One aspect of working on a remote team is the ability to be self-motivated and self-disciplined enough to finish the job without someone needing to constantly keep tabs on you.
When managers hire remote staff, they look for self-motivated individuals who are driven and motivated to begin and continue working on tasks with minimal external encouragement. In fact, many employers believe in hiring for self-motivation (the right attitude) over skills.
Team members who are unmotivated can result in managers having to spend a significant amount of time prodding them to complete tasks, and most managers agree this is not something they enjoy doing… particularly at a distance.
Let’s look at some of the key characteristics of self-motivated individuals.
They are optimistic and don’t fear failure.
Self-motivated people see fear as a challenge and believe they can overcome any setbacks and continue to move forward to achieve their goals. It can stem from early life experiences – positive or negative – that give them the motivation to want to achieve more in life. For those who are not self-motivated, the fear of failure can be immobilizing and cause them to do nothing. Self-motivated individuals are more likely to embrace failure – it’s a learning curve – which can also lead to a fuller and more rewarding life.
They set goals and achieve more.
People who are self-motivated tend to be more organised and have good time management skills. They set high but realistic goals that excite them and they’re not afraid to go the extra mile. Often they’re willing to put in extra hours resulting in higher on-the-job performance but they don’t expect any rewards. And because they are intrinsically driven individuals they’re more engaged, loyal and committed to their job.
They tend to be more balanced individuals.
When you’re happy and have balance in your home life and work life then you are less stressed, and in turn, you are more able to focus on achieving your goals. It’s very hard to stay motivated when your home life or work life is ‘out of whack’. The added stress makes it difficult to focus and your performance drops. Self-motivated individuals don’t tend to compare themselves to others quite so much either. They’re more concerned about what they need to do to improve their situation, not worrying about what others do or think.
So how do you match up? If you have these traits, you’ll make a great remote worker and be highly regarded by employers.
And if you want to work on improving in some of these areas and be more motivated, make a list of the things you’d like to change and how you’re going to achieve your goals. Even something as simple as reading inspiring books or starting an exercise program can make you feel so much more positive. And remember, you can’t lose if you just keep trying your best.
