Video: Don't be your best, be GREAT.
Introduction
Motivation is key to ensuring the long-term success of an organization. This is a particularly challenging aspect for leaders and managers as people have a complex set of needs and desires. Several studies now highlight that individuals are not purely economic, political, or physiological beings. Traditional standards of motivational techniques, including command and control, are no longer viable options. New techniques must be evaluated and implemented to retain a workforce that is motivated and engaged. Donald McNerney's article (attached below), "Creating a Motivated Workforce," provides a good example of the changes in motivational practices being made by three successful companies: Chick-Fil-A Inc., Southwest Airlines Co., and AptarGroup Inc. Each company reports low turnover, high productivity, and consistent profitability and attribute the success to policies and practices aimed at motivating employees. Chick-Fil-A has a strong corporate culture that emphasizes trust as a pivotal concept in its structure. This includes an atmosphere of limited supervision of employees and store owners. Southwest Airlines prides itself on being a fun place to work. It boasts a company culture rooted in the individuality of its employees that are encouraged to express their opinions and ideas. Southwest Airlines also ensures opportunities for employee growth and advancement by providing a “university for people” to help them reach their personal best.
AptarGroup places a large amount of emphasis on communication and employee involvement. The management within the company feels that these are two key factors in creating a motivated workforce. For example, upper management within each division hold quarterly meetings to update all employees on profitability, progress towards business goals, and presents customer feedback. All of these are in an effort to keep the employees informed and engaged. Additionally, employees participate in work teams that are tasked with goal setting initiatives that are reported back to senior management. The intent is to empower the employees as they are proud when they accomplish these goals. Aptar also integrates other methods designed to motivate through the power of recognition. Each of the three companies used different programs that rely on motivational techniques void of the traditional aspects of command and control. Instead, they focus on empowerment, recognition, trust through limited supervision, opportunity for growth and advancement, etc. to motivate the workforce. These are important aspects of more effective motivational techniques that are currently emerging in the business world.
The below articles provide me with additional guidance on ways to effectively motivate individuals. This is a critical skill for an operations manager in the banking industry who is constantly challenged to motivate in an environment of routine and often repetitious processes and procedures.I will have to learn to motivate and inspire my employees to remain productive and engaged in order to become an accomplished operations manager/SVP.
AptarGroup places a large amount of emphasis on communication and employee involvement. The management within the company feels that these are two key factors in creating a motivated workforce. For example, upper management within each division hold quarterly meetings to update all employees on profitability, progress towards business goals, and presents customer feedback. All of these are in an effort to keep the employees informed and engaged. Additionally, employees participate in work teams that are tasked with goal setting initiatives that are reported back to senior management. The intent is to empower the employees as they are proud when they accomplish these goals. Aptar also integrates other methods designed to motivate through the power of recognition. Each of the three companies used different programs that rely on motivational techniques void of the traditional aspects of command and control. Instead, they focus on empowerment, recognition, trust through limited supervision, opportunity for growth and advancement, etc. to motivate the workforce. These are important aspects of more effective motivational techniques that are currently emerging in the business world.
The below articles provide me with additional guidance on ways to effectively motivate individuals. This is a critical skill for an operations manager in the banking industry who is constantly challenged to motivate in an environment of routine and often repetitious processes and procedures.I will have to learn to motivate and inspire my employees to remain productive and engaged in order to become an accomplished operations manager/SVP.
Content
"Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation"
"Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation"
“What impact to empowerment and motivating have on employees’ morale and productivity? Does receiving help boost or hurt self-esteem? Why do incentives work well in some contexts, but appear to be counterproductive in others? ” This article examines these type of questions by evaluating a person’s motivation and his/her social environment. Extrinsic motivation (short-term) is based upon a system of contingent rewards while intrinsic motivation (long-term) relies on the individual’s desire to perform the task for its own sake. There exists a natural conflict between the two and the article serves to examine the “hidden costs” of rewards and punishments from an economic and cognitive perspective.
