THE MOTIVATION FACTOR COVER PAGE

Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you’re willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.

~

At the end of this workbook, you should be able to:

When you think of staff motivation, many things may come to mind like more money, a bigger office, a promotion, or a better quality of life. The truth is, no matter what we offer people, the right motivation comes from within. Regardless of how it is characterized, it is important to get the right balance to ensure a motivated workforce. The tools offered in this flipbook will help you become great at motivating yourself and others.

The following chapters will help you instil personal motivation and encourage others to grow beyond low moral and feelings of being demotivated:

“Money was never a big motivation for me, except as a way to keep score. The real excitement is playing the game.” ~

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation proposes employees work for more than a salary. Certain job factors contribute to satisfaction while others prevent dissatisfaction. These are distinct categories which are made up of different elements, as: • The opposite of satisfaction is the absence of satisfaction rather than dissatisfaction • The opposite of dissatisfaction is the absence of dissatisfaction rather than satisfaction. As illustrated, an employee can be: • Dissatisfied by hygiene factors (not referring to personal hygiene but rather basic aspects to be maintained at the workplace) which are secondary to motivating factors, yet at the same time be … • Satisfied by motivating factors intrinsic to the job itself.

• Job security

• Supervision

• Achievement

• Responsibility

• Status

• Work environment

• Recognition

• Advancement

• Salary

• Policies/procedures

• Growth

• The job itself

• •

General satisfaction Prevention of dissatisfaction

• • •

High motivational levels High satisfaction levels Strong employee commitment

Allowing employees to be creative and strive for work-life-balance, being trained and selfdevelopment aligned to their personal interests, and overall job satisfaction.

Getting positive feedback and being encouraged with recognition for work done builds selfesteem which again encourages good work.

Having friends, family, and a sense of belonging as part of an engaged workforce where one feels valued and appreciated.

Job security, belonging, and a physical safe environment in which work can be done without fearing personal harm.

Employees must be able to rely on their employer and colleagues for access to their most basic needs, regardless of the level or type

Fulling your life purpose and leaving a legacy

Being free, feeling respected, having status, getting recognition

Having significant relationships with friends, family, and colleagues

To feel safe, have a job, be healthy, and to own property

Air, shelter, food, water, sleep, to pro-create

• Maslow’s theory influenced Herzberg’s theory. • Maslow viewed personal needs to all be on one hierarchical list. • He states as the needs on each level of the pyramid are met, the level of satisfaction will rise while, at the same pace, dissatisfaction will drop.

• Herzberg proposed two very separate elements of motivation. • Herzberg presents satisfaction and dissatisfaction as separate and that both need to be attended to simultaneously. • He holds that one could have high levels of satisfaction on the one end while experiencing lack of satisfaction on the other.

However, Maslow’s pyramid could be split into sections: • The top sections (and particularly the peak) would correspond somewhat to Herzberg’s “motivation” factors

• The lower sections would correspond to Hertzberg’s “hygiene” factors.

Rather than seeing these two theories as separate, consider them as supplementing each other to help us better understand employee motivation.

Henrietta and her manager Carlos were working against the clock on a recipe for a new formula of baby food. They’ve exhausted their options, did brainstorming and generated several solutions to their problems but started to get bored halfway through. They didn’t have the motivation to continue, until Carlos used Herzberg’s Theory of Motivation to differentiate between hygiene factors and motivation factors to see how to motivate Henriette. Henrietta felt putting in overtime wouldn’t measure up to the pay she received, yet she loved the challenge to find a new formula. They agreed she would get time off for the hours she worked overtime and eventually managed to create a new formula. Henrietta was happy and motivated, and Carlos was relieved that his employee was satisfied.

“There's always the motivation of wanting to win. Everybody has that. But a champion needs, in his attitude, a motivation above and beyond winning.” ~

As Herzberg’s Theory suggests, different things motivate different people. At work, the workforce is represented by a vast variety of people as well. To build on Mazlow and Herzberg’s theories, this section looks at the carrot and whip metaphor to motivate people as well as the plant approach.

