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1. Mind Control

Successful people have the ability to run their own mind. They don’t let other people or circumstances run it for them. They re- programme their negative conditioning. They raise their level of self-esteem and they develop a positive attitude through contin- ual positive self-talk. They don’t react – they think!

2. Belief

Successful people have a passion for what they believe in. They set goals and achieve them by motivating themselves. They have vision.

The Motivational Manager doesn’t react, he thinks.

3. Energy

They have lots of vroom! They manage stress and they know how to relax.

4. Rapport

They have the ability to communicate and get on with people, and to persuade people to accept their point of view.

5. Courage to act

People who make a success of what they do are willing to try. They’re prepared to make mistakes, to assert themselves and not get too concerned about what others might think.

We’re going to look at each of these Five Factors in turn.

FACTOR 1 – MIND CONTROL

Motivational Managers have a deep understanding of their own minds. They’re aware of their needs, their strengths and weak- nesses, and their emotions. They’re honest with themselves and, with their team members.

You have to decide who runs your mind. Is it you or is it some- body else?

Let me give you an example. I’ve always had a thing about good timekeeping; it’s something that’s been programmed into my brain. If you agree to meet me at 8.30 in the morning, I’ll be there at 8.20; I will always do my utmost be on time.

So I used to get angry when a member of my team would show up late for a meeting or an appointment with me. When I got angry I’d get stressed and end up saying something to the team member that I regretted later. Therefore, I learned to start think- ing about the situation and tried to see it from their point of view and not let my programming run my brain.

That doesn’t mean to say I ignored the lateness or did nothing about it; I thought very carefully about what I wanted to say and spoke to the team member about how we would resolve this situ- ation. This is a very important area for us and we’re going to look at it much closer in Chapter 5.

The point about this is I’m not prepared to allow that team member’s behaviour to run my mind. Getting angry and stressed is not good for your health and it isn’t a productive way to moti- vate your team.

I mentioned earlier about Sir Alex Ferguson kicking a football boot across the dressing room and hitting his star player in the face. Of course we want to see passion in a team leader but that sort of behaviour isn’t healthy for Sir Alex and isn’t motivational for the team. They know when they’ve played badly and getting hit by a flying football boot doesn’t help the situation.

John Wooden, reckoned to be the best-ever sports coach in America, taught his players self-discipline and was his own best example. His demeanour was always contained. His philosophy was that if you needed emotion to make you perform then sooner or later you’d be an emotional wreck and then non-functional. In running their own mind, Motivational Managers know what they’re good at and what they’re not so good at. Again it’s impor- tant to be honest with yourself. Some managers take on tasks they’re not good at, thinking that they should be able to do them. They then make a complete mess of it and ‘beat themselves up’ for being so useless.

On the other hand, don’t ever put yourself down; challenge and test yourself before deciding whether you can or cannot do something.

I was once in a position to apply for an internal promotion. However, I didn’t do it. I got it into my head that I wouldn’t be able to handle the financial aspects of this new management position. When one of my colleagues, an

Don’t ever put yourself down; challenge and test yourself before

deciding whether you can or cannot do something.

accountant, asked me why I hadn’t applied, I explained about the financial bit. She didn’t pull her punches – ‘You should have applied, you idiot. You would’ve been able to do the financial bit, it’s not that difficult, and I would have helped you anyway.’ You can imagine how I felt after that. I had allowed some pro- gram in my brain to influence me and missed an opportunity for promotion. It’s important to listen to that voice in your head which is driven by your programs, but also to challenge it.

When I now hear that voice in my head saying, ‘You couldn’t do that’, I reply with, ‘Well I’m going to give it a try before I decide.’ Motivational Managers have confi-

dence in themselves. They accept their weaknesses but they don’t see them as failures. They speak out when they don’t know something and they ask for help when they need it.

Have you ever asked a question at a meeting possibly feeling a bit stupid and thinking everyone else knows the answer? At the coffee break someone then says, ‘I’m glad you asked that ques- tion because I didn’t know either but I didn’t like to ask.’

Motivational Managers have the courage to challenge what they hear in their own mind and also what they hear from other people.