Empowerment has a lot to do with trust, acceptance, personal commitment and empathy. These things can only be partially learned. However, every leader should know what "motivation buttons" there are in relation to children (but also adults). Experienced leaders use the motivators that are appropriate to the situation and person.
The Motivators
- Goals: Set not too high and not too low, a goal sometimes generates enormous "powers of accomplishment". What is too high or too low depends on the individual. Many a youngster is motivated precisely by a (high) goal that the leader thinks the child cannot achieve.
- Rückmeldung: A good Rückmeldung can spur enormously. Here it comes to a good mix between justified praise and justified criticism / improvement suggestions are found
- Responsibility: Responsibility has only the adults - so children have learned from an early age. If they are given responsibility, it is like a promotion in their job. Closely related to this: Trust.
- Small gestures: A small recognition in the form of a simple "thank you", a small gift, a text message - all these things can give a small motivational boost - as long as they are used according to the situation and the person.
- Visible success: Sometimes we have to make sure that the success of the work is visible to the children, e.g. by showing what has been achieved through the kids' efforts. With child sponsorships, this is exactly what is implemented - there the success is not in a nebulous number according to the motto "so-and-so many people have been helped somehow", but there the success has a face and a name.
- Model: I can only motivate others if I am motivated myself. As simple as this!
- Leeway of design: To implement something to the last detail as it is prescribed "from above" is not very encouraging. People (not only children) want to bring in their own ideas, be creative themselves, create something unique. Where can you give them room to play?
- Take suggestions for improvement/change seriously: When suggestions come in about how something could be done better or simply differently, you should listen carefully. Instead of justifying why it "definitely won't work" you should ask yourself "how it could work". When people contribute to something, it becomes "their baby" and that motivates tremendously.
Image credits
Cover photo: © Marvin Siefke / pixelio.de
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