Capacity Building: Goal setting and Motivational
Techniques without the Coercion
As a registered NDIS provider in Cairns, one major aspect of our role is to encourage capacity building with our participants. This is the process of helping individuals develop their knowledge, skills, capabilities, and overall confidence when it comes to being more independent in their everyday life. There are many ways we can encourage capacity building, and it is not as simple as a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Every participant is different, and effective capacity building should always empower as opposed to control behaviour. But how do we determine where the line is between coercion and encouragement? This is probably the most important question support providers and support workers should ask themselves when helping participants set goals and motivation to achieve them.
The approach we take toward capacity building is essential. Ultimately, our goal is to instil self-motivation within participants to achieve long-term capacity building.
With this in mind, let’s delve further into what capacity building consists of and how goal setting can be done through motivation not coercion.
Motivational vs confrontational in the context of goal setting
When it comes to capacity building, it is important to be mindful that every participant has different strengths, experiences, capabilities, and challenges. Therefore, goal setting should always be done collaboratively with participants as opposed to delegated and imposed onto them. Choice and control are two things that should always be at the forefront of our minds. When approaching any matter regarding a participant’s life and daily decisions, capacity building should be used as a tool to help strengthen an individual’s ability to make decisions, take purposeful action, and solve problems – it should not be used as an excuse to coerce participants into making decisions you personally feel is best.
This distinction is incredibly important. Not only to ensure respect for the participant and their rights to autonomy is always maintained, just because coercion creates compliance, rarely does it instil genuine commitment, confidence, and motivation within people. So, how should we, as support providers and support workers in Cairns, approach the topic of goal setting?
Determine realistic goals
The first step to capacity building involves helping participants determine what it is they want to achieve and when they want to achieve this. Not only does goal setting help provide direction, but it also gives them something to measure their progress against. One useful technique that can be utilised when helping participants set goals is the SMART approach. This acronym considers five key variables; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
This approach can also offer a guide for how you approach the topic of goal setting and capacity building with your participant. For example, rather than barking “You have two months to improve your communication skills since this is something you have said you could be better at”, you can encourage critical thinking skills and question “You have mentioned you want to improve your communication skills. What would improvement look like to you? And what approach do you think could help you achieve this? And how much time do you think you will need to achieve this?”. Unlike the first approach, this approach puts the power back into the participants hands and ultimately encourages ownership over their own goal setting without coming across as abrasive.
Autonomise and motivate, do not pressure
Most importantly of all, participants need to feel they have control over their life, and it is not being dictated for them. As a support provider, it is important to ensure we always stay in our scope of knowledge and avoid becoming a self-proclaimed accountant, dietician, lawyer, or any form of expert in something that is outside our field. However, helping participants reach out to the right people and pointing them in the right direction is something we should be doing. This does not mean to say support workers should take matters into their own hands and contact experts on the participants behalf. Rather, motivation and encouragement for them to do this on their own accord should be provided.
With this in mind, the type of language we use is crucial. Rather than demanding “You must contact a dietician in order to help you lose weight”, suggest “a dietician will know a lot about eating healthy and could help you achieve your weight loss goal. Do you want some help getting in touch with one in your local area?”. This way, it shifts the autonomy back to the participant.
Create a safe and supportive environment
Participants should always feel they can turn to their support workers for, and the clue is in the name, support! When taking on a new goal or challenge it is more than likely participants will experience some obstacle or setbacks. Capacity building involves more than just telling someone to “try harder”, so on the day’s morale is low, supports should provide encouragement to keep trying and reassurance that setbacks are normal. Not everyone can be self-motivated all the time, so creating an environment where participants feel safe to communicate when they are feeling slightly defeated or demotivated is the role we play. Ultimately, building resilience within participants indirectly works towards building capacity.
Not only that but recognising when a participant has made progress or achieved something new should be vocalised and celebrated. Even if it is just a small step, simply acknowledging this and expressing praise can help instil confidence and encourage them to keep going.
Measuring Capacity Building: encouraging self-reflection without the coercion
Another element to capacity building involves reflecting on what is going well and alternatively, what could be improved to help achieve a goal. Taking accountability plays a huge role in this, but how you establish this is the difference between a coercive and non-coercive approach.
Let’s consider this hypothetical example.
Your participant, John, had the goal to increase his daily activity levels and walk 1.5km per day, every day, for the next two months. The two months he gave himself to achieve this has come to an end and John checks his daily activity tracker app to find he has not been walking as far as he had liked to each day. John seems to be deflated by this result.
So, what would an appropriate response to John’s situation be?
Firstly, praising John for the efforts he has put in to achieving this goal should be given and he should not be made to feel humiliated or foolish. Next, having an open and honest conversation with John about why he feels he has not achieved this goal should be had. Leading with questions such as “So, what do you feel stopped you from achieving your goal, John’, as opposed to, ‘I personally think you didn’t achieve you goal because you were a bit lazy last month, weren’t you?’. Encouraging the participant to think about why they personally feel they have not achieved their goal as opposed to telling them your personal thoughts helps to instil good self-reflective practices that ultimately work toward building capacity.
Secondly, help John establish a plan that will help him achieve this goal going forward. Asking questions such as “What changes do you feel you can make this month that will help you achieve your goal?” and “Is there anything you feel we could do as support workers to help you stay on track?”. Again, encouraging John to check-in with himself and devise a strategy of what he could do going forward avoids the coercive approach of “Going forward I think you should get up every day at 8am and walk 1.5km. Because, you don’t want to fail again, do you?”. Not only does this approach come across as belittling and intimidating, but it will not help John improve vital introspective skills which is a crucial component to building capacity and becoming more independent.
To conclude, there are many approaches support workers can take to encourage capacity building, but the most effective approach prioritises skill development with participants as opposed to directing them. When it comes to goal setting and motivational techniques, helping participants develop realistic and achievable goals that align with their personal values is essential for relevance and motivation. After all, capacity building should make people feel empowered, not coerced.
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