Motivated or Demotivated?

Have you ever asked said or thought – “I wish my staff would come up with some good ideas?” or more importantly do you find it a real drag when Monday comes around?

The answer to both problems is in the word motivation and in the understanding of what motivates people.

As business people or leaders of organisations we spend lots of time analysing information relating to the performance of our enterprises but little time in understanding what motivates us or our people. Yet who would argue that if people are motivated they perform better and the organisations they work for are likely to benefit.

So if we had a measure of motivation or understood better what motivated people we might be able to improve performance of individuals and their enterprises. Not surprisingly each of us is different and motivated by different things at difficult times in our lives. We each have our own motivational profile (or map) and need to be aware of what it means.

There are nine key motivators and the characteristics of these are detailed below:

	Characteristics	Hot buttons	Rewards
BUILDER	seeks money, material satisfactions, above average living	Money& material satisfaction	£££ & material perks
DIRECTOR	seeks power, influence, control of people/resources	Control	Responsibility & influence
EXPERT	seeks expertise, mastery, specialisation	Expertise & mastery	Training & development
FRIEND	seeks belonging, friendship, fulfilling relationships	Belonging & friendship	Support and involvement
DEFENDER	seeks security, predictability, stability	Security and predictability	Communications & continuity
STAR	seeks recognition, respect, social esteem	Recognition & respect	Awards & status
SEARCHER	seeks meaning, making a difference, providing worthwhile things	Meaning & make a difference	Praise& regular feedback
CREATOR	seeks innovation, identification with new, expressing creative potential	Innovation & change	Rewards for innovation
SPIRIT	seeks freedom, independence, making own decisions	Freedom & independence	Autonomy & empowerment

 

A person’s lack of motivation as well as being reflected in their performance may also be echoed in their attendance record. In these times of change the use of our staffs skills and motivation is key.

If you want to understand more about your motivation or that of your teams please contact us enquiries@emseff.co.uk or have a look at www.motivationalmaps.com

Consider why teams fail:

• Mismatched needs
• Unresolved conflicts
• Personality clashes
• Lack of trust
• Lack of motivation

As leaders it is our job to motivate our teams to gain peak performance

“You could teach a turkey to climb trees but it would be quicker to buy a squirrel”