Why is Motivation Important and Can It Be Measured?

As I talked about in an earlier post, motivation is what gives behavior its energy and direction. Pritchard and Ashwood (2008) further define motivation as “how we choose to allocate our energy to different actions to achieve the greatest satisfaction of our needs” (p. 6). They explain that our level of motivation determines which actions we’ll work on, how much effort we’ll put in, and how long we’ll work (persistence), and that a motivating environment is one in which expending more energy leads to satisfying more needs (p. 7). Why motivation is so important is that it’s at the heart of changing behavior and performance. Here are nine key aspects of motivation that are important to understand, especially as a manager (p. 8 – 9):

• Motivation is understandable, and can be diagnosed and influenced.
• Motivation is a process, a series of connected and ordered steps.
• Motivation is a not a “fad issue” in management, it’s fundamental.
• Motivation must be managed over the long term and takes sustained effort.
• Motivation is logical, operating on principles.
• Motivation is manageable and how you manage people influences their motivation.
• Motivation is a work strategy—choosing what to work on, how much effort to put in, and for how long.
• Motivation is a collaboration between an organization and its employees.
• Motivation levels that are high benefit everyone.

So, how do you know if you have a motivation problem, in yourself or someone you manage? Here’s a “Motivation Symptoms Questionnaire” from Pritchard and Ashford (2008) that can help you figure out whether motivation is high, needs improving, or is in serious trouble (p. 11). The questionnaire is reproduced only in part; the full questionnaire is in their book, Managing Motivation.

On a scale of 1 - 3, do you or the people you manage…
1 = Rarely or never
2 = Sometimes
3 = Often

___ Avoid unpleasant tasks
___Work inefficiently and don’t want to become more efficient
___Generate few innovative ideas
___Put in the least possible amount of effort
___Avoid work by arriving late, leaving early, prolonging breaks, etc.
___Give up on difficult tasks
___Have low commitment to the goals of the team
___Frequently feel stressed and/or fatigued
___Frequently complain about management or coworkers
___Blame others for problems

A score of 10 – 15 means motivation is high; a score of 16 – 22 means motivation needs improving; a score of 23 – 30 means motivation needs serious help!

Reference:

Pritchard, R. & Ashwood, E. (2008). Managing Motivation: A Manager’s Guide to Diagnosing and Improving Motivation. New York: Routledge Academic

Motivation and Management – Basic Assumptions

In their book, Motivation and Management, authors Richard Pritchard and Elissa Ashwood explain how to diagnose and improve motivation in employees. I’m excited to share what they’ve written, starting with some basics about managing motivation. Their advice is grounded in solid research. Pritchard brings his strong academic background to the book, as an organizational psychology professor and researcher, and Ashwood, with an MBA and many years in the corporate sector, brings her strong background in business and leadership training. 

One of the very first things Pritchard and Ashwood (2008) explain is that management is about managing others’ behavior. They say that managing behavior is, to a large extent, about managing motivation, and that understanding what motivates employees is key to keeping them engaged and improving their effectiveness (p. 4). This seems like information every manager could benefit from. Whether you manage people or not, however, it's important to understand what increases and decreases motivation, for those times when you need to motivate yourself! In upcoming posts, I'll cover how to detect low motivation in yourself or those you manage.

Before diving into their motivation model, Pritchard and Ashwood (2008) first provide a simple run-down of “basic assumptions" about people. I found these basic assumptions to be really wonderful... Here they are (p. 4 – 6): 

People have a fundamental need to do a good job — It is personally satisfying to a do good work, and dissatisfying to do things poorly. The need to do a good job is intrinsic. Children get frustrated when they can’t accomplish something successfully. The desire to do things well is a trait we’ve adapted as humans, as a means of survival. Our ancestors might not have survived if they didn’t do things well, and today we feel the same survival instinct as we see how our skills are tied to our abilities to make house payments and feed our families.

People want control at work — People want to feel some control over what happens in their lives, including at work. This is a basic, intrinsic need we all have. Managers who understand this make efforts to give people more control over their projects, hours, environment, and so on, recognizing that this can lead to increased quality and motivation.

People do not want to be held accountable for things they cannot control — Being evaluated for completing a project that depends on other people (for example, to get you the information on time) can be frustrating. It’s common that people are evaluated on things that they believe are outside their control. As a manager, it’s wise to be aware of this.

People want feedback but don’t like to be evaluated —  Not knowing how you’re doing at work, in the eyes of your manager, can be stressful. People need feedback about how they’re doing, and appreciate knowing when they’re doing well. However, being evaluated has a different connotation, usually a negative one. Giving people detailed and balanced feedback is difficult, but necessary. Of course, no one wants their faults broadcasted, so it’s important to provide negative feedback in private. On the flip side, people want their successes celebrated and shared with others in the organization.

People want to be valued — Showing employees that they are valued, respected, and appreciated is powerful. Motivation starts to decrease when people don’t feel valued. Pritchard and Ashwood (2008) make a point that I found myself chuckling over: “Have you ever found yourself feeling less motivated at work because you weren’t feeling valued, only to have someone demonstrate their respect and appreciation for you and suddenly you’re volunteering for extra assignments?” (p. 6).

People do not want their time wasted — Not communicating clear priorities or constantly changing goals or procedures decreases motivation. Everyone’s time and energy is valuable. To ask an employee to complete a task and then tell him/her, weeks later, that it’s not needed or should be done differently is a bad precedent. Do this repeatedly and you’re going to have an unmotivated employee on your hands.

