Motivation is the driving force behind everything that leaders do, but some sources of motivation are better than others. Personal motivation that comes from unhealthy feelings of compulsion, or “avoidance” behavior, often places people under unnecessary stress. On the other hand, staying motivated for healthy and proactive reasons, known as “approach” behavior, often alleviates stress and pressure by turning obligations into choices, a viewpoint that makes them much easier to deal with. Leaders with healthy approach-oriented motivation are also better able to handle setbacks since they view them as a learning opportunity instead of a failure.

This is a core difference between real leaders, who tackle situations head first, and safe leaders, who avoid risky situations and do not learn from their mistakes. Motivation may also be internal to a person in the form of involvement in and satisfaction derived from an activity, or it may be external in the form of rewards or returns that are desirable apart from the activity itself.

Motivation can lag over time, especially if internal motivation is replaced by external rewards that often drive extreme behavior, stress, burnout, and competition among coworkers. Leaders should take regular time-outs to reflect on and determine the health of their motivation, or they may be prone to developing unhealthy thinking and self-imposed pressure that can lead to burnout. On the other hand, leaders with the focus, ambition, and higher pressure tolerance that come with internal, approach-oriented motivation are generally more persistent, creative, and have much higher performance than their safe counterparts.

Maximizing internal motivation relies on consistently tending to three psychological needs that increase well-being and performance:
1) competency as a leader,
2) self control, and
3) a sense of belonging to a team or organization.

Promoting feelings of competency, autonomy, and relatedness with strategies like using short-term goals to measure progress, exercising choice over personal behavior, and regularly interacting with colleagues helps leaders satisfy their needs and keep their internal motivation healthy and strong.

A mixture of career goals along with short-term objectives gives direction to leaders’ efforts and helps maintain motivation under pressure, but it is important for goals to be appropriate. Effective goals must be “INSPIRED”:

* Internalized –No matter who sets the goal, the person working toward it must take ownership and commit to it.
* Nurturing –Goals should be developmental and encourage self-improvement.
* Specific –Clearly define goals so there is no doubt when they are achieved.
* Planned –Make a plan to achieve a goal by breaking it down into subtasks.
* In Your Control –Goals should be achievable through personal effort.
* Reviewed Regularly –Reviewing the progress toward a goal should be a planned part of achieving the goal.
* Energizing –Exciting and demanding goals that are just on the cusp of being achievable keep motivation and focus strong.
* Documented –Keep track of progress toward goals, which provides direction during stressful times.

INSPIRED goals can also be broken down into three categories based on their orientation:

1) goals focused on an outcome,
2) goals that refer to performance objectives that affect that outcome, and
3) goals for the underlying processes used to meet the performance objectives.

Good planning requires outcome goals to keep work focused, but whether or not they are attainable is often controlled by outside factors, a fact that can cause undue stress. Setting performance and process goals that are internally controlled not only reduces stress but also helps to draw out an action plan for achieving the outcome goal.