An individual (agent) will perform a task if they have confidence in his to succeed and in the project’s net return. Those with a stake in this person’s interest will then have a manipulate signals related to self-knowledge. Based on these assumptions, Benabau and Tirole state that “a principle has a vested interest in the agent’s undertaking and succeeding in the activity.” (p. 491). Their study indicates that the principle (i.e. teach, manager, parent) should evaluate the use of rewards as they might produce only short terms effects. Moreover, there exist “hidden costs” when the rewards, or extrinsic motivation, are removed as they become “negative reinforcers” (Benabau, p.492). It is suggested that the principle should instead pursue the integration of low-powered incentives in combination with empowerment to initiate a more trusting interaction. Additionally, the principle must avoid any “battles for dominance.” This concept highlights an individual’s attempt to gain control of some aspect of the interaction by downplaying or criticizing the accomplishments of another. The effect is a decrease in self-confidence and motivation.
The article finds that rewards to have a negative effect in the long-run. It make people less enthusiastic, bored, alienated, and reactive rather than proactive (Benabau, p.504). Alternatively, the individual’s intrinsic motivation will increase by enhancing their feelings of competence and self-determination. This can be positively contributed to by demonstrating the confidence in the individual’s ability through the use of delegation and empowerment. The use of coaching via tools such as encouragement and praise will also produce promising results by increasing self-confidence and the use of intrinsic motivation.
Personal Relevance: This article points out the critical role intrinsic motivation plays into the long term success of an organization. I have an natural ability to motivate, as identified across multiple self-assessments. I can leverage this stregnth in combination with the concepts in this article to better develop the skill. This will help me achieve my aspirations by focusing on the principles of intrinsic motivation to overcome any negative consequences of the inherently routine nature of the work done by mt employees. More specifically, I should focus on utilizing tools such as delegation and empowerment to leverage the intrinsic motivation of my employees. These techniques can be complimented by regular and genuine encouragement and praise to increase self-confidence. The result of these intrinsic motivation techniques will produce an environment of increased trust, competence, and self-determination.
I will not be able to achieve my aspirations unless I am able to integrate these techniques. The success of the organization (and my professional growth) is reliant on the long term commitment and success of its employees. The short term benefits of extrinsic motivation will be outweighed by negative consequences that include decreased enthusiasm, boredom, and feelings of alienation. Therefore, intrinsic motivation is an important approach that I must implement to be a transformational-oriented leader.
An individual (agent) will perform a task if they have confidence in his to succeed and in the project’s net return. Those with a stake in this person’s interest will then have a manipulate signals related to self-knowledge. Based on these assumptions, Benabau and Tirole state that “a principle has a vested interest in the agent’s undertaking and succeeding in the activity.” (p. 491). Their study indicates that the principle (i.e. teach, manager, parent) should evaluate the use of rewards as they might produce only short terms effects. Moreover, there exist “hidden costs” when the rewards, or extrinsic motivation, are removed as they become “negative reinforcers” (Benabau, p.492). It is suggested that the principle should instead pursue the integration of low-powered incentives in combination with empowerment to initiate a more trusting interaction. Additionally, the principle must avoid any “battles for dominance.” This concept highlights an individual’s attempt to gain control of some aspect of the interaction by downplaying or criticizing the accomplishments of another. The effect is a decrease in self-confidence and motivation.
The article finds that rewards to have a negative effect in the long-run. It make people less enthusiastic, bored, alienated, and reactive rather than proactive (Benabau, p.504). Alternatively, the individual’s intrinsic motivation will increase by enhancing their feelings of competence and self-determination. This can be positively contributed to by demonstrating the confidence in the individual’s ability through the use of delegation and empowerment. The use of coaching via tools such as encouragement and praise will also produce promising results by increasing self-confidence and the use of intrinsic motivation.
Personal Relevance: This article points out the critical role intrinsic motivation plays into the long term success of an organization. I have an natural ability to motivate, as identified across multiple self-assessments. I can leverage this stregnth in combination with the concepts in this article to better develop the skill. This will help me achieve my aspirations by focusing on the principles of intrinsic motivation to overcome any negative consequences of the inherently routine nature of the work done by mt employees. More specifically, I should focus on utilizing tools such as delegation and empowerment to leverage the intrinsic motivation of my employees. These techniques can be complimented by regular and genuine encouragement and praise to increase self-confidence. The result of these intrinsic motivation techniques will produce an environment of increased trust, competence, and self-determination.
I will not be able to achieve my aspirations unless I am able to integrate these techniques. The success of the organization (and my professional growth) is reliant on the long term commitment and success of its employees. The short term benefits of extrinsic motivation will be outweighed by negative consequences that include decreased enthusiasm, boredom, and feelings of alienation. Therefore, intrinsic motivation is an important approach that I must implement to be a transformational-oriented leader.
