Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 36, Number 9, 1 September 2019 — A Trustee Can Maximize the Mission through Motivation! [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A Trustee Can Maximize the Mission through Motivation!

LEO ELELE TRUSTEE MESSSAGES

ourwarriorbrother, Ku Ching, describes it, "I think I see some incremental changes in certain individual trustees and some evolution overall... into OHA getting more interested and playing a more active ro!e on Mauna Kea issues. " Keep the Faith! |remember writing this article inlateSeptemberof2015, anel the Board of Trustees had just approved the Ad Hoe Committee of Mauna Kea. Our caring Trustees intend to maximize our

trust funds so we ean assist greatly in fulfilling the Mission by being able to help more of our beneficiaries. Our "mission" and purpose will be to provide funds and to grow them into

perpetuity so our generations to eome will not go without. Our members will spend time in deliberation, intentional listening, and making decisions that will move OHA forward in its overall mission of carrying out our fiduciary duties. Choices ean be driven from the inside, or from the outside. The impetus to action ean arise extrinsically, from sources outside an individual, to gain a reward or avoid a punishment. Or, it ean arise from within (intrinsically), related to (a) Authentic needs or as (b) reaction to imposed control. An attempt to impose control may work for a time, but later backfires when the reward or punishment is no longer supplied. Edward Deci, a humanistic psycholo-

gist whose work is quoted in Kohn, makes a strong case that self-determi-nation trumps control when teachers, parents or managers are trying to promote responsible decision-making. The most authentic power driving choices, he believes, arise when you understand your needs and act in ways that serve those needs. Find details in his book "Why We Do What We Do: Understanding SelfMotivation"(Penguin Books, 1996). As a former teacher, I want to share with you what I tell my students: Some of you will find my class

materials and topics more difficult than others. Indeed, some of you will struggle. But know this: it is my job to support your struggle; and every one of you will exit my class more knowledgeable about the

content, better able to navigate it, and more competent at navigating academics in general, than when you first walked in that door. And I leave you with one of my favorites: "Hardly anything important happens that doesn't have to do with relationships... It's getting to know people, being interested in them. Life is built on genuine relationships, where trust and integrity are without question. When that is there, there are no limits!" — G.T. Buck, president of Davis and Elkins College, on the roots of motivation (the lead article in online Chronicle of Higher Education, 11-17-09) Aloha au iā oe! A hui hou till October, Trustee Leina'ala ■

Leina'ala Ahu lsa, Ph.D. TrustEE, At-lsryE