The Reiss Motivation Profile ® for Coaches

We are driven by those things that we desire and value most, and as coaches, naturally we attempt to motivate others in ways that we are personally motivated but this can be the reason for ineffective results simply because others are not motivated exactly as we are. Imagine how powerful it would be if you had an exact profile of the specific motivational make-up of each of your fighters. The Reiss Motivation Profile is being used in sports coaching with both professional and Olympic teams. It is the only standardized assessment of what motivates an individual fighter.

The RMP identifies each fighter’s deepest held values and desires that motivate them, which helps coaches to diagnose the cause of both high and low performance issues with remarkable accuracy. Equipped with RMPs, coaches achieve far better results when we motivate fighters according to that person’s individual drivers, rather than our own.

The RMP is an indispensable tool for coaches because it provides a precise read-out of each fighter’s tendencies and how they react under stress. Here are just a few examples of the many fighting tendencies explained by a motivation profile:

• Fighters with a strong need for acceptance should not be openly criticized in front of others and respond better to corrections made more privately.

• Fighters with a strong need for tranquility may have a tendency to perform poorly (“choke”) under stress.

• Fighters with a strong need for status may feel less driven against non-prestigious opponents.

• Fighters with a strong need for power may feel less driven against inferior talent.

• Fighters with a strong need for expedience may commit penalties under stress.

The results, explained in plain language, reveal how best to motivate an individual fighter, their tendencies under stress, and their attitudes toward training, coaches, and referees. It helps coaches understand why and to know which fighters perform better in training than in the fight, and vice-versa. In addition to individual fighter profiles, coaches receive a RMP as it relates to their team which offers key insights to effectively motivating the team as a whole.

Until now, coaching used to be a combination of experience, observation, and intuition. Finally, coaching is an exact science and coaches not using Reiss Motivational Profiles of their fighters are, in comparison, simply not using perhaps the most powerful tool available to them, nor can they be said to be doing everything they can to develop their fighters to their fullest potential.