Hope & Practicality from Elisabeth

Elisabeth (Harney) Sanders-Park is co-author of No One Is Unemployable, The WorkNet Model and the WorkNet curriculum, and President of WorkNet Solutions

Last week we discussed three steps when motivating “unmotivated” clients. This week I want to turn to three practical steps you can take.

Three Steps

1 – STEP: Identify what motivates the client in life. What are they willing to put energy into getting, or getting away from?… making someone proud, proving someone wrong, owning a home, getting out of a living situation, financial independence, staying out of prison, owning a business, salvaging or severing a relationship, getting away from the kids for a while? These are motivators! Make use of them. Unless it’s illegal, dangerous or outside what your services can support, support everything you can. Too often, we don’t want to support a choice, not because it’s truly damaging, but because it’s not what we want for them. This is a misuse of time, especially when we’re looking to jump-start this process. Only when we recognize what motivates them in life can we create value for work by attaching work to what they care about. We’re re-defining work as “something that gets you what you really want.”

2 – STEP: Now that you know what they value, help them realize “work can help you do that!” Get great at attaching work to almost anything. I’ve worked with clients who were motivated to never to see me again, sleep as much as possible, or watch their favorite Soaps. Well… “work can help you do that!” (watch your attitude here). The skill is to see and communicate how work can get me out of their life (once working they won’t see me much, but until then I’ll be a constant), help them get paid on a job that includes sleeping (overnight manager at a residential facility, mattress tester, etc.), or help them get paid while their Soaps air, afford a DVR and watch them every evening! Once work is attached to something they want, proceed to the final step.

3 – STEP: Launch into the Life/Work Planning (or career planning) process to discover work they should pursue, because 40 hours a week is a long time to endure work you dislike, even if it helps you get things you want. Clarify their most important fascinations, skills and values, then combine and explore them to define their career direction and next job(s) so they can job search. All the while, remain mindful of the “things that make them go in life” and use them as motivators. They’ll remain motivated to do things that are clearly linked to getting things they value. “Work can help you do that!”

This article appeared originally in the Career Planning & Adult Development Network Newsletter www.careernetwork.org

Photo by Chris Vaughan

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