to instill a sense of ownership in our people, and they will increase their investment into the team. The concept of ownership is the foundation of R3.
R3 = RESPONSIBILITY, RESPECT, REWARDS: This is illustrated as R to the third power in the GET MOR3EE acronym to help the leader understand that these three things aren’t to be added upon each other sequentially but are to be thought of as multiplied together to a power. Power is the appropriate word, because responsibility, respect, and rewards are all powerful drivers in a high achiever. Together they are explosive. As a leader, I need to understand how to align these needs of the individual with the mission of the organization. The better I can do this, the higher potential payout from the individual.
Diagram 1: The Three Rs and Motivation
RESPONSIBILITY: The individual made an investment and accepted some ownership; now give them some responsibility. Set a standard and present a clear picture of the role. Explain the duties of the role. Convey your expectations of them in that role and ask them if they are ready to accept ownership of those responsibilities. Confirm their commitment.
RESPECT: Respect is a vital part of any relationship and this process. It’s no coincidence that respect is at the heart of this formula. Respect fosters the goodwill of the organization. Without respect the formula is unsustainable. It would be akin to ripping the battery out of your car. It disrupts the function of all the other components and takes the energy. If you have a person who will not respect the process, the people, or the standard, he or she will hold you back from reaching your team’s full potential. I can always work with respect.
REWARDS: What is the payoff for their efforts? What is the ROI (return on investment)? What’s the incentive? What’s the benefit? A reward can be tangible or intangible. Have you as the leader aligned the reward with the work? Have you portrayed the reward as valuable and worth their efforts and commitment?
ENCOURAGEMENT: Belief from a leader is a huge component of the encouragement piece of GET MOR3EE. Encouragement is powerful and necessary for an organization to flourish and grow. Accountability is also encouragement. As leaders we need to recognize the power of consistent encouragement and the power of encouragement through accountability. Encouragement is the fuel that leads to empowerment.
EMPOWERMENT: Empowerment is an individual’s self-confidence to take initiative in doing more, which fuels creativity, imagination, and passion and creates even greater momentum and motivation.
MOMENTUM: If you combine all the elements as you cycle through the GET MOR3EE formula, then you will begin to build momentum with individual players and ultimately with your team.
THE GET MOR3EE CYCLE OF SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND EMPOWERMENT
Diagram 2: The GET MOR3EE Formula Cycle
GET MOR3EE is a formula for creating sustainable growth in the people you are leading. As you cycle through all the elements in the GET MOR3EE formula you begin to build momentum. Imagine that each time you reach empowerment, motivation leaps forward, and the cycle turns a little bit faster. As you coach your players through each turn, the ability, attitude, and confidence of the individual grows. The growth may seem small at first—almost invisible in the beginning. But as a coach, you continue encouraging the growth of your players’ talents and budding potential. Eventually, almost out of nowhere, breakthrough occurs. The consistent application and alignment of these elements in the personal development of your players result in the exponential growth of their talents and potential. You will see a higher rate of growth than what naturally would have occurred. When a team of players are all experiencing breakthrough, then you have built massive momentum. Positive momentum is a coach’s best friend.
WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES OF A GET MOR3EE COACH?
A GET MOR3EE coach:
• is highly people-oriented and highly results-oriented.7
• is a give-more coach. A GET MOR3EE coach loves to win.
• is a championship coach. A GET MOR3EE coach is a coach who cares.
• seeks knowledge. A GET MOR3EE coach pursues excellence.
• is an enlarger. A GET MOR3EE coach is a maximizer.
• is inspirational. A GET MOR3EE coach is an instiller.
• is a leader. A GET MOR3EE coach is a planner.
• is visionary. A GET MOR3EE coach is a problem solver.
• sees things as they are, while maintaining unwavering faith that they will succeed.
The next chapters discuss each property of the GET MOR3EE formula, detailing the principles, providing examples, and sharing stories to help you make the connection to why each of these properties is vital to applying the formula effectively. “Motivation” and “Encouragement” are the longest chapters because your vision for your team and how you fuel your team are extremely important. The ownership chapter sets up the R3 motivational properties. I divide responsibility, respect, and rewards into three separate chapters to focus in on each property with you and give them their due, but these should really be thought of as R3 and multiplied together. Empowerment of our people is the product we are seeking with the GET MOR3EE formula.
CHAPTER 3
MOTIVATION
You have to recognize where you are but not lose the vision of where you want to go.
We start with motivation.
When you think of the role of a coach, what is one of the first things that should be in any coach’s job description? What is one of the top qualities? The ability to motivate. “Influence” is another term we often hear. I’ve heard leadership guru John Maxwell make this statement: “Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.”8 Influence is the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something. To affect the character … the development … the behavior.
So, it seems that a coach’s capacity to motivate someone is of utmost importance to his or her effectiveness as a leader and a coach. Earlier, I shared the Alpine Institute study that found that only 36 percent of coaches have effective motivational technique training. If you are going to be truly effective at any level of coaching, then increasing your capacity to positively motivate people is an imperative skill for succeeding with your players and teams. If we understand that one of our primary roles is that of a motivator, then to be effective as a coach, leader, and motivator we need to get to know people and understand what motivates them.
We seek to inspire people through motivation, which I liken to breathing life into another. To motivate is to provide someone with a motive for doing something or to stimulate a person’s interest or enthusiasm for doing something.
“The secret of weariness and nervous disease in the natural world is a lack of a dominating interest.” (Oswald Chambers)9
The primary role of any coach is to grab the players’ interest and motivate them. I think the preceding quote illustrates this principle
