What’s In It For Me (W.I.I.F.M.).I.I.F.M.)

What’s In It For Me? (W.I.I.F.M.)

MGT 425 Leadership & Motivation

What’s In It For Me? (W.I.I.F.M.)

Anne Loehr’s video explains the importance of motivation. You cannot persuade or convince someone to do something that they don’t want to do unless it is mandatory, or you can identify and share with them how it relates to what it is they are trying to accomplish. In other words, what’s in it for me ? In this paper I will identify a time that I found myself less than motivated to complete an assigned task. I will explain why the task didn’t fulfill the W.I.I.F.M. element and I will explain what could have been done differently to better motivate me.

Identify a situation where you were less than motivated to cooperate or be productive

When I was much younger, I joined the United States Navy. I learned quickly that you do what your told without question, or there will be a consequence. That alone motivated me to do what I was told, staying out of trouble is what was in it for me. As I honed my skills, gained experience and moved up in rank, I started to question required tasks and assigned duties. I began to believe that we did certain things, just to do them and for no other purpose. For example, when a high-ranking officer would visit our squadron, we were required to empty all trash bins and then leave them empty. If we had something to throw away, we were required to walk outside, across the parking lot and then dispose of it in the dumpster. I thought that was the most ridiculous thing in the world. This is just one example of the things that used to drive me nuts. There were many more things that I didn’t feel it was necessary to waste my energy on, things that would go unnoticed, they would not be positively evaluated and the outcome would not satisfy anyone’s needs . It was a dog and pony show and I had finally had enough five months in to my tour in Afghanistan.

Explain the assigned task or requirement that did not fulfill the WIIFM element

I was instructed to take our shop ladder and clean it, I made a face and said are you kidding me? It’s a ladder and we are in a dessert, it can’t be cleaned. My supervisor looked at me, flexed his muscles of rank and authority and told me not just to clean it, but to make it brand new. Other than a quick wipe down, I did not believe there was a purpose to this, I was wasting my time and effort for nothing.

Explain what could have been changed to help better motivate you

My supervisor didn’t truly know me, he wasn’t aware of my capabilities and I didn’t appreciate being assigned busy work that would result in no reward or recognition. If my supervisor had worked at building a relationship with me over the prior five months in Afghanistan, he would have known what motivated me. He would have known of my desire to promote and move up within the Navy. Recognition and respect is a huge factor when being considered for promotion . If he would have explained to me that how you do one thing is how you do all things. Develop the discipline and habits now, so that in a life or death situation, you do it right. Let upper leadership see your attention to detail and what they can expect from promoting you. These simple words would have changed my mindset, he would have had a better than new ladder had he presented the request to me that way.

Conclusion

Motivation is key to getting things done. To motivate you must find interests and goals. You must identify the W.I.I.F.M for everyone you lead, or else the result of what is requested or assigned will not be what it could. In this paper I identified a time that I found myself unmotivated to complete an assigned task. I explained why the task didn’t fulfill the W.I.I.F.M. element and I what could have been done differently to better motivate me.