Filed under: Human Resources, Landrum, Landrum Lagniappe, Mayberry | Tags: "employee motivation", employees, Human Resources, Mayberry
August 30, 2010
Mayberry Monday – “A Medal for Opie”
By Holly McLeod, PHR
Mayberry was a town rooted in tradition. Every year the boys of the town – remember from last week that this was a time before gender equality – would eagerly line up in the sheriff’s office to sign up for the annual Sheriff’s Boys Day Race. The youngsters would enter one or more races and wait with much anticipation until the big day came, each with their sights on winning the race and coming home with a prized medal.
Opie was no different when he signed up to run the 50 yard dash. He told his Paw, Sheriff Andy Taylor, and Deputy Barney Fife how he was “gonna get [him] that medal.” Barney bragged to Opie about the fast runner he was when he was younger, so Opie asked Barney to help him train for the race. They worked with a jump rope for a while, then Barney got on a bicycle while Opie ran behind. Of course it didn’t take long for Barney to tire and their roles to reverse, and it was Opie who was running ahead of Barney and his bike.
The night before the race Opie fell asleep and dreamed of running faster than anyone else had ever run. He dreamed of winning race after race, to the point his shirt had so many medals on it that he had to turn around and get one pinned on the back! Winning a medal was so important to Opie that it was all he could think about. To Opie, winning a medal meant that he would earn everyone else’s respect.
At last the day of the race had arrived. The 50 yard dash was the first event of the day, so Opie lined up with the other boys until Barney fired the shot that signaled the start of the race. Opie began running with the other boys, but quickly fell behind. The first, second and third place winners ran across the finish line with Opie still far behind. By the time Opie reached the end of the race, the track was already filled with parents, friends and other well-wishers to congratulate the winners. As the winners’ names were called, Opie slowly walked away with his head down.
When Andy and Aunt Bee returned home they found Opie slumped on the couch. Aunt Bee went to prepare lunch, and Andy sat down to talk with Opie. Andy explained that the important thing was that Opie had tried, but Opie said they don’t give medals for trying. Andy then explained that it’s more important to know how not to win something. “It’s nice to win; that’s easy,” Andy said to Opie, “It don’t take courage to be a winner. It does take courage to be a good loser. You want to be a good loser, you be proud of your friends that did win and you’ll congratulate ‘em for it.”
Opie was so full of pity that he replied, “I won’t. They beat me and they got my medal.” Andy said that if that was the way Opie wanted to be, that was fine as long as they understood each other. He then said something that got Opie’s attention — “I’m disappointed in you.”
To Opie, nothing in the world mattered more than winning a medal. A medal would have shown everyone else that he was best at something. A medal, though, is in the eye of the beholder. People are motivated by different things, but no matter what the motivating factor may be it is still something that must be “felt” by the individual. In the book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel H. Pink, Pink explores intrinsic motivation – motivation that comes from deep inside the individual regardless of what outside motivators there may be. According to Pink, there are three elements of motivation; autonomy, mastery and purpose.
Had Opie really wanted to win that race for the purpose of doing his best, I imagine he may have shown greater sportsmanship to his friends who ran faster than he did. Had Opie not been solely motivated by the medal, he may have realized that preparing for the race had made him a faster runner than before. He may have realized that he was in better shape than before and that he should set his personal goals to do better next year. All in all, what Opie needed was to recognize his intrinsic motivators. If he didn’t possess intrinsic motivation for running, then perhaps he would have been happier pursuing other goals.
After thinking long and hard about what Andy had said, Opie later came to the sheriff’s office to tell Andy he didn’t want his Paw disappointed in him. They shared a heartwarming hug, and Andy asked Opie if he thought about what he had said. Opie said he did, but didn’t understand why he was supposed to be happy about losing. Andy explained you don’t have to be happy about losing. “Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. When you lose, that’s where you have to take yourself in hand, showing it ain’t getting you down and that you’re a good sport about it, and that you’re gonna try again.” Opie said he understood, and that he was going to have to try to win the race again next year. Andy replied with the words Opie most needed to hear; “I sure am proud of you.”
Opie finally learned the lesson Andy was trying to teach. We each have goals, and we each have different motivators. Opie’s sole motivator had been winning a medal. He eventually learned the value of not only winning, but in running the race. I encourage you to find what motivates you, then go for the gold!
See you next Monday. Stay tuned…
Holly McLeod is a Human Resources Manager for Landrum Professional Employer Services and Landrum Consulting. She is a certified professional in human resources (PHR) and has more than 15 years of human resources consulting in the corporate world, healthcare and manufacturing environments
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