Thoughts on Motivation (1)
In response to a question I was asked recently, this is an edited version of part of a leadership course I developed some years ago. The course was delivered in seminar format so there is a lot of support material, delivery, and discussion not included here.
The most common question when dealing with others’ behavior, is “Why?” The longer version is “Why did they do…” Parents ask it of their children, coaches ask it of their players, supervisors ask it of their subordinates, and we all ask it of each other.The second most common question asked is “How?” That is, “How do I get them to do it differently — the way I want them to do it?” Obviously the two questions are related, and the answers are, also.
Consider the following.
………………..
We want to know WHY someone does or does not do something. We want to know WHY there was a change in someone’s normal behavior, and sometimes we are looking for why someone’s “normal” behavior isn’t what we consider the norm. The answer to those questions is often found by simply considering why humans in general do things at all. What drives us to do the things we do? Why aren’t we mushrooms on a moist log?
Over a period of years, the late American psychologist Abraham Maslow developed a theory regarding the needs of human beings and the factors that motivate; the theory offered his explanation of behavior. It is easily understandable and after learning it, you may easily recognize WHY we do some of the things we do.In some behavioral circles, the theory is sometimes referred to as the “Tree of Needs.” Maslow’s theory is also often depicted as a pyramid rather than a tree, with the more basic human needs on the bottom and the more social needs at the top. For this reason, his theory is also referred to as “The Hierarchy of Human Needs.”Maslow defined man as a “wanting, desiring, being who is continually motivated to put forth effort to satisfy those needs and wants.” In other words, Maslow theorized that we generally do things for a reason. The reason is that we are attempting to satisfy our needs. If we understand what a person needs and wants, we then have insight into why they do what they do. We then begin to understand their motivation. Having an understanding of employees’ motivation, we are better able to understand and guide their behavior.
Though not absolute (there are few absolutes regarding human behavior), Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs tells us that a person’s needs at lower levels must generally be met before the person assumes the needs of higher levels. Let’s use the pyramid graphic to represent the levels of needs.
The drawing above represents Maslow’s view of human needs levels. We will discuss each level, but first, let’s consider a situation:
You are in a very dark alley. A large and unsavory character is pointing a gun at you and is demanding all your money. Fearful for your life, as you reach for your money, a nicely engraved invitation falls out and you realize that you have forgotten to attend the Citizen Of The Month Banquet tonight. You are a nominee.
Is the forgotten banquet and the missed chance at recognition on the top of your list of needs right now? Are you more concerned with the gun pointed at you? Perhaps you are too concerned about your very survival to be bothered with the missed opportunity for recognition?
SURVIVAL NEEDS
Though the situation above may be an extreme example, it illustrates how we tend to classify needs in various levels. The most basic need we have is the need to survive. Unless we feel comfortable with our immediate prospects for survival, little else matters to us. We are motivated by the survival need to seek things required to sustain life. Air, food, clothing, and shelter are considered to be necessary for our survival.
Have you ever thought you were in immediate danger of drowning? If so, you have experienced the best example I can think of. At that moment was there anything else even remotely on your mind? Any other possible thought going through your head? Any other worry in the world? Or was survival not only the utmost, but in fact the only thought, care, or concern?
Most people have already satisfied their Survival needs, so we can’t use those needs as motivational tools. Not much we can do to provide satisfiers there.
SECURITY NEEDS
Once we have fulfilled our need to have all things required for survival, we need to feel secure. Is someone trying to take away those survival items? Will we have enough of them next week? Next month? Are we safe?
Why do we “save for a rainy day”? We have enough right now, don’t we?
Think about where you work for a moment. You are training an employee to operate a large machine. As the employee presses the green button, the machine makes a loud hiss, clangs twice, emits a loud roar, and belches steam. Whew! Glad that’s over!Is the employee paying attention to you as you explain the procedure moments after all that has happened for the first time? It’s far more likely the employee is operating at a different need level at this moment, probably wondering if that contraption is going to blow on the 5th, 6th, or 7th try down the road. That is something you must realize, address, and compensate for.
As long as the employee feels a future threat exists (lack of fulfilling the security needs), you won’t be getting your other points across. You’d be a lot better at getting your point across if you first convinced the employee that the machine does make a lot of noise, but that is normal operation and all is well. After the employee gets past that issue, not when you get past it, you can proceed.
When teaching how to fire a large-bore rifle, after first-time shooters feel the recoil against their shoulder and hear the noise very close to their ear, their typical first concern is for personal safety right there, not for accuracy of the gun downrange. Getting used to the gun, its noise, kick, and smell, is important. Accuracy and rate of fire are issues to follow afterward.
Survival and Security needs are very strong in all animals, including human beings.
Both the Survival and Security levels of needs deal with physical objects and are therefore commonly referred to as “Physical Needs.” Satisfying these needs usually does little to actually motivate anyone toward excellence. But, not satisfying these needs will create distractions and is highly likely to create unproductive situations.