According to this theory, people want to know: • How they will be rewarded for their work that will motivate them to perform; and • What to avoid at all costs to steer clear of reprimand or something more serious – as represented by the whip. The approach is to tie a carrot in front of a horse pulling a cart to run faster while the cartdriver will use the whip to prevent the horse from going too slow. • The cart-driver could either use the carrot to remain out of reach of the horse, or to reward the horse when they reach their destination. However, from a work performance perspective, not giving a reward that was promised almost always has a negative influence on the team in the long run. And for the carrot, employees would need to push themselves to outperform previous records and be rewarded when that happens.

The theory of motivation by threat of punishment is a dangerous approach. Leading a team by putting them in distress may get results from some people, but can lead to a culture of fear, and seriously impede creativity and performance. Combining the carrot and the whip could include: • Poor performers to buy coffee to the team at the end of the shift or forfeiting a privilege that other receive • Giving a small reward to those who excelled during that shift. Be careful not to humiliate people with the whip – it should entice them to perform rather than break them down. Clearly define the limits. Also note, something meaningless also won’t be taken seriously, then the whip ceases to be a motivation.

As a ‘plant’ requires a combination of different elements to flourish, like sunlight, warmth, water, and food; this metaphor proposes that employees also require a combination of factors to remain motivated to deliver consistent high performance. Because people are all different, you need to use sound judgment to ensure that employees get the right amount of each factor. Make employees feel valued and supported without letting them become pampered. Also hold them accountable to perform without making them feel threatened with a proverbial ‘gun’ against their heads.

Linking it to Herzberg’s essential elements of motivation for example: • Some employees are motivated with a healthy challenge • Other employees work better when getting recognition for work done • Another group would be highly motivated with achieving high levels of quality. Always consider the different motivational ‘driving forces’ for each employee. It is many people’s view that a team with a combination of these different motivating factors works best. This theory is about knowing which ‘plant’ (employee) requires which type of nourishment (motivation) in which measure. By getting the balance right you can ensure the best ‘greenhouse’ arrangement (environment at work) for employees to consistently outperform themselves.

Georgie and Wanda owned a small bakery off Main Street and were staying in late to figure out new methods of employee motivation. They have some trouble with their baker, who keeps on arriving late and doesn’t seem to enjoy his work. Georgie and Wanda were at a loss until Wanda recalled what she had learned about the carrot and the whip theories. She suggested to give their baker an incentive, and Georgie agreed.

They sat down and figured out what their baker would benefit from the most, and how they could keep him motivated without using ‘the whip’ as Georgie felt this method was too robust for their purposes. They finally narrowed down their options and presented their baker with an incentive for working harder and arriving on time. Both Georgie and Wanda were overjoyed that their business benefitted from the increase in productivity while it was evident that the baker were much happier as well.

“People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” ~

The concept of the reinforcement theory is used to encourage or reinforce good behavior with a treat and punishment to discourage negative behavior. If you have trained your dog to sit before receiving a treat or punished the dog for jumping on the furniture, you have used the reinforcement theory. It is applied effectively for people as well for example by rewarding good performance and punishing negative behavior. It is a coherent and successful theory to ensure great performance.

• Conditioning starts in childhood when parents would reward a child with pudding when eating all their vegetables to reinforce that behavior and punish the same child for kicking the dog to reinforce behavior to rather care for the dog.

• Conditioning happens when behavior is linked to a specific stimuli. The knowledge of how we respond to stimuli was articulated in 1911 by E.L. Thorndike in what he called the “Law of Effect”. Indicating that in a situation where normal results can be expected, a response to stimuli which is followed by something good will become more ‘right’ in our minds, while a response followed by something ‘bad’ will become more ‘wrong’.

• B.F. Skinner responded to arguments that human drives should be respected and not ‘programmed’ through reinforcement, by saying that people learn behaviours based on what resulted from them. • If somebody tends to transgress because they enjoy it, but then consequently face reduced freedom, they will become less likely to transgress so often. The thought of transgressing can become painful when associated with the idea of what will result. This theory is known as “behaviorism”.

