I used to work at a smaller plastic surgery office as an office administrator. At this job, I struggled to influence one of my colleagues. This person was consistently lazy and very uncooperative, which in a small office it creates an unfair amount of workload for the rest of the team. If one person does not pull their on weight, it becomes a big problem since everyone else had more tasks on their plate. Even though I tried my best to ask them kindly for their cooperation on multiple occasions as well as divided the workload fairly so nobody had more to do than anyone else, all my efforts fell short. Reflecting on this experience, I realize I was missing a lot of critical factors.

The main issue I ignored was his lack of motivation. According to Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy $(2019),$ motivation is a key driver of individual performance, and it is influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. I definitely failed as his supervisor in noticing or even asking what could have motivated him to be more present and cooperative. He could have been unsatisfied with his job or he felt disconnected or alienated from the team. If I had taken more time to understand his internal drivers, I could have approached the situation from a different angle and strategies in order to influence his intrinsic motivation. In addition, if I had involved the entire team in the decision$-$making process of task division, I might have been able to created a better approach in which they could all support each other.

I wish I had gotten to know him more in a personal level so I could have been aware of his personal challenges and work preferences. This lack of understanding is also seen in Brooks $(2012)$ when Peter$$s lack of engagement at work in "Office Space" is partially due to the lack of meaningful conversation and understanding from management. If I had just talked to him more one$-$on$-$one, I could have addressed the situation better. All these things could have helped me improve my management style by providing him with incentives and more structured tasks that were his strong suit rather than just repeated requests on my part. This experience definitely taught me more about motivation and how it can be used to influence others.