Create individualized motivation strategies
| Published date | 01 March 2005 |
| Pages | 5-5 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390580000597 |
| Date | 01 March 2005 |
| Author | Blaire Palmer |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
5
Volume 4 Issue 3 March/April 2005
HOW TO…
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Practical advice for HR professionals
DEPARTMENTS AT A GLANCE
STRATEGIC COMMENTARY
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e-HR
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HOW TO…
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PRACTITIONER PROFILE
METRICS
HR AT WORK
REWARDS
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RESEARCH AND RESULTS
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Create individualized
motivation strategies
1
RECOGNIZE CORE
MOTIVATORS
5
DESIGN THE PROCESS
AS WELL AS THE
GOAL
4
IF IT’S NOT WORKING,
CHANGE IT
3
IDENTIFY AND
HANDLE ALL
OBSTACLES
2
Five common motivators I’ve
observed are:
a) The opportunity for career
advancement and
professional growth.
b) Acknowledgement and
recognition.
c) Greater responsibility.
d) Facing and overcoming a
challenge.
e) A sense of achievement.
Ask people to consider some
tasks they find inspiring and
energizing. What do they
have in common? Maybe
they are different but lead to
acknowledgement, additional
responsibility or promotion,
without which the work
would not be as motivating.
Once you identify these you
can build them into your
motivation strategies.
Be clear about what is
standing in the way.Whilst
one might feel that trying to
stay positive is the way to
stay motivated, niggling
concerns and tolerations can
drain motivation and need to
be addressed. Once obstacles
have been identified, each
one needs to be fully
handled (in such a way that
is doesn’t come back to bite
you later on). Be clear
specifically about how the
obstacle is to be dealt with,
who is going to do it and by
when.
Sometimes a strategy which
has been working stops
working. Perhaps you
motivated one individual
through sharing successes
and acknowledging their
achievements, and another by
giving them projects which
would give them a sense of a
job well done. But for some
reason it’s not working any
more.This is often when
people turn to the myth of
“willpower,”as if they can
somehow force motivation.
This rarely works for long.
Instead, experiment with
other core motivators such as
challenge or giving people
more responsibility until you
find their new core
motivators.
There is a pervading myth
that if you really want a goal
enough, you’ll work hard to
achieve it. And if you don’t
you won’t. But if this was
true, why do so many people
fail to stick to weight-loss
diets? A fundamental part of
a motivation strategy must
be that the process of
achieving the goal is itself
motivational. If all sense of
achievement or
acknowledgement is delayed
until the end of the project,
individuals are likely to lose
steam halfway through.
Design a process of achieving
goals where core
motivational needs are met
throughout the journey,not
just at the finish line.
A
luminary of motivation theory,
Frederick Herzberg, observed
that most motivation strategies
were based on what he defined as
“KITA” (“Kick In The Pants”). Using his
dog to demonstrate the KITA approach,
he explained that when he wanted his
pet pooch to move he either gave it a
nudge from behind and the animal
moved as it didn’t have much choice, or
he offered it a treat as an inducement.
KITA does the job but it’s hard work,
demanding constant punishment or
reward in order to get the dog to do
anything. Wouldn’t it be better if the
dog wanted to move by itself?
As we see in the workplace, most
motivation strategies are “push” or
“pull” based: keeping people moving
either with a kick from behind (threats,
fear, tough targets) or by offering choc-
drops (bonuses, grand presentations of
the company vision, team-building
games).
A motivation strategy which contains
the elements below and is based on
intrinsic core motivators is a more
effective, sustainable and humane way to
motivate individuals.
Source: Blaire Palmer,blaire@optimum-coaching.com
SET “VALUES-
CONGRUENT” GOALS
Once a goal has been set
using the SMART – specific,
measurable, achieveable,
realistic, time-based –
formula, check that it also
meets the requirement of
being congruent with
individuals’ values. If not,
explore how it can be refined
so that it fits more
comfortably with who the
targeted individuals are. If at
any level people are resistant
to a goal or methodology,
because it conflicts with
personal values, they will
struggle to achieve it.
© Melcrum Publishing Ltd. 2005. For more information, go to www.melcrum.com or e-mail info@melcrum.com
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