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Exploring Motivations – Sheet 1

Work on this sheet first before moving to sheet 2. Below is a list of descriptions, and questions you might consider, when
thinking about work. Read through each description & question, then rank them from 1 to 13 in order of importance to you
(most important ranks as 1). Write the ranking number in the RANK column, leaving the OUTCOME column blank for now.

RANK OUTCOME HOW IMPORTANT IS… PROMPTS

The freedom to run your business

Do you ever feel restricted?
activities as you wish and to be
Do you feel overcome in rules & red tape?
independent of your superiors - the
Do you often feel in disagreement with superiors?
opportunity to be ‘your own boss’?

The tangible rewards you get for doing a How important is winning to you?
job well, such as being singled out in a How do you feel when others get recognition?
publication or speech? Do you go out of your way to win awards?

The feeling that you get from successfully
accomplishing a job, overcoming
obstacles and obtaining goals?
The amount of time that you have free to
use as your own, and the extent of
enjoyment that you get from the use of
that time?
Is your performance relative to your effort?
How do you feel when you have completed a task?
What kind of goals do you set for yourself?
Do you find yourself neglecting things?
Have you been postponing a desired activity?
Do you really enjoy your leisure time?

The sense of control that you feel you Do you feel that you have control over your
have over your destiny and the destiny of destiny?
others - your feeling of influence to direct Do people tend to lean on you, ask your approval?
the behaviours of others? Do you find yourself doing things you’d rather not?

The respect accorded you by your peers

Is prestige important to you?
and by business or community associates
Do others tend to hold you in esteem?
- how others feel that you ‘stack up’
Do you find yourself doing things to gain esteem?
amongst your peers?
Are you proud of what you earn?
The amount of personal financial income
Do you tend to talk about money or how you spend,
provided by your job?
save or invest it?
Do you feel guilty about not exerting enough
The constant feeling or need to show
effort?
continuing improvement in the
Do you continually feel that you must do more?
performance of your job?
Do you want continual motivation from superiors?
Are you confident that you do as well as you can?
Your feeling of self-worth. How you ‘stack
Do you feel guilty about poor performance?
up’ against your peers in your own mind?
Are you satisfied with your performance?
Do you spend enough time with your family?
The amount and quality of activities that
Is time meaningful when with them?
you engage in with your family?
Do they talk about the time that you spend with them?
The certainty that you feel of maintaining
Is job security important to you?
your work position - the feeling that
Are you afraid to try something new?
tomorrow will be at least as good as
Do you do things that tend to secure your job?
today?
Do you think that you have grown over the past year?
The feeling of developing as an individual
Do you do specific things that result in improvement?
or becoming more competent, more
Do you have plans for doing more?
efficient, a better person?
Do you ever feel you are bored?
The activity that you work on, the
Do you feel unchallenged by your work?
intellectual challenge of your work?

Now proceed to sheet 2.

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