Accepted this reinforcement theory as truth calls for understanding how to apply it to ensure the desired behavior.

Reinforcement theory allow you to modify your behavior or that of others by associating undesirable behaviors with undesirable outcomes. You do this by following a strict pattern and recording the results faithfully. Refer to the results to see what patterns of modification work best. The following is a trusted four-step pattern for behavior modification:

Define the behavior to be modified. Record the rate at which that behavior takes place. Change the consequences which result from that behavior.

If this does not succeed in preventing the behavior, change the consequences to a greater or lesser extent.

As things stand, it is up to the employer, line manager, or other supervisor to decide how to apply reinforcement and behavior modification in the workplace.

When transgression is deliberate it is important to set a clear, causal link in the mind of the individual.

Also use behavior modification as part of coaching when an employee is working less effectively without the intent to break rules.

Reinforcement theory can also be used to reward employees for great performance with something like an extended team lunch. They will be encouraged to continue the good work by the knowledge that their ability to exceed expectations has been noted and rewarded, and may be rewarded again.

• John tends to leave his workstation to speak to his friend Precilla. John is perfectly capable of delivering good work when he keeps his mind on it. Yet this frequent distraction is infringing on Precilla’s work, who does not have the willpower to refrain from leave his workstation. • This happens three times a day outside of scheduled breaks, and goes on for ten minutes at a time. This results in 30 minutes lost daily per employee which calculates to one person hour lost per day. • Mary, his direct manager, initially told both to return to their workstation which helped. Yet, John then changed his behavior to visit Precilla when Mary wasn’t around. Mary learned about software that indicates when someone leaves their workstation, motivated its implementation, and subsequently has had not further problems from John.

“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

~

• Victor Vroom’s Theory of Expectancy focus on the outcomes of a specific behavior as a person’s motivation rather than their needs to drive their behavior. Vroom suggests that the best motivation is to concentrate on the result of work as being the ultimate goal.

• He splits the process down into three sections – effort (for which motivation is essential), performance, and outcome. The theory is that if the employee is sufficiently motivated to achieve the results, their performance will be better as a result, and the outcome will to some extent take care of itself as a result of improved performance – which will itself be a result of greater effort.

Victor Vroom, a respected professor and researcher in the business world, worked with Edward Lawler and Lyman Porter in 1964 to devise the Expectancy theory of motivation. It proposes that people’s behavior stems from choices they make to achieve something else. The underlying truth in this theory is that people will do what works out best for them. The important element is the outcome. While the process is characterized as Effort (E) > Performance (P) > Outcome (O), meaning:

An increased effort: E > leads to

Greater performance: P > which will bring about

A better outcome: O

What makes a satisfactory outcome for one individual may not necessarily work for another.

While the Expectancy Theory may seem simple and largely selfexplanatory, Vroom does make specific reference to elements which can easily be ignored, and without which the theory would not work. It is therefore beneficial to take note of not only the three factors above, but also to note Vroom’s three “Variables” being:

Valence Expectancy Instrumentality

The importance that a person places on the expected outcome. If the outcome (reward) for successfully completing a project is for the employee to get more important projects when they would prefer time off, they will place less value on the outcome, and their motivation to perform well will suffer, leading to reduced effort. Ensuring that the valence of a task is at a suitable level is a significant motivation.

The belief that more/ increased effort will lead to increased/better performance. This depends on having the right resources, skills, and support do the job. It is important to note that more effort will not always lead to better results if using the wrong tools, the wrong person doing the job, or working with people have limited interest in reaching the same outcome.

Believing that an individual performing up to a certain level will receive a reward with a beneficial outcome to them. Telling someone they will receive a reward with a beneficial outcome to them and convincing them of that are two different things. Important Instrumentality factors that ensure that the theory will work are: • Understanding that performance equals outcome (so the reward depends upon the satisfactory performance) • Trusting that the people who promise the reward will deliver • Trusting in the capacity of the people judging the performance and the outcome

Motivation to complete a task well will surely lack if the outcome is uninspiring. The most important level of the E>P>O equation is to offer something inspiring that will be coveted.

