple advertising mechanics.

You come accross connecting personal motivation with job
performance as well... a complete fallacy.  There are an equal number of
those
motivated by awards who perform well as there are people with 'pure' motives
who can't perform for diddly squat.  As a matter of fact, I have noticed a
trend in the professional world of people being goal oriented doing *better*
jobs than those who work 'for the welfare of my fellow man'.   Almost every
self-help book out there has 'set a goal' as one of it's central themes.  It
may not be
me or you, but it sure is true... hey, that rhymed.

I'm curious to see how you feel about this point of view, Donal... does it
have more validity than the other?

Dieterich




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