When Motivation Fades, This Is What Leaders Do

I teach public speaking at Georgia Southern University, and there’s a point in every semester when the syllabus starts to look less like a plan and more like a threat.

The excitement has worn off, there are endless assignments and exams, and the snooze button is suddenly making a very compelling argument.

Welcome to the middle of the semester.

The workplace isn’t much different. Projects that started with enthusiasm have become routine, the deadlines keep coming, and that initiative everyone was so excited about three months ago is now just another thing on the to-do list.

This is when leadership matters most.

Whether you’re a parent leading your family, a CEO leading your company, a manager leading your department, or a student taking responsibility for your own success, there are times when you have to generate enthusiasm rather than wait for it to show up. Here are three ways to do that:

• Reconnect to purpose. When we’re buried in the work, it’s easy to lose sight of why we’re doing it. Remind yourself and your team what you’re working toward and why it matters. The answer probably shouldn’t be, “Because it’s on the spreadsheet.”

• Share progress. When the finish line feels impossibly far away, remind people how far they’ve already come. Progress is motivating, but only when people can see it. Sometimes the most encouraging thing a leader can say is, “Look what we’ve already accomplished.”

• Paint the future. Help people imagine what success will look like and what it will mean when they get there. What will be different? What will their hard work make possible? A compelling picture of the future gives people a reason to keep moving, even when they’d rather be doing just about anything else.

Here’s the thing about leadership. You won’t always feel enthusiastic yourself. There will be days when your own motivation is running dangerously close to empty. This is exactly when you must step up and lead.

Enthusiasm isn’t always something you feel before you act. Sometimes it develops because you choose to act.