You work hard every day.  What keeps you going?  If you’re completely honest, I’m sure you’re probably like everyone else.  Some days, the answer is “Not much.”  But all the other days, what is it that motivates you?

For some people, the motivation is external… involving money, possessions, and awards.  For others, it’s internal… involving pride of achievement and personal accomplishment.  While one type of motivation is focused on the material gains as the reward, the other motivation recognizes emotional fulfillment as the reward.  Although these two sources of motivation seem to be independent of each other, by no means are they mutually exclusive.  It turns out that most of us are motivated by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.  But which of these two do you think is a more powerful motivator?

Last week, my hometown Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl 45.  Yeah, it was a pretty big deal for those of us in Packer Nation.  So what do you think motivated the players and coaches throughout the season and during the ups and downs of the big game?  Was it money, the Lombardi Trophy, and Super Bowl rings?  Or was it the validation of knowing that their dedication and teamwork helped them achieve a childhood dream?  I’d venture to guess it was both.  In the case of competition (and hopefully your life’s work), both the journey and the destination are the reward.

Unfortunately, the work most of us do every day isn’t always like that.  In all honesty, our day-to-day activities are pretty boring when compared to the high energy, time sensitive challenges found in competitive events.  There’s no buzzer or trophies when we’re finished.  When our workday ends, we go home and know that we have to get up and do it all over again tomorrow.

So how can we change that?  What can you do to find something that will spark a little motivation in the hearts of your team?

First, the hard part… you need people who truly care about the work they’re doing and actually want to be a part of it.  Unfortunately, those people seem to be harder and harder to find every day.  But once you do have the right people in place, finding something that motivates them to win gets a little easier.

Just as every team in the NFL is working to get to the Super Bowl, your team needs realistic goals to strive for every day as well.  You’ve probably never heard a head coach in the NFL say that his goal for the season is “to show up for every game and hope things go well”.  No, his goal is clear.  His team is motivated to win.  For his team, the goal is winning the Super Bowl.

What about your team’s goals… What does winning look like for you?