Effort can only lead to performance in the right conditions. Offering a fine reward to someone for building a dog kennel is worthless if you provide them with only two wooden planks and a broken screwdriver.

The effort will rise to meet the outcome. How this is used in the workplace will depend on what the company can deliver.

This goal can only be met if you present them with favorable conditions being the right tools and equipment.

This is important where big rewards have been offered before, or when offered for the first time. There is little likelihood for a small company to deliver on a lavish incentive for improved performance, like a sports car. Also ridiculous is a large company offering a chocolate bar as the reward for a project which will make millions for them. Even worse when a company fails to pay what they promised as an incentive.

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“Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal -- a commitment to excellence -that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”

~

A healthy variety of personality types is a sure recipe for success in any organization. While there are numerous personality tests available, it is hard to explicitly define them. Yet there is a set of soft skills which all workplaces require, and these are best met by a team of people with different personality types.

Where everyone has the same personality type and a problem arises, there is likely to be conflict as everyone tries to take the same role in solving it. Or, great opportunities could be missed as everyone takes on the same approach to solving the problem.

A personality type is defined by characteristics visible when doing important work like solving intricate problems within your team. These characteristics, also called “soft skills” do not relate directly to work but can aid or restrict your and others’ ability to work. Reason and etiquette dictate how much we allow our personality to surface, yet most people avoid becoming too fixed in how they behave. Consider which of these personality types you are:

Without them an organization would be in trouble if things deviated from the set plan. Without consensus seekers, it would be easy for a problem-solver to become too autonomous, solving the problem to their satisfaction without being concerned how others felt about the solution. Without the nurturers, people would feel that a problem could too easily become a crisis.

Without the humorists a bad situation would depress everyone.

A great way to determine personality types is by speaking with people, and playing certain games while observing others can teach you a lot people, e.g.: • The “stranded on a desert island” game positions a hypothetical shipwreck on a desert island. It presents a list of things on the ship with limited time before the incoming tide sweeps it away. The team must prioritize what to rescue, from the small, seemingly insignificant things to the larger items which may seem to have more practical use. Different people will motivate to rescue different things. This game will show what people’s priorities are and will teach you a lot about their personality when you step “outside the game”.

• The team member’s lists of items to rescue will initially differ hugely. As the whole team need to agree on what to rescue, team members will motivate their reasons for rescuing certain items. This will show dominant characters, those who are pragmatic, who is light-hearted, etc. Some people will accept points quickly while others will try to force their way bullish manner or perhaps a more structured way. In some instances, there could be two or more people who push for the “Alpha” role, while others will value their less confrontational part. • Games like this will teach you a lot about others’ personality types with the added bonus of having fun.

Different personality types also motivate themselves and others in different ways.

A peacemakers is likely to motivate others by: ▪ Speaking with them one-on-one ▪ Showing them where they excel as well as where they can improve ▪ Presenting bad news in a good way ▪ Sharing good news discreetly.

A dominant personality will generally tend to prefer: ▪ Delivering criticism one-on-one, as doing it in the open will de-motivate others ▪ Sharing good news loudly in front of the team, as a way of spreading the joy and motivating other people to try to achieve the same and gain the same kind of acclaim.

Different personality types have vastly different ways in which they contribute to the team’s motivation. Many workplaces appoint and use “champions” to take control of certain aspects of a team. This empowers people in non-management roles to play a significant part without pressuring them with the responsibility of the concrete performance of the team. By assigning people the correct champion’s role, you enable them to get the best out of themselves and others, and not let a talent go to waste.

Like a business, individual success is measured by the goals you can achieve. Without setting goals, chances are you won’t prevail to succeed at much in your life. Setting goals, and actively working to achieve them, is the pinnacle of measuring success. For this reason, knowing how to set goals is an essential skill.

