Instructors who use intrinsic motivational strategy tap into the learner’s idea of “self” and teach the learner what an idea of success looks like. The idea of winning is something that is crafted by trainer and trainee and a pathway to understanding is forged by both parties working as a team. In his book, “The Great Game of Business,” Jack Stack talks about creating games which encourage employees to beat goals based on numbers and to find their place in the organization and how they fit into the bottom line.
There is a current idea that training to win may come from setting measurable objectives which take a trainee through a series of tasks which will create ascension in ranking until the driver has achieved the highest levels possible. These levels are based on actual obtained objectives and are measured as to capability. Think of it in the same way as practitioners of karate ascend through a belt system (or, if you will, process system managers in Lean Six-Sigma) passing tests and demonstrating ability while feeling this sense of deeper achievement.
In our program at Crowder College, we do this for students by setting MLO’s (Measurable Learning Objectives) and playing challenging games for the students to compete for rankings. Those who affect to this idea of, “winning” do better than those who feel the weight of training to pass without the exhilaration of the win! The question for trainers, coaches, managers, dispatchers, supervisors and everyone else who is a leader on our team becomes how do we make this task or set of objectives a game that can be won? How do we generate a sense of team while the trainee is learning the business? How can we coach the students to affect to the professionalism that will keep our company’s turnover lower, mistakes reduced, and employee satisfaction ratings excellent?
