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Imagine you're the president of a student organization, and you have a meeting tonight. You are tired, and you are in a bad mood. You have a paper due in less than 48 hours, and you haven't started. You're hungry, your boyfriend is griping at you because he never sees you. More than anything, you'd like to turn off your phone and fall asleep early.
But, you have this meeting. You are president. Do you go?
Of course you do. You're president, and you can't just blow it off. You might sit there forcing yourself to be pleasant, but you will be there. Your sense of guilt, duty or obligation will motivate you to grab your backpack, take a deep breath, and go.
Guilt is a powerful motivator. It works. Make someone feel obligated to do something, and it's hard for them to refuse. The problem is that it's inherently negative, and it does not build positive feelings toward the user or your organization. You can use it sometimes, but if it's the only tool in your motivational arsenal, you'll end up with a lot of angry, unmotivated members who resent you and your organization.
Some organizations and advisors depend on guilt, duty or obligation as our primary means for motivating their students? We say things like:
"You need to come so you can relay the information to your members" "You volunteered for this, so I expect you to step up and do the job" "You promised to uphold these values, didn't you?" "If you don't do this, who am I going to get to do it?"
Do a little evaluation. Do your members come to your meetings because the gatherings are meaningful and/or fun, or do they only come because they feel obligated? Do your students do the right thing because it's important to them, or simply to avoid the inevitable guilt trip they will get from you if they don't? Do you enjoy leading your organization, or do you have to psyche yourself up just to get the basics of the job done.
If the answers to these questions are yes, then it's time to start motivating your members or students in better, more positive ways.
Image by Mark Nickels. Check out his work here.
