Everyone needs some form of motivation to get them to do anything. This really means Ssufficient reason for doing it. It can take very little to motivate someone to do something pleasurable. It can take quite extreme circumstances to get that same person to do something
objectionable.
The key point is that what constitutes sufficient motivation can be judged only by the person being motivated. Circumstances that would motivate one person will leave another unmoved. The task of a Manager lies firstly in assessing what will motivate an individual and secondly in applying that motivation.
Everyone is constantly subjected to a variety of motivating factors. The more basic the factor, the stronger it is in determining the course of action which will be taken.
Beware of th.common management concept of motivation - it can be briefly described as falling into two general classifications.
¢ The Carrot
¢ The Big Stick
The Carrot:
This concept is based on the assumption that money always motivates. This is a fallacy - it does not. It will always depend on whether the person to be motivated considers it worth it. Do they need the money sufficiently to make the added work or responsibility that goes with it worthwhile? Only if the answer is Syes - in his view, not yours - will it motivate them.
The Big Stick:
Using the SBig Stick technique - offering some kind of threat, such as SThe Sack if there is not a visible improvement in performance - does motivate people. The trouble is that you, as the Motivator, cannot control what effect the motivation may have.
However you wrap up the big stick, it will seen by those who are to be motivated, as a threat to their SShelter/Security. That provides a very basic motivational drive. Faced with such a threat they may decide that it is not worth the effort or that they are incapable of it. The result, so far as you are concerned, is that they start looking for another job. Far from improving, they actually get worse - because their efforts are going into job hunting.
On the other hand they may decide that they will achieve the required improvement. Their SShelter/Security has been threatened. If they decide to do what you want their sole concern will be to remove that threat.
So far as their job situation is concerned they will not be motivated by SAcceptance by Equals, S
Leadership or SSelf Fulfilment. They will do everything necessary to rescue their SShelter/Security. This will often involve actions that upset other members of your team. As a result, motivating one person may have caused considerable dissent in others.
So - if that does not work, what does?
Firstly, remember that motivation can only be provided by something in the future. You cannot motivate from behind by - for example - gratitude. Just because they had a big pay rise last year will not motivate them this year. That pay rise will be regarded as Sthanks past efforts.
Next, find a way of using the basic triangle of motivation. This can be done by translating those basics into a series of needs. Everyone is subjected constantly to one of these needs - it is up to you to find out which will work as a motivator in this case. These needs are:-
To Have - Basic Possessions
To Be- Their Image
To Do- To Achieve
To Belong - To Be Wanted
To Grow- To Develop
Find the appropriate Sneeds and use it.
So much for the factors concerned with providing a positive motivation. There are other factors which provide negative motivation - reasons for not doing something.
Negative motivational factors cannot be cancelled out by positive factors. Negative and positive factors always remain separate. All that you can do with a negative factor is remove it - to the extent that Sthey who are being motivated considers that it no longer exists.
Signs of Negative Motivation are:-
- Aggression - against people or perhaps th.company.
- Farrington -
jonathanfarrington.com - is a business coach, mentor, author, and consultant who has helped hundreds o.companies and thousands of individuals around the world achieve their full potential and consequently, optimum performance levels in his capacity as Managing Partner of The jfa Group
jf-assocs.com
