Recapping “The Motivation Dilemma”

Motivating people does not work because they are already motivated—they are always motivated. The motivation dilemma is that even though motivating people doesn't work, leaders are held accountable for doing it. This dilemma has led to ineffective motivational leadership practices. You push for results, only to discover that pressure, tension, and external drives prevent people from attaining those results. Adding insult to injury, traditional motivational tactics focus on obtaining short-term results that tend to destroy long-term prospects.

Motivating people doesn't work, but what does work is further revealed in the next chapter. You will learn how to begin weaning people off motivational junk food and offer them healthy alternatives that will prove to be the key to your motivation dilemma.