Motivational Tools and Motivational Considerations

Introduction      

This week’s only MSLD520 blog is about a video, The Three Things We Work For (Money Isn't One of Them). In this video, Andy Mulholland points out what he believes are the three primary motivational tools in the workplace. You should watch the video to bring context to his assertions because his assertions are based on what an engineer’s perspective.

I will provide my opinions and personal insight on these three motivators and provide three more that I feel are also major contributors to personal motivation at my place of work. One of the aspects of motivational tools that has caught my attention is the wide array of motivational choices. With these choices come opinions on just what the best motivators are and there are a lot of them out there. After reviewing many of these opinions, I have concluded that the best way to determine what motivators work best is that you have to know your people first. A diverse work group requires a diverse set of motivational tools in your tool box. Let's start first be examining Andy Mulholland's engineering perspective.

1.   “Give Me Interesting Work”

The 1^st motivational tool Mulholland cites is giving interesting work to your employees. When people have interesting work to do, they become engaged. Engaged people are generally happy with their work, unless of course external factors come into play that disrupt the natural sequence of getting engaging work and then losing yourself in the work. The job of the manager / leader is to ensure disruptions and distractions remain at minimal levels.

Giving interesting work to do to your employees is sometimes easier said than done. The usual circumstance is that everyone in a workgroup has a mixed bag of challenging work to do and routine work that is not as interesting. I believe the leader / manager on a periodic basis must zoom out on the task schedule and review who has been doing what and ensure that the interesting work gets assigned evenly, fairly that matches the skillset of the personnel involved.

 

2.   “Expand My Skillset”

      The 2nd motivational tool Mulholland cites is expanding the employee’s skill-set. I believe interesting work and expanding skill-sets are closely related and the element that links them together is something I have already highlighted…engagement. Both learning a new Catskills and giving interesting or challenging work engages the employee. Engaged employees are employees on a mission and employees on a mission have purpose because they know why they are doing it. They reason, purpose, or the “why” they are doing it is a critical component in both expanding the skill-set and giving interesting work. If the employee does not know why they are doing it, they may be engaged at first, but without the “why” to fall back and to provide a second wind if needed the effort may get derailed. Sinek (2010) video, How Great Leaders Inspire Action, illustrates very clearly how answering the “why” is fundamental in motivating people into action. “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” (Sinek, 2010, How great…). Granted the video is more geared to providing vision on grand scale than on single task assignment, but I believe Sinek’s application of knowing why is important at all levels if we truly want motivated employees.

3.    “Recognition”
The 3rd and last motivational tool Mulholland asserts is what we work for is recognition. Recognition he says comes as a result of the 1st (challenging work) and 2nd (expanding skillset). “And of the three, if you’re doing the first two, then you should be able to offer the recognition of the third.” (Mulholland, 2011, The three…). Not sure I totally agree. I believe it is possible to have challenging work without continuing to expand skillsets and still deserve recognition.

Mulholland’s top three motivational tools are very much in-line with the top motivating tools that my team values. Makes a lot of sense because while we are not engineers, fault isolation technical writers are about as close to being engineers as one could possibly be. In fact many engineers are placed as technical writers as a type of internship before moving onto an engineering position. Some decide to remain a technical writer (in fact on of my team members has an electrical engineering degree).

Since Mulholland spoke for the three I would have selected, here are the next three I would like to add to the list:

1.    Empowerment

One of my favorite things to do is to empower people to make decisions. I find that by empowering people to solve problems engages them into their work even deeper. Allowing them to have a say also gives them part ownership and a vested interest in succeeding.

2.    Good Wage

An area that was recently highlighted in my work group is that our work roles have changed significantly within the past 2 years based primarily on advances in technology. These new roles have increased responsibility and workload significantly yet we are not being compensated for these changes. The longer we perform these new tasks without compensation adjustment, the more strain will be placed on our personal motivation that ultimately takes attention away from being engaged and zoned in on the tasks at hand. In today’s economy in advanced countries, the landscape of job responsibilities can and often does change rapidly. Companies should communicate their understanding of this situation and show a commitment to adjusting pay as work scope and roles change to meet new challenges.

3.    Opportunity to be Promoted

Top performers typically wanted more responsibility and having an opportunity for advancement is a very important motivator for many, including me. There is opportunity to be promoted at my company, but finding where those opportunities are is not always easy. In addition, one should take care in thinking the pasture is greener just because the position you’re interested in obtaining has more responsibility and better pay. One thing I have learned in the MSLD program is not to jump at the first promotional opportunity that arises. For starters, the organization’s values should be a good match for your own values and pointed questions should be asked about what the organization values. Moving from one position to another in a promotional setting may seem like a “no-brainer”, but managerial derailment could be close on the horizon if care is not taken to make sure your values match your new boss’s values.

Conclusion

All of the tools are great tools to use and there are many more. Knowing and understanding the motivational tools that are available is important and equally important is knowing which one(s) are most appropriate at the right time to gain the most effect. “What we discovered is that we can’t single out one or two motivators and say: These are the Holy Grail of motivation and inspiration; these are the keys that will unlock your team’s potential.” (President of Psychtests Aim Inc. as cited by Schachter, 2013). Schachter (2013) really brought home that one shoe does not fit all and you really have to know your people to predict which tools will work best under different conditions.

In closing, I will leave you with an important concept that I hope you will remember when you have a new hire that doesn’t seem to be with the program. If they become unmotivated for some reason it is your job to figure out why that happened. “The fact the flowchart begins with motivation is important, because it makes explicit our assumption individuals are initially motivated to work hard and do a good job.” (Whetten & Cameron, 2011, p. 351).

References:

Mulholland, A., (2011). The three things we work for (money isn't one of them). [Books24x7 version] Available from http://common.books24x7.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/toc.aspx?bookid=43753.

Schachter, H., (2013, July 15). What motivates employees? It's not just the money. The Globe And Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/career
       /management/what-motivates-employees-its-not-just-the-money/article13205253/

Sinek, S. (2010). How great leaders inspire action [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA&feature=share&list=PL42F8562DCD3CCEA8.

Whetten, D. & Cameron, K., (2011). Developing management skills. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.