Managing People, 2nd Edition

4   Negative behaviour

We have all, at some time, had the experience of being either upset, anxious or angry about something and trying to ‘forget it’ by immersing ourselves in work. At first it doesn't work, the thoughts that made us anxious keep returning. Sometimes it doesn't work at all. Work and the anxiety compete until the problem goes away or concentration on work eventually triumphs. The point being made here is that we cannot motivate ourselves while we are in any way anxious. If you, as a manager, are trying to motivate a person who is anxious, they simply will not respond because they will not see what you are doing. The message is that anxiety intervenes in the motivation process. This is why any serious consideration of motivation ...