A few years back, I ran a half marathon with my two sisters. It was something we wanted to conquer together. And while the actual race day was fun, the training that led up to that day was a hard process of motivating ourselves and each other.
I learned a lot during that process. Mostly, that I don’t enjoy distance running, and I’d be okay to cross this one off my bucket list and move on. But I also learned when it comes to team efforts, we need a balance of other-motivation and self-motivation.
In a recent article in the TED business section, Dr. Therese Huston talked about a related concept. She said that motivation really boils down to the 2 kinds of praise we need. The first kind is focused on what she calls “we-strengths.” And the second is focused on “me-strengths.” Let’s break her ideas down a little further.
We-Strength
A we-strength is something you do that motivates or strengthens the team. It is a skill you have that makes the team stronger. While Huston doesn’t make this distinction, it seems to me that we-strengths are more external, like output. They are the things we do out of our desire to contribute to the team effort, to something greater than ourselves.
Any good marriage, partnership, or business needs team members with varied strengths. For example, at Ethos3 we have team members who are expert graphic designers, others who are more skilled at creating verbal content, and still others who excel in presentation delivery and are able to provide detailed feedback and coaching. All of these varied we-strengths make for a multi-faceted and effective approach to presentations.
When it comes to praising the we-strengths of your team, make sure everyone who contributes is recognized. This maintains the flow and morale of the team. And if you are presenting, you can build rapport with your audience by pointing out the we-strengths of your teammates. All of us want to feel like we are part of something bigger. And as Maggie Craddock of The Harvard Business Review says, a motivated team produces “collective intuition.” This enables the team to accomplish more together than they ever could alone.
Me-Strength
Another skill set we need to recognize is what Huston calls a “me-strength.” This is something that motivates you. It is what makes you as an employee or presenter or spouse stronger. It’s what “energizes” you because you find it “intrinsically satisfying.”
While the we-strength is something you give out, your me-strength is something that fills you back up. For example, public speakers can have lots of different me-strengths. We’ve identified 16 specific presentation personas, each of which have their own motivating skills. Like “the befriender” who prioritizes relationships and wins over their audience. Or “the producer” who is more motivated by putting in the work to reach success rather than building new relationships.
When you know what your teammate or spouse’s me-strengths are, you’ll want to make space for them. Huston says, “Whereas we-strengths need to be recognized, me-strengths typically don’t . . . the best way to recognize a me-strength is to make sure a person gets a chance to use it, preferably every day.”
When it came to running the half marathon with my sisters, I wasn’t going to be the fastest. Older than my youngest sister by 9 years, I knew I had a different we-strength—that of the encourager and distractor. While my youngest sister set and challenged our pace, I tried to keep us laughing along the way. And as we all learned to balance self- and other-motivation, we built a stronger team in the process. So can you, no matter the task at hand.
To discover your presentation persona, or to learn more about what Ethos3 has to offer, get in touch with one of our dedicated team members now.
