Basic Motivational Theory
Now this is a very broad and complex subject. However, I will approach the very basic and only as an introduction to leadership styles. One of the most influential theories regarding Human Relations is known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs [1]. It was developed by Abraham Maslow in the 1940s. He assessed if we had a series of different behaviors and that we could engage in, what made it more likely for us to engage in one behavior over another and how canthis be prioritized? Our behavior is driven by our needs in any particular point in time. He designed a hierarchy based on 5 different needs and basically stated that these needs must be met in order to progress up the hierarchy in pursue of higher level needs. Check out Maslow’s infamous hierarchy of needs:
1. Physiological Needs: it is something that is necessary to sustain life. Something like food, or water, or oxygen. If you had a physiological need, like a need for food or water that tends to drive your behavior when you are thirsty. Your need for water overshadows all your other needs at that particular point in time.
2. Safety and Security Needs: it refers not only to physical safety and wellbeing, but also emotional safety and security. Maybe even financial safety as well. For example, if you found out that the company you work for has begun to downsize, now you will be concerned for your financial safety. Your behavior would be driven to fulfill that particular need. If you fulfill that need, you will be able to move to the NeXT area: social needs.
3. Belonging: it is a sense of belonging to someone or some particular group. It refers to family, friends, but also community. At work you might also have a group of people that you hang around with or correspond with. For example, you could hang out with co-workers after work to build that particular friendship.
4. Esteem Needs: it is driven by our desire to be liked or feel good about ourselves. For example, a desire for prestige. Luxury vehicles, a home in the right area, the company that you work for and it’s location. Some people might
want to work hard to get a higher position in a company so that they can afford that prestigious country club membership.
5. Self-Actualization Needs: it refers to achieving our highest potential. A person’s fullest potential might not be the same as another’s though. Things that help are: education, developing ourselves, and whatever helps us become better versions of ourselves.
Managing people is about finding out what their motivations are in order to meet them. By understanding what the needs are, you can predict how people are going to behave. Consider though that even if Maslow does not see it that way, it is possible to pursue multiple needs at the same time. It is also possible to move up and down the hierarchy at different points in life. Consider a person that had a high position in a corporation and then loses his job. He might be moving down from the Esteem Needs to Safety and Security Needs. This is not uncommon, quite the opposite.
The Two-Factor Theory [2], or Herzberg’s Motivational Theory, was developed by Frederick Herzberg [3] in 1959. It is really an adaptation of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. He wanted to find out which factors led to extreme satisfaction in the job, and which led to extreme dissatisfaction. See his model in the following chart:
Hygiene Factors: are the factors that need to be present to ensure a reasonable level of satisfaction. This include benefits, pay, job security, friends in the work place (social needs), etc. If you do not have these basic needs covered, that will cause extreme dissatisfaction in the work place. If they are covered though that would not cause satisfaction but only contentment.
Motivational Factors: are the factors that create a great deal of satisfaction. For example: recognition (especially amongst your peers), achievement, advancement, challenging work. If they are not present, they do not cause an extreme level of dissatisfaction. But if they are present then they contributed to satisfaction in the workplace. There are many more motivational theories to study and learn from. Motivation is one of the most fascinating subjects that can be studied. It refers to human psychology, but also group behavior. Maslow and Herzberg define two very similar models, which however are not really applied very often in the workplace. Consider the impact of job instability in the work place.
It is clear that it will impact negatively on the performance of the individuals, depending as well on their personal situation. For example, a person that must pay the mortgage will surely beunder much more pressure than a youngster who lives with their parents. The situation in the job market will have an impact as well.
In practice, leaders are usually busier playing their games than focusing on keeping their best resources at the top of their game. It is not so difficult to understand. Things like salary, working conditions, job stability… These are the basics. However, recognition for your work, better tasks, more responsibility are the factors that will keep you working at your best. I have developed as well my own motivational theory, as to which are the factors that keep employees motivated and engaged. But I will get back to that later. For now, it is best to know that human beings can and will be motivated, under the right leadership.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-factor_theory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Herzberg
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