In my book Leadership: A View From the Middle, I wrote about people being a manager’s first priority. Here is an excerpt:
In order to keep our workforce happy and productive, we need to keep the people happy. How do we do this? The people are paid to work, so what else can we do to make them happy in their jobs? The simple answer is to give them what they want. Actually, to give them what they need, and to give them what they want, to a certain extent. When we give our employees what they need, such as formal training, supplies, and a safe working environment, they tend to be happier. When we give them what they want, such as respect, recognition, and responsibility, they also tend to be happier.
I would like to delve deeper into this thought. We’re ‘bout to get psychological up in here so please, bear with me and read on. Everybody remembers Abraham Maslow’s theory of motivation, which he called his Hierarchy of Needs, from high school, right? Probably not in high school, but every psych major has undoubtedly studied his theory at one time or another. For those of us who were not psych majors, let’s have a quick review of his theory.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs stems from the basic human needs and builds on them to something he referred to as self-actualization. Whether we know it or not, each one of us is affected by this, as it really affects our motivation levels both personally and professionally. His theory is often depicted as a pyramid, with basic human needs being the base of it. Here is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:
If we correlate the examples on the left side with his pyramid, we can see that these are things that we as humans need to be happy. Maslow described someone who has achieved self-actualization, in part, as someone who is “not externally motivated or even goal-directed, rather their motivation is the internal one of growth and development, the actualization of themselves and their potentialities.” This is a mouthful, but what I think he is saying is that people in general want to be happier in their personal situation. They want to grow as humans, and achieve that feeling that they have arrived. Arrived at what, you say? Well, they want to feel like what they do matters. They want to experience a feeling of accomplishment in their lives, and this can be personal or professional, as I stated earlier. Unfortunately, they are not in control of all levels of the pyramid.
This is where managers come in. Managers control some of these levels, and it is here where they can make the biggest impact on their employees’ lives as well as the company’s bottom line. Let me explain. Managers should try to motivate or inspire their employees into wanting to perform their jobs well. There are several methods in which they can do this, and the one I want to present here is called Frederick Hertzberg’s Two-Factor Motivation Theory.
The two factors in Hertzberg’s theory are referred to as Extrinsic and Intrinsic. Let’s take a look at how these fit in with Maslow’s hierarchy:
Bear with me now, it will start to make sense. Herzberg suggests these two factors largely are responsible for employee motivation. As Nancy Adler explains; the first factor, extrinsic, is associated with the environment surrounding the job. Examples include working conditions, supervision, co-worker relationships, salary, company policies and administration. When these factors are not positive to the employee, his or her motivation suffers. The next factor is intrinsic.
Intrinsic factors include things associated with the job. Examples include the work itself, responsibility, recognition, achievement, and advancement. I will add co-worker relationships to this side as well, as I believe it kind of spans both factors depending on the situation. These examples are the main motivators for an employee. If they are not positive, then the employee will be less motivated and therefore, less productive. The combination of these factors speaks to the behavior of employees in relation to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Another thing to think of is that the extrinsic factors are difficult to control, while intrinsic factors are those that are able to be changed or controlled.3 Let’s put them together with Maslow’s pyramid:
We can see from the graphic that many of the aspects of the job fit into the two-factor theory as well as Maslow’s. These are paramount when it comes to motivation. Managers should understand what it takes to motivate their employees, and consider this example in their efforts to do so. Managers have control for the most part, of nearly everything in the intrinsic category above. They should manipulate these intrinsic examples in order to make their employees happier. Employees are the life-blood of every company, so it is up to the manager to ensure that they are kept happy. By putting their people first, they will be on the road to not only becoming a successful manager, but a leader as well.
I mentioned the word “leader” here because that is what a manager should strive to be. The definitions of managers and leaders are often at the opposite ends of the spectrum. For instance, a manager might say, “Go,” while a leader says, “Let’s go.” You get the idea. Managers must understand their people and know what to do to keep them happy. If they are successful at doing this, then they may find themselves becoming more of a leader as opposed to a manager only.
Look back at the title of this article, Motivation and Inspiration. As a final thought, it should be said that a manager does not inspire. A manager directs. Leaders inspire. Understand that although motivation and inspiration fall under different philosophies (management vs leadership), they can be used by both. This is where the manager goes for the win. The title, “Manager” can stand by itself. “Leader” can stand by itself as well. But when the two are merged together, manager and leader, something very satisfying happens. When a manager becomes a leader too, then this person has reached their own version of self-actualization.
References:
1. Maslow, A.H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review. Retrieved from http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.htm
2. Herzberg, F. (1987). One more time: how do you motivate employees? The Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http://www.facilitif.eu/user_files/file/herzburg_article.pdf
3. Adler, N. (2008). International dimensions of organizational behavior (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South Western (Cengage).
