People do not naturally drift out of the comfort zone. They drift right into the center of it. Therefore, it takes a leader to move people to places that will stretch and grow them. Such a leader is Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
If you are not familiar with the motivational brilliance of Coach Tomlin, watch the video below:
Recently, defensive end Cameron Hayward said of Coach Tomlin in this article from The Athletic, “He finds ways to motivate every guy on this team. It’s about having a relationship with every man that walks into that locker room. Every day in practice he’s interacting with guys, and after practice he’s walking around the locker room doing it, too. He has relationships with everyone, and there’s less room for chaos because of that.”
7 Secrets To Being A Great Motivator
From Hayward’s comments, we learn the following 7 Secrets To Being A Great Motivator from Coach Tomlin.
- Great Motivators Aggressively Make Moments To Motivate – One again, you cannot drift into motivation. You drift into conformity. As a result, great motivators are intentional, even aggressively. Hayward starts with, “He finds ways to motivate.”
- Great Motivators Are Indiscriminate – This is the importance of leadership. If you want every person in your organization to be highly motivated, the leader must model it. The leader must go first. Coach Tomlin motivates “every guy on this team.”
- Great Motivators Are Individualist – Motivation looks different for everyone in your organization. What motivates one person will not motivate another. You must take the time and put in the effort to discover what spurns each person into action. Great motivators customize their communications. Hayward said, “It’s about having a relationship with every man that walks into that locker room.”
- Great Motivators Have Systematized Their Stimulus – The great motivators are not irregular in their provocations. They are consistent in their persuasion. “Every day in practice he’s (Coach Tomlin) interacting with guys.”
- Great Motivators Are Initiators – They seek opportunities to improve the lives of others. As said in the video above, they run to coaching. Great motivators are not passive. Hayward noted, “and after practice he’s walking around the locker room doing it, too.”
- Great Motivators Build Great Relationships – If you are a motivational speaker, you must have a relationship with the audience. And if you lead an organization, you must develop relationships with those you are called to serve. Relationships are the tracks motivation runs on. People will not follow you if they do not want to. Coach Tomlin understands this. “He has relationships with everyone.”
- Great Motivators Solve Problems – When you attempt to motivate someone, who are you trying to do? In the end, you want to increase someone’s happiness by encouraging them to do the things that will result in a better life. But great motivators do more than just give a good speech. They also give people the tools needed to change their lives. One of the benefits of Coach Tomlin’s motivation is less disarray, discord, and confusion. Hayward concluded, “there’s less room for chaos because of that.”
Conclusion
If you want to be a great motivator of the people in your organization, you must do the following:
- Aggressively seek out and make moments for motivation.
- Motivate everyone you can. Don’t discriminate.
- Individualize your motivation.
- Systemize your stimulus. Be consistent.
- Initiate. Run to motivation.
- Build great relationships.
- Solve problems and give people the tools needed to make them happier.
These are the things great motivators do.
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