Q. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO TURN CAN'T INTO CAN?

A. Improved morale and motivation

These days, most people don't need more knowledge to be more effective and successful. We're all up to our necks in information and knowledge and if there's a few gaps, well, you can just log on to an internet search engine and be deluged with more detail that you believed possible within a matter of seconds.

No - what organisations and individuals need more and more of these days is improved morale and motivation - that 'get up and go' element that ultimately separates the winners from the losers, the leaders from the 'also rans'.

"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about." Victorian writer Charles Kingsley, said this - and it's as true today as it ever was. Ultimately people aren't primarily motivated by money and gain and the luxurious lifestyle that goes with them - they are inspired and moved by the opportunity to make a difference.

Enthusiasm, commitment, and a drive for achievement are what ought to get us out of bed in the morning, raring to go, and keen to take on new challenges. If that seems no more than a preposterous pipe-dream in respect of your employees or colleagues - or indeed your own attitudes - then you've nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying some of these suggestions.

• Understand what motivation really means. It's all about feeling in control of your own destiny, making best use of your skills and talents and feeling happy to be where you are. It's all about giving, and very little about monetary gain.
   
  
• Find what motivates each individual. We are all driven to a greater or lesser degree by either the need for power (control), affiliation (relationships), or achievement. If you know what matters to someone, you know what to emphasise in your dealings with them. Needless to say, understand your own drivers first!
  
  
• Ensure everyone understands their part of the big picture. Often people are disaffected or de-motivated because they just can't see why things are the way they are, or what's important about what they do it. Regularly explain and clarify.
   
• Encourage people to live their dreams. Sometimes people are just in the wrong job or the wrong place. They don't fit and they'll never be happy. The best you can do is set them free by helping them to find out what they really want to do.
  
  
• Keep raising the goal posts incrementally. Lack of motivation can result from lack of real challenge - so it's important to keep setting new goals for success at a level that is only just, tantalisingly, achievable.
  
  
• Forget status, respect success. Those who most deserve our praise and admiration are those who set themselves challenging goals, then overcome obstacles and demonstrate amazing ingenuity and perseverance in achieving them. It doesn't matter how old they are, or what position they hold - they're champions.
  
  
• Think big, but act small. Take the time and trouble to recognise minor successes and breakthroughs. Celebrate and give recognition and praise for those who have achieved what for them is a huge amount, even if, in the overall scheme of things, it may be fairly commonplace. And don't forget to reward and praise yourself -sometimes you'll be the only one who knows or cares what you've achieved - all the more reason to positively acknowledge it and stoke your motivational fire.
  
  
• Mentor and coach. Many people lack motivation because they feel stuck. They can't see the way forward, they don't know what to do and they don't believe things can change. Acting as an objective sounding board through coaching and mentoring can break down barriers and unlock potential, enabling people to create a new sense of purpose and drive.
  
  
• Finally, don't expect from others what you don't do yourself. Look to your own levels of motivation and lead by example. Don't say 'It can't be done', rather ' How can it be done?' After that, ask 'How can it be done better than anyone has ever done it before?' Then, just do it!

© Rona Cant, The BIG Question