Joy is a more powerful motivator than fear

At The Intersection blogher, Jilliane Smith, recently shared her reflections on a Fast Company article by Alan Deutschman entitled, Change or Die.

According to the article people are motivated to change if the result of change is portrayed as positive. "Joy is a more powerful motivator than fear."

In my opinion, this maxim should be emblazoned in every nonprofit, NGO, social service, counseling, educational, government and health care facility. No wonder so many folks in the helping professions get burned out. They are driven by fear, rather than joy and often try to motivate the people they serve, their staff and constituency with fear: fear of joblessness, homelessness, global warming, terrorism, poverty, failure, punishment, violence, disaster and death.

As the saying "deer in the headlights" so aptly portrays, fear paralyzes us. Joy on the other hand, mobilizes us.

Jillian aptly notes that perhaps that is why Appreciative Inquiry is becoming increasingly popular. (FYI: A great book about AI is The Power of Appreciative Inquiry by Diana Whitney & Amanda Trosten-Bloom).

Consultants and workshop facilitators, head on over to Jillian's blog and join in her discussion about how to design workshops and consulting projects so that they result in positive change.