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So having talked about “what motivates people to work” and, using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs for a few clues, it seems that many people are motivated – in ascending order – by:
Money (at least enough of it to allow them to live at their comfort level); then by
Security (to provide the ability to plan their life into the future); then
Belonging (the need for love, companionship, and being part of a team or a bigger whole);
and then
Recognition (supporting our sense of self-worth, and providing the gratitude and acknowledgement of others for our labours).
Before we move on from here, please ask yourself, “How have I already applied this information in motivating my own staff?” because there is little point in looking at Motivation #5 – the biggy! – unless numbers 1 through 4 have been satisfied, to at least some extent!
And motivator #5?
The motivator that research says that only 4% of people attain?
What is it?
Well, Maslow called it “Gemeinschaftsgefuhl”
- but, if it’s alright with you, I’m happy enough to say “Self-actualisation” or “providing someone with the opportunity to do a job in which they have a high degree of competence and which they love, in such a way as that they can express themselves in and through it.”
Self-Actualisation – Creating the Circumstances
So, how would you go about motivating someone to the self-actualisation level with respect to a specific task?
Well, first we would have to assume three key factors were in place, namely that:
We have provided the person with a crystal clear Vision for the enterprise as a whole so that they can ensure their output for the task at hand advances that.
We have clearly conveyed the Values we hold dear in the business (so that they can navigate with confidence if they venture into territory where we have not laid down specific rules).
We have selected someone with sufficient Competence to be able to do the task at hand.
With these three in place, we can move our team member towards self-actualisation by asking them a question such as: “How would you go about producing this result?”
Notice that we focused on the result (what we want as output), rather than on the activity (how it’s to be produced), because it’s the activity – the new or better or smarter way of achieving the result – that is likely to be the source of their greatest satisfaction, and of your greatest gain in terms of effectiveness and efficiency!
If you give this process a try, how will you know if it worked? How will you know if your team member is approaching or attaining self-actualisation in their role?
You could look for the clues, which could include:
Fire in the belly! Self-actualised people show obvious signs of relish!
Midnight oil! Self-actualised people lose track of time, and are totally focused on the task (actually, there is a risk they can get derailed by focusing on the process – the activity, again – so a truly excellent manager would check with them periodically to measure results and provide feedback).
Flow! When we are self-actualising, we tend to work smoothly and efficiently.
Key Question: How would you feel if your team were performing at or near their peak capability, at tasks in which they found deep satisfaction, and to which they brought to bear all of their energy and ingenuity?
In other words, “What would it feel like to work with ‘The SA Dream Team’?”
Well, if you are a manager of people, and you are reading this, you have the chance to find out! Of course, you may need to do a little (or a lot of) research before you had a solid grasp of what you would have to believe, know and do to be able to build such a team – but I wonder what would happen if you set that as a goal, right now?
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