Reference:

Pritchard, R. & Ashwood, E. (2008). Managing Motivation: A Manager’s Guide to Diagnosing and Improving Motivation. New York: Routledge Academic

Introduction to Motivation

There are quite a few theories of motivation, it turns out! I’m excited to embark on the journey of learning about them all. With my ever-inquisitive and skeptical mind, I always wonder what motivates people to behave the way they do. And I sometimes wonder the same about myself. The text, Understanding Motivation and Emotion, explains that there are two fundamental questions in the study of motivation: 1) What causes behavior? and 2) Why does behavior vary in its intensity? (Reeve, 2008, 4). Reeve (2008) later expands the first question to “What causes activity—not only our behavior, but also our thoughts, our feelings, and our dreams?” (p. 6). I was relieved to find out that I am not abnormal in how variable and rapidly-changing my motivation can be. I could relate when Reeve (2008)  explained, “Some days an employee works rapidly and diligently; other days the work is lethargic. One day a student shows strong enthusiasm, strives for excellence, and shows determined goal-directed striving; yet the next day, the same student is listless, does only the minimal amount of work, and avoids being challenged academically” (p. 7).

Reeve (2008) says that “The point of a motivation theory is to explain what gives behavior its energy and its direction…. Energy implies that behavior has strength—that it is relatively strong, intense, and persistent. Direction implies that behavior has purpose—that it is aimed or guided toward achieving some particular goal or outcome ” (p. 8). Sources of motivation come from an individual’s internal motives—needs, cognitions, emotions—and from external events. Needs are physiological or psychological in nature, such as the need for food or water, or the need for competence and belongingness. Cognitions are thoughts, beliefs, expectations, and one’s self-concept. Emotions are short-lived “expressive phenomena that orchestrate how we react adaptively to the important events in our lives” (Reeve, 2008, 9). External events can be social, environmental, or cultural (being praised, offered money, or being in an environment such as an office or a classroom).

Motivation levels are expressed in four ways: behavior, engagement, brain activity, and self-report. It’s interesting that you can’t really hide the fact that you’re unmotivated! Behavioral expressions of motivation include:

·         How much attention you give something—concentration and task-focus

·         The effort you put into something

·         The amount of time it takes you to respond to a stimulus event (latency)

·         The persistence you show (how long you keep at something)

·         The choices you make

·         The probability that you’ll respond to something

·         Your facial expressions

·         Your bodily gestures  

Engagement refers to “the behavioral intensity, emotional quality, and personal investment” you make in an activity. If you’re trying to determine whether someone is engaged in what they’re doing, pay attention to their behavior, emotions, cognition, and voice. Of course, our brains and bodies know when we’re motivated and when we’re not because they give all kinds of indicators, such as brain activity, hormonal activity, heart rate changes, and respiratory rate changes, among other things. Lastly, people can self-report on their motivation levels, but this is not usually very reliable as a scientific method (Reeve, 2008, 13).

Motivation is an important resource for adapting to the world around us and maintaining well-being. What’s interesting to me is how important internal/intrinsic motivation is. Reeve (2008) explains, “People who are bossed around, coerced, and controlled by others tend to become emotionally flat and numb to the hopes and aspirations embedded within their inner psychological needs. Being controlled by others sours the person’s capacity to generate motivation of his or her own” (p. 15). If you’re a manager, teacher, or coach, hopefully this is not new information to you! However, you probably also know how difficult motivating other people can be. In my future posts, I’ll be talking about motivational theories that can be applied in the workplace, the classroom, and in our personal lives, such as:

·         Achievement motivation

·         Drive

·         Ego development

·         “Flow”

·         Self-actualization

·         Self-determination

·         Many more

One final thought…something I found very useful for evaluating my own and others’ motivation… It sounds simple, but people who are motivated express joy, hope, interest, and optimism, whereas people who are unmotivated express sadness, hopelessness, frustration and stress (Reeve, 2008, 19). Motivating ourselves and others is an art…and I’m looking forward to learning (and writing) more about it!

Reference:

Reeve, J. ( 2008). 5th edition. Understanding Motivation and Emotion. New York: Wiley Press.

Welcome!

I am taking an independent study course through Regis University and this is one of the ways I'll be demonstrating what I'm learning. I'm working toward an M.A. in psychology, with a focus on organizational psychology. This course "Motivation and Emotion" will cover topics such as:

·         Research related to theories of human motivation.

·         How motivation theories and practices can be applied to organizational settings.

·         Research related to theories of human emotion.

·         How emotion theories and practices, including emotional intelligence, can be applied to organizational settings.

Texts for this course include:

-          Ciarrochi, J. (2007). Applying emotional intelligence: A practitioner's guide. New York: Psychology Press.

-          Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. New York, NY: Bantam Dell.

-          Goleman, D. (1998). Working with Emotional Intelligence. New York, NY: Bantam Dell.

-          Pritchard, R. & Ashwood, E. (2008) Managing Motivation: A Manager’s Guide to Diagnosing and Improving Motivation. New York: Routledge Academic

-          Reeve, J. ( 2008). 5th edition. Understanding Motivation and Emotion. New York: Wiley Press.

I'm not sure who will be reading this blog, besides my professor, but it's open to anyone who wants to. You can leave comments, if you wish!