Motivation - the fourth step in POCM (part 2)

In a series of articles Pat Sheridan talks about the various aspects of the management function under the headings of plan, organise, control and motivate (POCM). If you are responsible for the work of others and for achieving any kind of preordained results then you are, in fact, managing. Whether your title is manager, supervisor, team leader, chargehand or superintendent, you are actually managing and, ipso facto, POCM applies to you. This is the second article on motivation, the fourth step in POCM. This subject matter deals primarily with people. As a general rule it is the more complex aspect of management and would take many articles to cover this fascinating topic.

The Positive Views
'I love coming into to work each day. There is a great bunch people and we get on really well. We socialise to a fair degree and also help one another out at work without a second thought. It’s a great company to work for, the managers are cool, encouraging and very flexible and there is always a great buzz about the place, particularly around Christmas time. Sure, we have some problems and the competition has us constantly challenged, but we rise to it every time. Once we have some achievement we all celebrate together and management shows there appreciation of work well done. I feel I am getting great experience and I am sure if I do well I will have a good career with this company.'

In the last paragraph an employee explains to a group of friends what their work life is like. Most employers would love to be a ‘fly on the wall’ and overhear some of their employees explain their working environment and attitude in such a positive manner.

It is not everyday that we hear people talking about their place of work in such a positive way but is does happen and probably more frequently than one might think.

You might also notice that money was not mentioned at all. Surprisingly (or perhaps not so surprisingly) this is not so unusual in such circumstances. People generally talk about everything else first, unless of course their pay is way out of line and there is a poor working environment. This phenomenon is fascinating - it reflects those behavioural traits discovered by the psychologists and mentioned in Motivation (part one).

The Negative Views
The opposite of the positive statement may go as follows:

'I am trying my hardest to get out of this hellhole of a job. The pay is crap, the managers haven’t got a brain between them and couldn’t make a decision to save their own lives. They spend more time covering themselves and playing political games. They won’t listen to anything I have to offer, nor any of the other staff for that matter - no wonder we’re losing money. If I could get a job with the competition I’d be thrilled, but once they hear where I’m working, that would be the end of me, our image in the market is dreadful. The Chief Executive sits on his ‘ivory throne’ and hasn’t got a clue what’s going on. The managers wouldn’t trust their own mother and you could work until you drop before they’d even dream of saying thanks! In fact I feel like I am going backwards since I joined this circus.'

I am sure we have all heard similar and possibly more robust comments about a person’s employment status.

Developing Motivational Practices
If we were pushed to compress the root cause of such attitudinal expressions into a solitary word, the core ingredient would be trust. The positive example above radiates high trust, the negative view bleeds low trust.

Before looking at the common traits in companies which have either a high or low trust environment, it is important to consider some of the basic ingredients which motivate us. Think about what motivates you.

Here are some points to consider:

The average pay for the job / Above average pay for the job
Interesting work / Routine, undemanding work
Learning opportunity / Not having to learn new skill-sets
Good work colleagues / No work colleagues
Demanding occupational challenge / Repetitious unchallenging work
Being busy / Having time to switch off and relax
Autonomy to act / No responsibility for decisions
Responsibility for work of others / No supervisory responsibilities
Pleasure in achievement / No pressure to achieve targets
Public recognition for achievement / No interest in recognition
Recognition through status / Status maintenance too demanding
Team work / Working on my own
Being included in setting goals / No interest in company goals
Pleasant environment / Bad environment
Good morale / Morale does not matter to me
Experiencing success / I do the job and I don’t need to know any more
A fun environment / Prefer isolation
People listen to my views / No one bothers to listen

Managers will be able to extend this list ad infinitum. Most managers will agree that there is no specific factors which can be applied with equal success to all employees types, i.e. the ‘one size fits all’ approach. Variables include male, female, young, old, qualified, unqualified, positive attitude, negative attitude, introverts, extroverts, dull, bright, etc. However there are certain combinations of the above factors, when applied consistently, will tend to have a positive impact on motivation.

There is a personal dignity in work arising from a feeling of self worth and being able to pay ones own way in life, including providing for one’s family. Yet, this does not increase or maintain motivation. Applying one’s abilities and improving these skills is a positive contributor to this personal dignity (and is generally perceived as motivational). The environment we work in either recognises and supports this dignity or detracts from it. The style of management and the application of a uniform approach which includes specific motivational factors are critical to achieving the best environment to nurture positive motivational principles.

So what are the basic combinations of factors which tend to support this view? We must consider money and its relevant role first, without which positive motivation is difficult, to say the least. The devotees of motivational concepts will already be aware that money is an immediate need and yet is a short-term motivator.