"One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?"
Frederick Herzberg’s article studies two classes of factors that lead to job satisfaction (and motivation) and job dissatisfaction: hygiene vs. motivators. Hygiene or dissatisfaction-avoidance factors that are extrinsic to the job include company policy and administration, supervision, interpersonal relationships, salary, status, and security. The motivator factors that are intrinsic to the job include achievement, recognition for achievement, the work, responsibility, and growth or advancement. A study of over 1,600 employees from various industries found that 81% of factors contributing to job satisfaction were considered to be motivator factors. One the other hand, 69% of hygiene elements were found to be contributors to job dissatisfaction.
The motivator-hygiene theory suggests that an organization’s work should be enriched to bring about the most efficient use of personnel. This enrichment much include “vertical loading” by which the aforementioned motivator factors are integrated into the job (Herzberg, p.10). Herzberg’s examines this theory with an experiment targeted at the introduction of motivating factors into a group of employees he labeled the achievers. His specific factors included removing some controls while retaining responsibility; increasing the accountability of individuals; granting additional responsibility (job freedom); making periodic reports available to employees; introducing new and more difficult tasks; assigning specific tasks, enabling them to become experts. Overall, the achievers realized higher performance standards and reported increasingly positive attitudes to the tasks than those in the control group.
Personal Relevance: This article is important in supporting the findings on the aforementioned importance of intrinsic motivation. The Jung ‘Control Mask Behavior’ test concluded that I was both a friendly helper and strong achiever. A weakness associated with the strong achiever is an overly strong desire to succeed. Such a trait might be associated with various hygiene factors as identified in the article (supervision, status). It is helpful for me to identity those activities as they are seen to contribute to job dissatisfaction so I can minimize those qualities to avoid demotivating my employees.
Success in the operations sector of the banking industry will certainly require me to focus on decreasing my implementation of these hygiene factors. Instead, I should remain focused on achieving my goals by integrating motivational techniques that are central to that of transformational leadership. Activities that are focused on motivator factors (achievement, recognition for achievement, responsibility) will lead to increased performance standards and positive attitudes of my subordinates. This will increase the effectiveness of my leadership style and contribute to the achievement of my long-term aspirations.
A particularly important aspect should be my integration of new and more challenging tasks that increase responsbilility. This plays into the transformational leadership characteristic of intellectual stimulation. My MBTI typology and managerial assessment highlight that I am inherently supportive of those in charge or standard procedures too uncritically and often fail to see wider possibilities/alternatives to do things. I must strive to keep myself intellectually challenged so I do the sane with my subordinates. This will support my organizations development and increase my ability to become an operations manager/SVP.
The motivator-hygiene theory suggests that an organization’s work should be enriched to bring about the most efficient use of personnel. This enrichment much include “vertical loading” by which the aforementioned motivator factors are integrated into the job (Herzberg, p.10). Herzberg’s examines this theory with an experiment targeted at the introduction of motivating factors into a group of employees he labeled the achievers. His specific factors included removing some controls while retaining responsibility; increasing the accountability of individuals; granting additional responsibility (job freedom); making periodic reports available to employees; introducing new and more difficult tasks; assigning specific tasks, enabling them to become experts. Overall, the achievers realized higher performance standards and reported increasingly positive attitudes to the tasks than those in the control group.
Personal Relevance: This article is important in supporting the findings on the aforementioned importance of intrinsic motivation. The Jung ‘Control Mask Behavior’ test concluded that I was both a friendly helper and strong achiever. A weakness associated with the strong achiever is an overly strong desire to succeed. Such a trait might be associated with various hygiene factors as identified in the article (supervision, status). It is helpful for me to identity those activities as they are seen to contribute to job dissatisfaction so I can minimize those qualities to avoid demotivating my employees.
Success in the operations sector of the banking industry will certainly require me to focus on decreasing my implementation of these hygiene factors. Instead, I should remain focused on achieving my goals by integrating motivational techniques that are central to that of transformational leadership. Activities that are focused on motivator factors (achievement, recognition for achievement, responsibility) will lead to increased performance standards and positive attitudes of my subordinates. This will increase the effectiveness of my leadership style and contribute to the achievement of my long-term aspirations.
