Jim Whitt, Contributing Editor

A few months ago I received an unusual request from a speaker’s bureau. They had a client that was looking for a motivational speaker who could teach them to “lasso.” This narrowed the field considerably. Having actually made my living as a working cowboy many moons ago, I fit the bill.

The client, one of the nation’s most successful homebuilders, was having a conference at a dude ranch in Texas. After visiting with the client on the phone, we decided to incorporate a roping lesson into my presentation and then I would coach the participants as they tried their hand at it.

About 100 people would be involved, so logistics would be a challenge. We decided that we would set up 20 roping dummies. The next problem would be ropes. I scoured the country for 100 used ropes. After purchasing ropes in Texas, Wyoming and California I pretty much had the used rope market cornered. Now, for the moment of truth.

The day of the motivational “roping” arrived. After my talk, we divided the group into teams of four or five and set our steers of straw in a big circle. I gave them a brief tutorial on how to throw a rope, let them practice awhile and then held a competition to see which team could make the most catches in five throws. We had ourselves one big rodeo. It was great fun.

When first approached about this program, my greatest concern had nothing to do with the roping itself. Let’s face it, I’m not going to turn out any world champion ropers in one session. The trick was how to incorporate the roping into my presentation as an experiential object lesson. Without that, the whole exercise would simply be fun and games.

I tied the roping lesson to my fundamental principle of human behavior: “Without a purpose our only motivation is reward and punishment.” Reward and punishment can be used to train any animal. While humans are animals, we are unique in that our animal bodies house the human spirit. That means we are the only animals that can be intrinsically motivated. We possess the power to choose our behavior.

Our animal bodies die and decompose. Ancient Egyptians tried to preserve the body through the process of mummification. They thought so little of the brain that they removed it prior to this process. They believed that the heart was the seat of the intellect, the will and the emotions. Science has proven that the neurological control center is the brain. The head houses the brain but it is the human spirit—our heart and soul —that exercises our free will.

What’s this got to do with roping? Consider this fundamental principle of livestock handling. Control the head and you control the animal. When we are motivated intrinsically it comes from the heart. Our intellect, will and emotions are channeled into actions via the brain. Control your head and you will control your animal. You will never beat your animal body into submission. It must be led.

I thought about my motivational roping lesson recently while reading an article by Jennifer J. Salopek in T+D Magazine entitled “Engaging Mind, Body and Soul at Work.” The article dealt with the subject of spirituality in the workplace and the author posed these questions: “When employees say they want to bring their whole selves to work, what does that mean? And what should employers do about it?” I don’t want to rehash the article but I will share my ideas on the above questions.

According to a Gallup study, 55 percent of employees in the workforce exhibit “no enthusiasm” for their work. Gallup described them as “not engaged.” Nineteen percent were described as “disengaged”—they were so negative that they poisoned the workplace. Imagine the impact this has on the bottom line if 74 percent of employees are not engaged and have no enthusiasm on the job.

Now, how do organizations typically try to motivate these employees? In simple terms, they appeal to people’s needs and/or fears using reward and/or punishment. Reward and punishment work great if you’re training animals and, since humans are animals, we will respond to these stimuli but with minimal success as the study validates. Organizations are trying to “motivate” humans the same way you would train any animal, while completely ignoring the one motive that is unique to our species—purpose. They are failing to appeal to the heart. We are created to fulfill a specific purpose in life. We naturally want to give ourselves to a cause— something bigger than ourselves. When this is missing in our work, then reward and/or punishment are our only motives.

Employees bring their “whole selves” to work every day. If people find no purpose in their work, then only their animal bodies are engaged—not their spirits. This explains why 74 percent of the workforce exhibits no enthusiasm for their work. Enthusiasm comes from the Greek word for inspired—entheos. En (within) + Theos (God) means God within. If you want enthusiastic people you have to appeal to the part of them that is God—the spirit. Then the “whole person” doesn’t just come to work every day—the whole person is engaged. Then they exhibit enthusiasm for their work.

All resources must be maximized for an organization to reach its full potential. Human resources are human potential. Imagine human potential as an iceberg. We all learned in grade school that what we see of an iceberg on the surface represents only a fraction—about one-eighth—of what lies beneath the water. Now, let’s apply this to human potential. When we look at people all we see is the tip of the iceberg—their animal bodies—not the “whole person.” The real potential is the human spirit, which lies beneath the surface. In order to maximize human potential, we must appeal not only to the physical, that which we see, but to the spirit which we cannot see.

Organizations that fail to acknowledge the spiritual component will never come close to maximizing the potential of their human resources. That takes me to the question of what employers should do about it. They must create a cause that’s collectively bigger than the individuals themselves. That cause should be embodied in a purpose that’s positive, powerful, simple and serving —one that connects to peoples’ spirits. They must also invest in helping their people find their singularly unique purpose in life. Then they can connect the dots between their personal life and their work. The whole person comes to work engaged and enthusiastic.

It only makes sense to approach human motivation from a scientific, psychological and, yes, spiritual perspective. The key to having engaged, enthusiastic employees is to appeal to the part of them that houses their enthusiasm —their spirit. Yes, we can rise above our animal natures and be motivated from the inside out instead of outside in. It’s a matter of the heart.

Please e-mail comments to Jim Whitt jim@whittenterprises.com