Ensure a reasonable rate for the job and increase this in line with national pay agreements and market rates. Fair pay is the first basic employee expectation! However, pay, in itself, will not continue to keep employees motivated. There are other considerations.

The average human being needs to be loved, appreciated, respected, included, recognised and valued. Developing policies, practices and, particularly, communications procedures which address such needs would be a good starting point.

Companies must investigate and develop clear value systems to address motivational concepts. Managers need to be honest in their self-assessment of their motivational skill-sets. We all know managers who are highly ambitious and driven to achieve success but dreadful at motivating their team. The question you must ask yourself is what type of manager/motivator am I?

If you are to gain any useful or pragmatic benefit from these considerations which could put to immediate and beneficial use it is strongly recommended that you review your company’s performance related to the perceived level of trust in the company (as expressed through positive policies and procedures and the genuine application of such).

So, let us look at the traits in companies which have either a high trust or low trust culture.

Assess your own company
Take a little time out to rate your performance. You may wish to share the information and plan for constructive improvements where you find any weaknesses.

• Do you see your company predominantly on one side or the other?
• Is it on the ‘right’ or high trust side?
• Is it a mix of both?
• Is it oscillating from high to low trust depending on which department (manager) you consider? In other words an inconsistent approach?
• Work out a simple scoring method for each bullet point. For example, say a max score of 10 points for each high trust bullet point, lowest score 0. The range could be as follows: excellent 10, good 8, fair 6, poor 4, terrible 0. Use minus points for the low trust list.
• Prioritise your weak spots.
• Develop incremental steps to address each weakness.
• Involve all managers (anyone with responsibility for the work of others).
• Get consensus and agreement to strategic changes.
• Implement and monitor progress.
• When successful, celebrate.

Motivational Progression: A chain-reaction from positive experiences
Investigating and considering motivational factors is an on-going process. You will also realise that each employee may have similar motivational needs at a base level (fair play for example) and completely different motivational needs at a higher level related to their careers, life paths, personal development ideals, personal or home circumstances (considerations such as finance, health, romance and whole plethora of inter-related and often complex factors). So once you have tackled the basic level of understanding motivation and have tried to rate its status within the company, it might be prudent to involve employees in considering their needs and developing some solutions in a joint effort to quantify and implement further proactive changes.

Making Time
Many employers just fail to understand motivation and consequently, ignore it. It is like some ambiguous or mythical ‘Holy Grail’ that always lies just out of reach. The opposite is actually the case. The answers generally lie right under our ‘management nose’. One must however, have the desire and the will to look and learn, to ask questions and involve all, both as a group and as individuals. You need to know the capacity and style of managers and they, in turn, must know their leader’s (this can be the Chief Executive or Managing Director) views on motivation - the positive proactive people-related considerations.

It is a learning process first and a developmental process second.

All employees can make a contribution. Once a process to involve others is coupled with an objective to make improvements and get better at what we do, and with the consideration of peoples needs at the core, real beneficial changes take place. From this point onwards the atmosphere and environment improves.

Motivational Responsibility
There is an onus on the leader to launch the motivational thinking and establish values based on respectful people principles. The leader can then ensure that all others in the chain are committed to this culture. The biggest contributing factor to the success of such a motivation change process is communications. The leader should begin the process.

Summary
Be proactive with people, understand motivation and make incremental improvements, it will pay you back a thousand-fold. Remember, if you treat your employees like children then that is how they will behave and you can take the credit for this result.

Begin, as soon as possible, to consider and address change but remember that changing the motivational environment will not happen overnight. However, once people understand that you are serious about trying to understand, willing to listen, willing to practice what you preach (even though the perceived practical changes might be small), the realisation that the process is genuine will already have changed the motivational environment. The genuine effort on your behalf may have just raised the level of trust and your reward will be co-operation, flexibility, a willingness to achieve what was once considered impossible and this should help achieve successful results.

Consider the following steps:

1. Buy yourself a ‘thin’ book on motivation - one that you can dip into when you have a free minute or two. Avoid the vast tomes, as they will put you off the subject. You, like most busy managers, will probably not get time to read them or they will swamp you and make you lose interest.
2. Learn about your current motivational status and be honest in your assessment. If you are really brave, get an independent party to test the water.
3. Involve management first to ensure the culture change objective is at least understood and consistent before moving forward.
4. Define the improvements and ensure all understand and are committed.
5. Share you aspirations, expectations and plans.
6. Invite comments from all, but be prepared to listen carefully and without going on the defensive. Remind yourself that you have two ears and only one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak!
7. Check back and assess your environment. Be consistent with your key indicators.
8. Try and quantify the improvements in motivational returns. This is often difficult to do – remember it is still the ‘Holy Grail’ of management abilities.

Pat  Sheridan