A particularly important aspect should be my integration of new and more challenging tasks that increase responsbilility. This plays into the transformational leadership characteristic of intellectual stimulation. My MBTI typology and managerial assessment highlight that I am inherently supportive of those in charge or standard procedures too uncritically and often fail to see wider possibilities/alternatives to do things. I must strive to keep myself intellectually challenged so I do the sane with my subordinates. This will support my organizations development and increase my ability to become an operations manager/SVP.
"What Really Motivates People?"
Much of today’s practical knowledge about what motivates people is rooted in early 20th behaviorism. This theory is based upon the assumption that human behavior is motivated by external stimuli (rewards and punishment). This philosophy is has become entrenched in the psyche of American business (p.26). The result has been the integration of behaviorist programs for motivating people: merit pay plans, balanced scorecards, annual performance reviews, etc. Stricker argues that these techniques only produce short-term results. Moreover, they produce negative long-term results including damaging relationships through internal competition and destroying intrinsic motivation by reducing work to an economic transaction (Stricker, p.11). Behaviorist strategist that relay on rewards and punishments are not effective and successful leaders must move look past this to effectively motivate.
The article challenges today’s manager to ask the question, “How can we create the conditions within which to motivate ourselves?” It offers the following ideas:
Personal Relevance: It is important for me to realize my role as an active participant in building a trusting, safe environment. My MBTI personality typology confirms that I might agree with others for the sake of harmony. This is contradictory to creating a trusting environment as I expect others to feel comfortable to share their thoughts. I have to share my opinion accurately and truthfully while promoting an environment where everyone’s thoughts are valued. I have to lead by example and this article provides me with the guidance on the benefits of doing so.
Several other traits of successfully reformed motivation techniques are offered in this article. I currently supervise a team of front-line employees. This article offers several methods of motivation that are more effective than older ones that rely on a behaviorist system of rewards and punishment. I must work diligently to motivate my front-line employees who are challenged with working function assignments that are repetitive. Increasing their motivation will lead to increased positive attitudes and production performance. Therefore, to achieve my aspirations and progress in my career I have learn to successfully motivate my employees using the techniques described in this article. This will contribute to my objective of integrating transformational leadership and increase my ability to be promoted in the capacity of an operations manager/SVP.
The article challenges today’s manager to ask the question, “How can we create the conditions within which to motivate ourselves?” It offers the following ideas:
- Become a values-driven organization: Create a trusting environment where others feel safe to tell the truth – hold all to this standard. Expect your employees to work with limited supervision or rule. Create an environment that promotes selfless behavior.
- Create a safe environment: The environment should encourage individuals to share ideas – even those that are unpopular. Individuals should feel like they can be honest and new ideas should be celebrated. This will promote the idea of innovation. The environment should promote an open-door policy where people are free to ask for help, regardless of role.
- Expect people to be responsible and accountable: Expect this without supervision and show appreciation for individual contributions.
- Encourage everyone to do his/her best: Expect people to design, monitor, and measure processes. Promote continuous improvement through “constant experimentation.”
Personal Relevance: It is important for me to realize my role as an active participant in building a trusting, safe environment. My MBTI personality typology confirms that I might agree with others for the sake of harmony. This is contradictory to creating a trusting environment as I expect others to feel comfortable to share their thoughts. I have to share my opinion accurately and truthfully while promoting an environment where everyone’s thoughts are valued. I have to lead by example and this article provides me with the guidance on the benefits of doing so.
Several other traits of successfully reformed motivation techniques are offered in this article. I currently supervise a team of front-line employees. This article offers several methods of motivation that are more effective than older ones that rely on a behaviorist system of rewards and punishment. I must work diligently to motivate my front-line employees who are challenged with working function assignments that are repetitive. Increasing their motivation will lead to increased positive attitudes and production performance. Therefore, to achieve my aspirations and progress in my career I have learn to successfully motivate my employees using the techniques described in this article. This will contribute to my objective of integrating transformational leadership and increase my ability to be promoted in the capacity of an operations manager/SVP.
Exercises and Practice Routines
This activity is important in developing an awareness of people's attitudes, beliefs and convictions. I found that it helped to contribute to the participants awareness of how to build environment that will be more trusting thus supporting a higher degree of motivation.
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This activity relies of helping people understand their character. A discussion centering around their answers facilitated feelings of inclusion which seemed to have a motivating effect through inclusion. Participants were very engaged and felt comfortable during the activity which I find to be evidence of increased feelings of inclusion.
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