We refer to the remaining upper levels of needs as “Social Needs.”They stem from our dealing with other people and can be just as powerful as physical needs once those physical needs have been met. The social needs can serve as excellent motivators. Let’s see if we can find some needs we can help the other person fulfill. In other words, let’s look for places where we can provide satisfiers, or, motivators.BELONGING NEEDSHuman beings are social beings with instinctive needs to be part of a group. Consider the number of people who join sports teams, clubs, sororities, fraternities, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, choral groups, etc. We tend to view a person who lives as a hermit as an oddity. The old term “wallflower” is used in a rather negative sense, implying that social mixing is the norm and non-mixing is at odds with that norm.
Do you remember an occasion when you were a complete stranger to a new group? Did you feel uneasy and want to be accepted by the group? Was the group’s opinion of you important to you?
The existence of belonging needs is a good reason to welcome new employees quickly and to introduce them to the other members of the department. The sooner the new member is accepted by the group and the need for belonging is satisfied, the better.
Generally, if the group helps a person satisfy his or her social needs, the person will abide by the rules of that group. This can be a significant aid in achieving excellence in the department. When a new person joins a highly motivated group, a solid introduction followed by a sense of belonging can help spark that same level of motivation in the new employee. Satisfaction of the belonging need is the foundation for motivation toward excellence in a team environment.
However, when individuals perceive that the group is not helping them meet their physical and social needs, they may become dissatisfied group members and not feel part of the group. At the least, they may become less motivated, and at worst, may become problem employees.
An important function of a leader is to help an employee meet his or her belonging needs.
ESTEEM NEEDS
Esteem needs are a person’s need for self-respect, or, the need for an inner feeling of worth.
Though the central thrust of social needs is a desire to belong, this higher need for esteem is a desire to excel — to attain high peer respect — not to just belong to a group of peers.As a leader you should consider day-to-day ways to give recognition. You should help build increased personal pride in each of the employees in your area.
This drive for esteem should be geared to “pride in craftsmanship” in the service you provide to customers.
Test your past ability to help individuals fulfill their esteem needs. Announce to all members of your group that beginning tomorrow, each person will personally sign a slip stating that he or she personally processed a customer’s order. The customer will receive the hand-signed slip of responsibility from the worker — not a form letter and not a copied signature, but a hand-signed original. The slip also states that it is to be returned with any authorized merchandise return.
If the reaction is one of “Oh no, more paperwork!” you probably have some motivational work to do.
However, if employees like the idea of letting someone else know of their responsibility for that product, you’ve probably done a very good job. You have helped your employees feel a sense of self esteem in the work place and satisfaction in their work.
SELF-FULFILLMENT NEEDS
The ultimate motivators. These are the needs for the attainment of high goals and full development of personal potential. These are the needs for ever-increasing competence.
We sometimes hear of the high achiever attaining “The American Dream.” This is another way of saying that a person has achieved self-fulfillment. Few people reach their full potential, remaining motivated at that level consistently. This is because we must devote much of our time and effort toward satisfying the lower level needs. Some signs of self-fulfillment are tears of pride or a lump in the throat, or the exuberant “high five.”
We can see the ultimate in self-fulfillment at the very top of every human endeavor. In some cases, the driving motivator may be the need for great wealth or great power. Self-fulfillment needs may also take the form of a driving need for self-expression, such as in the arts or self-employment.
You have seen that peak level of self-fulfillment yourself, and if you think about it, you may remember that such moments are fleeting, but their effect lasts longer. Think about:
-
The player who wins “Game, Set, Match,” or makes the touchdown pass reception.
-
The parent observing the culmination of their child’s very hard-fought effort at education.
Peaks of self-fulfillment cause lumps in the throat and tears of joy and pride, gains of height and puffed chest girth, and macho athletes to hug in public while patting each other on the rear. If there is any doubt how strong self-fulfillment can be, just remember what you have seen.
The key to being able to use you knowledge of human needs as a motivational tool is simple: Know your people, observe their behavior, and look out for their well-being.By knowing each person you understand that each is an individual. Though each individual has the same human needs, the circumstances when each progressive need takes priority over a lower need will differ from person to person. The effective leader understands the circumstances for each of the employees in the department.Is motivation sometimes difficult? Absolutely. It can be a lot of work. But why?Well, think about it. Each person’s needs change constantly. What motivates someone today may not be what motivates them tomorrow. Their lives change constantly, and therefore their needs, so each person presents a moving target.Now multiply that one person’s needs target by however many you must lead. Get the feeling you have a sea of moving targets in front of you? That is one of the primary reasons leadership, including the appropriate motivation, needs fulfillment, can be so difficult. It is a constantly changing set of requirements that you must track and make adjustment for.
The easier way is, of course, to simply use the “Do it because I said so and do it the way I want it done, or else.”
That approach WILL work. There are situations in which that approach may work very effectively. However, those situations do not require high levels of performance; they do not require long-lasting results; they do not require excellence.
A prime example of that approach is in law enforcement corrections — jails and prisons. The level of performance required of prisoners is simple obedience — compliance. Excellence is not an objective.
In summary, the ability to motivate others is an important part of leadership.Motivation begins with knowing people and understanding why they do the things they do. Understanding Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and applying those concepts will be of great help in creating and maintaining a motivated work force.
But learning how to do it and early efforts at adoption are not usually easy for most people.Stick with it, learn your people, track those moving targets, use needs’ satisfiers correctly, and you will learn a lot about not only your people, but also about yourself.
Do it well and everyone wins.