I really like motivation models.
They give us a framework to simplify something that is complex.
They aren’t perfect though.
Each motivation model or theory was developed through research with a specific group of people and in a controlled situation.
It’s doubtful that this situation will exactly match what you have going on at work in your team.
In this post, I’m going to take a look at some of the motivation factors that appear most often in various theories and research, and then look at how we can practically apply them.
Why Motivation Really Matters
Have you ever noticed the difference in attitude and performance in a team member when they’re feeling motivated, and when they aren’t?
If the answer is yes, then you already know why motivation really matters.
I remember in one of my previous roles I had someone working in one of my projects. He was sorta grumpy, and generally perceived as lazy.
Through my dealings with him, I found that he seemed to be technically competent, but he was pretty much holding himself back and doing the bare minimum.
So I tried a few things, including:
- Giving him a lot of freedom over how he would approach the work I needed him to do
- Putting him in charge of a specific part of the project; and
- Making sure his contribution was recognised in front of senior people in the organisation.
The difference was like night and day. It was almost like you were dealing with a completely different person.
He put in more effort, took greater care in the quality of his work, and sometimes even worked longer than he had to without even being asked.
Learn More: Thoughtful Leader Podcast #223: Pull These 3 Levers to Motivate Your People.
For You Mathsy Types, Consider This Formula
Sometimes I see performance described using a simple formula:
It’s kinda obvious, but the equation spells it out nicely. If you have someone with amazing ability but low motivation, you’re going to get poor performance.
Motivation acts like a multiplier.
And when you look at performance in this way, you can see why motivation is so important.
It’s because ability is somewhat fixed.
We all have natural aptitude and we’re good at certain things. Of course we can be trained to be better and to learn new skills, but our ability is highly dependent on our own DNA.
The difference is that motivation is something we can all have, if the conditions are right.
And don’t forget that replacing an employee costs a lot of time and money, so it’s better to work on motivation than to get rid of someone and start again!
Which brings me to the next point.
Learn More: Motivation at Work: Moving Your People Along the Motivation Spectrum.
It’s Not Your Job to Motivate People
That’s right, it’s not your job to motivate people.
Many people seem to think that a leader needs to be the one who gets other people motivated, with big speeches, grand gestures and that sort of thing.
The reality is, if you try to motivate people, you’ll struggle.
Why?
Because whether people feel motivated or not is out of your control.
You can only influence how people feel.
This means you need to create the conditions where people are more likely to feel motivated.
If you do that, then it’s up to each person to play their part.
One last point to note is that the conditions that motivate one person may be different than another.
So let’s not pretend that we can apply a single approach – you’ll need to tailor what you do to suit different people!
Learn More: The Top 5 Signs of Low Motivation in Your Team.
Useful Motivational Factors
Now let’s look at some of the useful factors that form part of the various motivation models.
There are many motivation models out there, so I’ll be handpicking a few factors from models that I like, and have found to be effective in my own experience.
Note: If you’re using a smart phone, scroll to the right!
| Factor | Where it comes from | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Autonomy | Dan Pink’s motivation model, Job Characteristics Model, SCARF model | Autonomy is the degree of freedom that people have to make decisions about the work that they do. This might mean how they do the work or when they do it. The more autonomy people have, the more they tend to feel motivated. |
| Competence | Dan Pink’s motivation model (called Mastery), Self-determination theory | Competence refers to how skilled or capable a person is when it comes to a specific task. The more competent people feel, the more likely they’ll be motivated to take on challenges. |
| Purpose | Dan Pink’s motivation model, Job Characteristics Model (called task significance), Maslow’s Hierarchy | When people feel a sense of purpose in the work they do, they’ll tend to feel more motivated. If, on the other hand, they feel like their work is pointless, they’ll lose motivation. |
| Certainty | SCARF model, Expectancy theory | Uncertainty can make people feel threatened, which can reduce motivation. Ideally, we want to provide people with a sense of certainty over the work they’re doing and the environment that they work in. |
| Relatedness | SCARF model, Self-determination theory | Relatedness refers to the degree of connection people feel with others around them. This includes caring for and being cared for, and feeling a sense of belonging to a group. |
These are just five factors (out of many that exist), but I have found these to be some of the most useful when it comes to creating the conditions for employee motivation.
How to Turn the Motivation Models Into Practical Tools
Motivation models and theories are not useful in themselves.
They only become useful when we turn the theory into practical actions that we take to improve motivation in our teams.
One of the things I like about thoughtful leaders is that they act with intention. Rather than just act rashly, they put some thought into what they’re going to do, and then execute on it.
They don’t always get it right, but that’s not the point. The point is, they tend to get better outcomes because they do a little planning first.
So let’s look at some steps to take to improve motivation in your team using these motivation models.
Step 1. Create a tracker
You can use a spreadsheet, a notebook or a note-taking tool, it doesn’t matter. The first step is to develop a way that you can track progress when it comes to motivation in your team.
This helps us to be a little more systematic and think about exactly what we’re trying to do.
Now in this tracker, we want to create a simple table with the following headings which I’ll explain later.
Note: If you’re using a smart phone, scroll to the right!
| Team Member Name | Hypothesis | Motivation Factors | Actions to Test | Desired Outcome | Progress |
|---|
Now that you’ve got this simple table it’s time to fill it all in, step by step against each team member’s name.
Step 2. Develop a hypothesis
In this step, you’re going to act a bit like a scientist.
You’re going to identify why you believe your team member is not as motivated as they could be. This hypothesis is what you will test and see whether you see an improvement.
You see, even though we have the motivation models to draw from, every team member is different.
Not every motivational factor will work for every person, because people are complex, made up of many different aspects that drive their behaviour.
We create a hypothesis because we are going to have to do a little trial and error with our team members, to see what works.
For example, a hypothesis could be:
“Bob will feel more motivated if he gets to play a greater leadership role within the team.” or
“Bob feels unmotivated because he doesn’t feel like his role is meaningful.”
You can develop your hypothesis by speaking to your people, understanding what their key challenges or aspirations are and generally building a relationship with them.
Step 3. List the motivation factors
Now that you have your hypothesis, you’ll look at which motivation factors are involved.
For Bob, it might be purpose and autonomy.
You can obviously use all the motivation theories mentioned above to find which factors you think might be relevant. Do your own research and see what you come up with!
Step 4. Develop actions
Now that you have your motivation factors, it’s time to develop actions to test out your hypothesis.
This is where you develop specific plans to put in place, to try to improve motivation.
It might be getting someone to run an improvement project or letting someone work from home for a couple of days (increasing autonomy), or recognising a team member’s contribution.
Whatever your actions are, make sure they are practical and achievable.
These need to be things you can actually implement.
Step 5. Identify the outcome you want
This is the part where you ask yourself “How will I know whether this is working or not?”
You might be looking for a better attitude, or you may have specific metrics that you need the team member to achieve.
These outcomes don’t necessarily need to be super specific or measurable, but it can be helpful if they are.
Step 6. Monitor progress
Last, we want to monitor progress in our efforts to improve motivation.
It’s no good trying things if we aren’t really tracking how they work. We need to see whether our actions are making any difference.
Of course, a scientist would have a special lab and a group of test subjects and tightly controlled conditions. We don’t have that, and there are many factors outside of our control that may impact motivation (for better or worse).
However, at least if we follow a bit of a systematic approach, we have a better chance of finding the factors that make a difference in our team.
Tell me your stories of employee motivation! When did you see it work, and what do you think were the key factors behind it? Leave your story in a comment below!
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