The Will to Act is an Asset: Motivation is the Greatest Management Resource
"I don't feel like doing it," "I can't keep my motivation up"—we often hear such words.
However, isn't motivation actually the "will to act" itself, rather than something temporary like a "mood" or "excitement"?This time, I would like to think about such "motivation" and the "will to act."
■ Action creates motivation
Many people think, "I'll act when I feel motivated."
But in reality, "I feel motivated because I acted" is often the correct order.
Action creates emotion, and emotion in turn supports the next action.
I believe that true motivation lies within this cycle.
In other words, I think motivation is not a power that wells up at special times, but rather a "mechanism of will"
to keep moving yourself in daily life.
■ A "mechanism" to enable action is important
Don't you think will is like a muscle?
It gets stronger if you train it, but it gradually weakens if you don't use it.
But if you start using it again, it will properly return.
Therefore, what is important is not whether you have motivation, but
how you create an "environment where you can act" or "meaning that makes you want to act" within yourself..
That mechanism is what nurtures will and becomes the power to generate action.
■ Management is creating a "mechanism to reproduce will"
I think the essence of management is exactly the same.
The greatest resource for moving people is not money or technology, but human will.
Because there is will, challenges are born, lessons are learned from failure, and results accumulate.
Organizational development is "arranging the structure where will is born.".
Sharing a vision, a culture that affirms challenges, psychological safety—
these can all be called mechanisms for circulating the management resource called motivation.
■ The will to act is the greatest asset
Motivation is the will to act.
And the will to act is the greatest asset indispensable to both individuals and organizations.
No matter how much the times change,
the driving force that moves people can only be born from "will."
That is precisely why I think it is necessary to
continue to nurture the "will to act" within yourself.
That is all for this time. See you again.