Why it is important in understanding the types of motivation when it comes to team performance.

HOW DOES MOTIVATION AFFECT JOB PERFORMANCE?

MOTIVATION IS IMPORTANT TO AN INDIVIDUAL AND A BUSINESS

When we take into consideration the performance of a business, it cannot be looked at in isolation from its employees. They are arguably the biggest assets a business owns and the manner in which staff performs on the job has a significant impact on the results and success of a business.

Motivation is important to a business and its employees. It helps an individual achieve personal goals. A motivated individual will have greater job satisfaction, heightened performance and a willingness to succeed. This is enjoyed by the wider team and the overall organisation.

Employee motivation however, is a common concern for many managers. Unmotivated employees typically spend little or no effort completing required work, often do the bare minimum without a desire to deliver quality outcomes and regularly avoid workplace functions or gatherings. Without any spark of creativity, they are less motivated to perform.

The tricky part of motivation is that every employee has a different trigger that will get them inspired and employers need to work hard to identify ways to motivate each person based on their personal wants and needs.

THE POWER OF EMPOWERMENT

When an employee is empowered, they are able to take control of and be influential in a particular situation. Empowerment is powerful. It offers that freedom to make decisions and take ownership of the good, and the not so good, outcomes and can only come from someone who is motivated. An employee that desires to have their voice heard, who wants to contribute in a pivotal role and who seeks results, will thrive with empowerment.

MOTIVATION IS CONTAGIOUS

When management fail to deal with performance concerns or turn a blind eye to problems in the workplace, this can be a huge motivation killer. By not establishing standards and allowing poor performance to be left unaddressed, the negative implications can very quickly deter those who would typically shine. Motivation is contagious and if the wrong message is being sent from senior leaders, it can have a detrimental impact on job performance.

Looking at this from a more positive slant however, the results and success a team of motivated employees can be looked upon with much desire and can be a drawcard for someone who is seeking that extra inspiration. Surrounding yourself with positive, successful believers is essential.

IDENTIFYING HIGHLY MOTIVATED EMPLOYEES

A motivated employee will always look for a better way to tackle a job. They will always look to streamline a process, eliminate waste, automate tasks and overall produce a more efficient result. It’s in their bones to be quality orientated. It’s in their DNA to work productively.

From a business perspective this is paramount. On the job performance is enhanced and goals are more readily achieved. As a bonus too, higher quality output, typically via an improved and speedier process, results in lower costs.

ORGANISATIONAL GOALS MET WITH HIGH PERFORMERS

You’d have to agree that one of the main goals of a business is to make money. You’d also have to agree that without a team of employees who work to achieve the established goals, that profit will never be attained to levels desired. So it is clear that employers have a big role to play when it comes to influencing the job performance of staff if success is to be achieved.

High performers that are highly motivated bring with them a positive attitude and interest in their outcomes. Whilst there is definitely a requirement for the individual to want to perform and want to be motivated, there are also many ways that management can address those who are demotivated and, more importantly, tackle motivation before it becomes an issue. Keeping motivation high can be a challenge depending on the mix of employees and the requirement to stay on top of what each of their individual triggers are, but the results far outweigh the effort.

THE IMPORTANCE OF INFLUENCE

Without motivation, a person’s desire to achieve a goal is minimal. Even if an employee is equipped with the right tools, skills and training to perform the tasks required of them correctly, the only thing stopping them from doing so is their motivation. If you don’t address the issue of motivation straight away, negative feelings soon develop into a spiral of negative behaviours. This not only reduces the productivity of the individual and starts to affect the rest of the team, but in the worst case it may result in that individual receiving a termination letter, which is the worst possible outcome for everyone. Whatever it may be that’s causing them to loose focus, whether it is an external pressure, a personality conflict or a lack of understanding of how their work fits into the bigger picture, addressing it is and staff need to be provided with a range of opportunities that will inspire them and give them the chance to take the reigns and run with a job.

Consider calling a motivational speaker to visit your workplace. They are the experts in cleverly and subtly influencing motivation levels and ultimately getting unmotivated behaviours turned around sooner rather than later. It’s all about empowerment, confidence, and self-belief.

Nat Cook is one of Australia’s most valuable motivational speakers for workplace performance improvement. For a one-on-one motivational session or an inspirational group appearance, contact Nat today.

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Motivation is a word that is tossed around a lot—motivation to lose weight, to accomplish more and to do just about anything!

But what is motivation? Motivation is what drives people to success. Think about people who are motivated to lose weight—the more driven they are, the greater success they have.

Motivation plays a critical role in employee productivity, quality and speed of work. Leaders are typically held accountable to motivate their team, which is quite challenging. In fact, it is difficult for leaders to motivate their employees, because people are already motivated. The question then is not whether someone is motivated, but why they are motivated and what they are motivated to do.

Here are two factors that are greatly affected when employees lack motivation.

Oftentimes leaders focus on extrinsic motivation, which means individuals are focused on an external incentive. This type of motivation occurs when a person is motivated to perform a behavior or activity in order to earn a reward or avoid a punishment. For example, if someone exceeds the sales quota, a bonus may be in store, but if the sales quota is missed by a significant amount, the result might be termination.

On the other hand, intrinsic motivation occurs when people are motivated to perform a behavior or activity because it is personally rewarding. They may engage in an activity for its own sake rather than a desire for some external reward. An example of this is employees who stay late to finalize a deliverable because they find the work fun and interesting. Intrinsic motivation is when individuals want to do something. Extrinsic motivation is when somebody else tries to make them do something.

Leaders today really need to make a mindshift change from focusing solely on extrinsic to creating an environment that is both intrinsically satisfying and extrinsically encouraging. Daniel Pink explains in his book, “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us,” that “the secret to performance and satisfaction—at work, at school, and at home—is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.”

Essentially, the drive for success comes from within. This means that leaders must learn how to tap into why their employees are motivated and for what.

Below are four tactics leaders can use to ensure they are applying both types of motivation.

Get to Know Your Employees

Be willing to take the time to meet with and listen to employees, as much as they need or want. Schedule individual meetings to focus on pinpointing what really drives them and the type of recognition they prefer to receive. Spend time observing them and how they interact with the rest of the team. Some people prefer public recognition while others do not.

Focus Conversations on Meaningful Choice, Competence and Progress

Ensure that your conversations with team members are focused on the value of their employee contribution. In the article, “The Four Intrinsic Rewards That Drive Employee Engagement,” by Kenneth Thomas, he discusses the importance of encouraging employees to “use their intelligence and experience to direct their work activities to accomplish important organizational purposes.” Employees make judgments about their work based on the following:

The meaningfulness of their purpose.
The degree of choice they have for doing things the right way.
The competence of their performance.
The actual progress being made toward fulfilling the purpose.

To foster motivation, leaders should weave these components into conversations with employees to ensure they understand the value they bring to the team.

Align the Intrinsic and Extrinsic Rewards

Each element of a reward system should support the others. For example, employee behavior should be recognized and included when considering raises, bonuses and/or promotions. Employees should feel this connection between the two. It is often helpful to keep written notes on these behaviors so when evaluating annual performance, it is easy to cite specific examples of behaviors that lead to outcomes such as a particular percentage raise.

Foster Collaboration among Your Team

Being part of a team and feeling a sense of belonging provides intrinsic rewards for employees because it fosters a stronger sense of meaning and responsibility. Teamwork can also facilitate getting innovative work done, something that can be rewarded extrinsically. Encourage employees to work together by assigning teams to complete work. Give them the tools and resources they need to effectively collaborate and place emphasis on the work they do together.