If you have a job, you probably also have target (or goals) to achieve.

This usually also implies, as applicable to the goal, measuring aspect like:

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Goals are important for an organization’s success and can be set: ▪ ▪ ▪

Goals can be used to motivate the workforce when use in the form of:

If you don’t receive a fair salary, it will certainly be demotivating. This includes the way it is linked to bonusses or commission. Organizations usually use bonuses and top-up payments linked to performance standards to ensure the right quality and quantity of work is done. This feeds into people’s need to be financially rewarded for doing a satisfactory job, one of the major motivations for working.

Organizations know that people are inherently competitive. They use this to create healthy competition amongst teams to inspire them to become more creative, innovative, streamlined, etc. which usually leads to higher performance levels.

It is an art to set the right goal, with the right amount of challenge to inspire you to actively pursue and reach it. A goal that is too easy or difficult will not inspire action. A healthy goal should create healthy tension – to inspire the right amount of effort that will leave you feeling fulfilled after reaching it. This increases the challenge while still holding the promise of possible success. It is all about being SMART when setting goals:

Specific: Goals need to be clearly defined, leaving no doubt about what to pursue.

Measurable: Goals should be assessed and measured against previous months and other employees, etc. Like reduce costs with 20%, or increase sales with 5%, or reduce downtime with 30 hours, etc. Actionable: There is no point in setting goals that does not relate to the employee or yourself. You should be able to work on it, or it is a future endeavour. Realistic: There is no point setting goals that cannot be achieved, or which are too easy to achieve. They should not be set regarding minor elements of a job and, achieving them should have tangible benefits.

Timed: Setting a goal of selling 100 units is only meaningful if set against a specific timeframe.

Realistic and accurate goals can be used to evaluate employees’ performance and to see where changes should be made to keep it motivating to inspire employees to improved performance. • Setting and achieving goals become significant when you can learn from them – whether you achieved it or not. A realistic goal that is impossible to reach in certain circumstances should be re-set or you should consider how to train or coach the employee to achieve it. • A goal that is consistently achieved, could be set more challenging or it might be necessary to check the employee’s methods. It could be that they’re taking shortcuts. •

An employee who consistently miss their goals narrowly for a few months, might need support or training in a specific area or even lack the right equipment or tools. Proving these tools, training, or equipment to succeed is already a motivational factor that will again inspire employees to further improved performance. • Unfortunately, misapplied targets and goals can also have a detrimental effect on employee motivation from either side. Too easy and the employee becomes complacent, too hard and they become frustrated. • So, set SMART goals for an employee, then fine-tune and adapt them when necessary. •

Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.

A good motivational plan need to be customized to specific circumstances relevant to the people/person you want to motivate. Consider all the parameters that you must work in. Few motivational plans are ‘one size fits all’ in nature – and the ones which are will be of limited success because, they have to be less specific than they should be. A plan can be as intricate or as simple as you want to make it, but remember that the time you invest in it will be repaid by the results you get from using it.

A motivational plan should consider and be adapted according to: The identities and personality types of the people you want to motivate The time available to implement the plan The resources available to push the plan forward

Encourage new employees to grow and develop by asking them what they believe they should develop and how. It makes them feel part of the organization and brings with it a fresh approach to what the business requires.

Life-long growth and development should be encouraged throughout the organization to ensure everyone’s continuous improvement. It helps to keep employees motivated as their skills-levels keep on improving, regardless of their age or seniority in the organization.

People misjudge a challenge as the possibility of failure, yet, only in learning something new, and even failing at it, can you grow and develop. Position the possibility of failure as the possibility of growth rather than as a de-motivating factor. So, instead of seeing failure as the proverbial glass being ‘half-empty’, change your perspective to seeing it as being ‘half-full’. It separates the pessimists from the optimists.

To help to foster seeing a glass ‘half-full’ remember that challenges come with consequences and rewards. The challenge is part of the job, so there is really no point in shrinking from it for fear of the consequences. Keep your eye on the rewards to focus on seeing the glass half-full. It makes it far more likely that you will live up to the challenge and have a chance to share in the rewards.

