Response to Jessica Godfrey 10/24/12

Describe your motivation in each of these areas: school, personal goals, social, and family.
1. Quite honesty, my motivation for staying on top of my schoolwork at BYU has been complete and utter terror. The all-consuming fear of a late assignment, bad grade, or not being able to handle college assignments has motivated me to push myself extensively. In the long run, my educational motivations go much deeper than that. I am motivated to gain an education because I want to contribute to the world and serve in the most effective ways possible. To excel in the world an education is necessary, and the prophet has counseled us to seek higher education.
2. In general, goals are powerful motivators for me in and of themselves. When Jessica was talking about rewards, I realized that the biggest rewards I can give myself are the accomplishment of goals and having balance in my life. I am motivated to set and achieve personal goals because I know that is how I can grow closer to the Savior and become who He wants me to be. No one else knows what things I personally need to work on and improve; only I know that through the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
3. When it comes to priorities, social is pretty far down my list. I tend to put academic interests above social goals. However, I am socially motivated because I know “people skills” are learned best by actually interacting with people. Also, I believe the Lord puts people in our lives we are meant to touch and influence, and being a part of social activities is a way to meet and bless the lives of others.
4. I have been ten times more grateful for my family since having started college. Family relationships are so important! Heavenly Father has given everyone a family and they are the social structure we should be spending our most concentrated efforts in. I am motivated to keep strong family relationships because of the promise we have to live with our families forever. I have been so blessed with the family I have, and I want to continue to love and serve them.

How can you motivate others as a leader in the following areas: school, work, family, or social? 

It is much more difficult to motive others than to motivate just myself. Before I can motivate other people, I have to be motivated myself. I think the different aspects of motivating others apply to all four of the above-mentioned areas. Jessica mentioned some great things in class yesterday that apply to this question. Some key points that stood out to me were having the right perspective, delegating meaningfully, and loving people. As easy as it would be to do some projects myself, it is important to keep an eternal perspective and realize that while getting the job done is important, it is not as important as the individual growth of people. As I keep this in mind, it will be easier to motivate people to become better rather than just accomplish a task. Delegating meaningfully is a fantastic concept that I loved. Jessica emphasized how important it is that we as leaders delegate responsibilities that are meaningful and show appreciation for the people we lead. Loving others was the final point that stood out to me the most. People are willing to do anything if they care about you, so having and showing genuine love is the most effective motivator.

Explain the motivation style of your assigned leader for Monday's lab.

My assigned leader was Jiang Qing, who I had never heard of before this assignment. She was an actress, joined the Communist Party, and eventually became Mao Zedong’s third wife. She became involved with music and theater arts and worked to integrate proletarian ideas (which consist of the middle-class overthrowing the wealthy) in her theater and ballet performances. Eventually, she joined the Gang of Four, which was a group of four radical leaders that held prominent positions in the Communist Party of China. The power of the Gang of Four declined after Zedong’s death, and the four leaders were found guilty of plotting against the state. Qing’s motivation style was certainly strong, but her motivations were not exactly open and honest. She motivated people through under-handed ways and she didn’t have the best intentions at heart. Instead of motivating people through genuine love, she did so in a coercive manner. Her motivating power came more from force and authority than it did from inspiring others to be better.