5-23-1953. 29,035. That is the date and the number of feet the team of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay ascended to become the first individuals to summit Mt. Everest. Talk about rising to new heights! Can you imagine the amount of time, effort, and training that went into preparing for this accomplishment. About a year ago my wife and I hiked part of the Rocky Mountain National Forest in Colorado. We started at the Wild Basin trailhead some 8,500 ft elevation and our “summit” was 9,300 ft at Ouzel Falls. The elevation change of almost 9,000 feet in the span of 12 hours, most of it gained via our plane ride from Dallas that morning, was enough to cause various discomforts and challenges along the way. So looking at summiting Mt. Everest is all the more impressive.
The challenge the team of Hillary and Norgay faced was obvious. Perhaps lesser know is the support of their team. The 1953 British expedition included 350 porters, 20 Sherpas, and tons of supplies to support a vanguard of only ten climbers.
With all the achievements we have seen over time, whether mountain climbers, leaders, saints, astronauts, teachers, researchers, olympians, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, you might be wondering, “How do they do it? How are they motivated to such heights?…and “Why on earth is it so difficult to motivate….
…my adolescent child to pick up there room?!!”
…my employee to strive for improved performance?”
…my loved one to help out around the house?”
If it isn't your child perhaps it is the student in your classroom. Or a co-worker or direct report at your office. Maybe someone on your athletic team. Maybe even your spouse. Maybe you are the one lacking the giddy-up. Motivation can be elusive and thus quite frustrating and unnerving. What is the key to grasping hold of motivation whether it be yourself and/or others?
“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay the first to reach the the summit of Mt. Everest in May 1953.
Of course, there isn't only one pathway to cultivate motivation. Conversely there isn’t just one way to sabotage motivation. Look at the unfortunate turn of events in 2018 involving the University of Maryland football program and the coaching staff. An article reporting on the culture of the program described it as one, “based on fear and humiliation”. We live in a competitive world. Think of how many millions upon millions of individuals participate in competitive activities and how engrossed the nation becomes either attending and watching games on TV. No, I am not saying the answer is do away with all activities, sports, or the like. I grew up playing soccer year round and learned so many valuable lessons. Competition can drive us to excel. To push ourselves further. Life is full of challenges. It is imperative for each of us to learn to navigate both success and failure. The key to motivation is striking the right balance between challenge and support to where opportunity yields growth. The image below illustrates the various measures of challenge and support result in.
Find the right balance of Challenge and Support is foundational to motivation.
So as a parent, teacher, coach, employer, mentor, spouse, sibling, friend (and on and on), we each have the chance to influence one another - and ourselves too! What kind of influence is up to us. Do you set high, rigid expectations and then walk away? Do you offer tons of support and welcome a very low bar? Do you set low standards and pay little attention to whether goals are being achieved, if one was ever even set? Do you set work/assignments/chores/tasks and then never follow-up/follow-through on it? Think about what that communicates. Do you set unrealistic plans and then shame the failed results? Think about the message in that as well.
The important first step for ourselves is to take inventory of how we are currently motivating others. You can use the above chart as a reference point and see where you land most of the time in your approach. Then ask yourself where do you ultimately desire to be? Practically, how can you begin to move the needle in those that you lead? Is it no longer asking for deliverables that you give little to no attention to. Is it using more encouraging language for someone who is struggles? Is it being more tolerant of mistakes made by that person? Are you giving someone way too much rope, in an effort “to empower them”, only to swoop in at the last minute and criticize their shortfall OR rescue them to kept them from failing? Are you soliciting feedback on your approach to motivation? Who are you turning to, if anyone, to support you in your growth in motivating others successfully? Who are you seeking to help you to improve your internal motivation?
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
In conclusion, as we think about the journey once more of Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay, it was both the challenge as well as the support they received that allowed this monumental accomplishment to take place. Aren’t we all in need of both? When all else fails how about a little eye of the tiger!!!
