What is your motivation direction and what triggers you into action? Do you move Towards an objective or Away From problems to be solved or prevented? Do you avoid unpleasant situations or do you know what you want and go for it?

Are you good at identifying all of the potential drawbacks of a plan or do you dive in and find out about the problems later?

The direction of your motivation is simply - do you move Towards good things or Away From bad things?

It's important to remember that your motivation may change in different contexts, for example you may have an Away From pattern at work and a Toward pattern in your relationships.

Understanding this about yourself and your team members at work is critical to great communication and team work. People with an Away From motivation can often be seen as overly critical and negative whilst those with a strong Toward motivation can seen as naive by others because they don't consider potential problems with a project or a plan. In any project or team both types have an important role to play in the overall success of a project and the business as a whole.

Toward

If you have a toward pattern in a given context, you are focused on your goals and think in terms of goals to be achieved. You are motivated to have, get, achieve and attain and you get excited by your goals. If you have a toward pattern you may have trouble identifying problems with a goal and not take potential obstacles into account.

Away-from

If you have a away-from pattern your motivation is triggered by solving problems and you will notice what needs to be avoided and got rid of. If you have this pattern you are likely to be energised by deadlines and threats (i.e. the stick as opposed to the carrot). You will be good at troubleshooting, solving problems and pinpointing possible obstacles during planning. Away from people have some difficulties managing priorities because whatever is wrong will attract much of their attention

Think about how you can use this information to understand yourself and your team better.

To discover your true motivations and your ideal work, join us on this 2-day fun,creative and inspiring Career Transitions Workshop