Interviews+with+motivation+experts

=Interviews with motivation experts= //Michele Atkins//

Michele Atkins is the Adult FCS and County Director in West Tennessee. Michele has worked with Extension for over 15 years and has provided programming for youth and adult audiences. One of the qualities of an Extension Agent that has worked so many years is that they become a mentor to the less seasoned agents. They can provide great examples of successes and failures, share program ideas and become a valuable resource. I have known Michele for eight of the nine years that I have worked and I have taken some of her ideas for youth programming and utilized them in my own county program.

//** 1. **// ** Bio: I need a little background. Where you work, who you work with and anything else you want to add. ** **Michele Atkins, University of Tennessee Extension, adult FCS and County Director**

** 2. What motivates you? Our text defines motivation as the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained. ** I am most motivated by having an “I can do it” attitude. When I set forth to do something, I want to finish it and WILL get it done. Beginning a project is motivation for me, since I do not leave anything “undone.” I am a self- motivator and like to see accomplishments and achievements. I am also motivated by praise. When I receive praise, I want to try harder and do more. I am motivated by seeing people achieve and knowing that I helped them accomplish their goal. I am motivated by results and want to do more. I am a list maker and do make lists and that helps keep me motivated to reach each goal and cross off everything on my list. I seem to be an over-achiever too and praise, accomplishments and acheievements make me want to try harder and do more .

** 3. How do you “motivate others”? (co-workers, friends, family, children etc)? ** I motivate others a lot with praise and appreciation. I think that goes a long way in getting others motivated and wanting to do something. I also offer a lot of encouragement and always offer a helping hand!

** 4. Who has motivated you? How has it impacted you? ** 4-H members have motivated me. My parents have motivated me and I have motivated myself. I am my own biggest critique. I go with self-motivation a lot. The impact that my parents had on me at a young age inspired the self motivation. They always strived me to do my best and were strict in this area. As a child, I did not sit around under the tv…I always had jobs or projects. That encouraged me to work hard and not be “lazy.” I am still that way to this day

** 5. Have you ever had the opportunity to observe other’s motivation. (maybe in a classroom environment)? How would that compare to others that you have observed? ** One teacher comes to mind. She always motivated others by praise and encouragement. She always expected children to do their best and expected NO less. They respected her and were motivated. She was gentle, yet firm and what she expected was well-known. Many do not encourage motivation anymore. They want to be your “friend” instead and many do not want you to go out of your comfort zone and try things. This encourages unmotivation.

** 6. Have you had an opportunity to help someone “change” their motivation? If so, please share your story. ** My son. He is 6 and did not want to do homework or any school work at the beginning of the year. I encouraged him and reminded him that homework brings good grades and there are consequences for each action. I sit with him each night and help him with homework and encourage him to do his best. Lots of praise for those good grades. Now, I do not have to tell him to start homework. He does it on his own and does not mind doing it. He knows that studying produces good grades and a happy mommy.

** 7. Thorndike, Pavlov and Skinner are all behavioral theorists. (If you can remember, their theories please share your thoughts and maybe the a theory that you most agree with) ** Pavlov - Stimulus produces a consequence. I totally agree with this concept. The more you do things to motivate someone or something, the more they are motivated!

//**Andrea Bachl Johnson**//

Andrea is my sister-n-law. She has been married to my brother for 3 years and they have a 15mth old little boy. Andrea has a leadership role at BBT as a project manager. She has has to motivate her team each day to conduct their jobs effectively. Leadership plays an inportant part in motivating others through observation and example. When you have an effective leader, then you are going to have more motivated co-workers.

** 1. Bio: I need a little background. Where you work, who you work with and anything else you want to add. ** I am a project manager for a large financial services corporation. BB&T is the nation's 11th largest bank and has over 32,000 employees. I work in our company's Information Technology department and manage complex software and IT projects for the Financial Services, Wealth Management, and Asset Management lines of business. I work with the employees of these lines of business, usually at the managerial level. On an average day, I probably work with 25-30 people .

** 2. What motivates you? Our text defines motivation as the process whereby goal-directed activity is instigated and sustained. ** I am motivated by an internal drive to perform good work and to please my management and coworkers. My motivation stems mostly from the desire to be a high performing employee and to receive praise from other people. I am much less motivated by material wealth. I am also motivated by my Christian faith which calls me to serve God and God's people. I am much more motivated to do work when I feel like I have a higher purpose and am making a difference in the lives of others .

** 3. How do you “motivate others”? (co-workers, friends, family, children etc)? ** I have been motivated by good managers that encourage and praise me on a daily basis, one or two professors that have invested time and energy in me and have believed in me, and by my family. My family, especially my husband, encourages me in my daily work and I have a strong desire to provide for my family financially. When work gets hard, I remember I am working to provide for my family.

** 4. Have you ever had the opportunity to observe other’s motivation. (maybe in a classroom environment)? How would that compare to others that you have observed? **

In observing others, I notice that some people are motivated by money, others are motivated internally because they want to be good workers, and others are motivated because people are "watching" and evaluating them. Some people work because they know they are being measured and need to meet certain minimum requirements to keep their job--or in a classroom: to pass their class.

// 5 **. Have you had an opportunity to help someone “change” their motivation? If so, please share your story.** // I have had a chance to help someone change their motivation as a manager. I've worked with an individual employee to not just look at job security, but to also look at personal job satisfaction, contribution to the company and society, and personal improvement. This has been a hard thing to do and requires constant encourage and feedback. Motivation is not an easy thing to inspire. To some degree, I think it is "innate."