Constantly think about what motivates you and why to help you get the best out of your motivators. Initially working could have been all about the money, yet now you might have enough and look for how you can spend your money like travelling abroad or building a house.

Maybe one of your motivations has been recognition. To mentor someone could then be very motivational to you. Although you have possibly achieved all there is to achieve in this position, someone else could benefit from your experience. Take the factors which motivated you in the past and update them for the present to maximize your motivational factors. Then, push yourself to achieve as much as possible as it will eventually pay off, especially when other people have ceased to push you because they know how good you are.

Different things motivate us when we are:

To keep your mind active motivates many people. Research has proven that mentally active people who are in their middle and early old age keep syndromes like dementia at bay for longer than those who do not. This makes it even more important to remain motivated to grow and develop yourself.

Complacency is dangerous, especially when you have already achieved enough to make you more or less immune from being fired. It always helps to have a record of achievement and keep to keep on testing yourself against it, should you want to change jobs at an older age.

In the end, the person who can best judge how well you are doing is you. The only way you can ensure you remain motivated is to motivate yourself – so if you find that your motivation is starting to fade, look at other reasons to stay in the job and work harder. There are always reasons to push yourself, and it is a matter of finding the one which does it for you, no matter how often that changes.

“Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can't be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people.”

~

An organization is only ever as strong as its employees, and a group of employees will only be as strong as its weakest members. To produce the best results repeatedly, high motivation throughout the organization is essential.

This means addressing motivation in a policy that prescribes: • The appointment of staff who are team players who provide encouragement or advice and contribute to a positive working environment • The swift appointment of the right people in the right positions • How team members should be rewarded for their efforts

If you have a happy workforce, you are much more likely to have good work done. A job that motivates employees combines as many of the business philosophers’ essential factors as possible, like presenting:

Morale is the mental state of being confident in one’s purpose and is essential in the workplace. Low employee morale inevitably leads to low performance. Low morale can be isolated to a single employee, or spread throughout a team, or even throughout the entire organization. To restore morale requires and understanding of its reasons which could range from the banal to the very serious.

Check in on a colleague with an “Are you OK?” in a conversational tone if they are showing signs of being ‘off’ for a prolonged period. Although people usually don’t want to make a big deal of it, yet it is important that they can see you care. Explore every avenue to ensure that their morale is lifted, and the employee satisfied. They could be concerned about their lack of a certain skill, or it may be something entirely unrelated to the job. Regardless of what the case, it is essential that the employee can see there is support available. If this support is not evident, the morale problems can continue and spread. If it is, however, the team morale can be raised as a result.

Like on the sports field, at the workplace, team moral also plays a significant role. Team spirit is vital to team performance. The way that people work together is governed by how they relate to one another. Like a sports team, the combination of different personalities in a team is a sure recipe for serious dynamics and subsequent conflict. For a team manager, the challenge is to ensure that this is resolved swiftly and fairly. Avoid favoritism at all costs, and even be prepared to be unpopular in the short-term. It is much better to put your personal loyalties aside to ensure individuals are not alienated. Petty conflicts can be over in days, but a reputation for bias sticks for good.

A sure recipe for disaster is when an entire company becomes demotivated, which can happen for a variety of reasons. The implications of this happening are that people will lose interest in their work, the company’s results will drop, and people will begin to fear for their future employment.

• Company-wide low morale calls for “emergency” action to prevent it from becoming terminal. An entire leadership intervention is then needed to sit with their relevant teams, offering complete honesty and answering all questions to address moral issues. • Transparency is essential – responding with “there is no problem, everything is going to be OK” will only cause more concern. Admit if something is wrong, outline how it will be overcome to encourage employees and even those who are initially unconvinced will have the chance to see how it will work. Nothing short of this kind of urgent action will prevent a workplace-wide loss of motivation from becoming terminal.

How are you going to sharpen your pencil to IMPROVE?

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