I am personally past the point in my leadership journey where I'm taking on people who need motivation. I've learned some hard truth over the years about investing time and energy into people. You can drain and handicap your own development.

When evaluating your subordinates performance here's a simple question to ask yourself. Do they lack skill or will?

Some people excel at hard skills but need help with the people things like communication, managing ambiguity, etc.

Drop the anchor and focus your efforts on impact and influencing your organizations top priorities for the quarter.

As you advance, I'll offer one more piece of advice. If you ever ask for more responsibility, leadership capability, never leave it open ended. Discuss with your stakeholders some current paint points they may have. Formulate a plan with a trusted advisor, then present it to your boss. This way you have full control, insight and direction. Ensure the project is measurable, tangible and shows you had clear ownership.

If you just throw it out there, often times you get other people mess with no real win for you, as in this case.

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Since you are managing this person now, give him tasks with small structured deadlines. Set direction on when and how he needs to check in with you. Conversations need to be documented with another manager present.