Motivation in the Workplace - People Are Motivated When They Are Inspired

To understand motivation in the workplace from a change management perspective, we need to be aware of the context in which this takes place.

In the current economic climate, the key drivers for change in corporate life are all to do with increased efficiency, cost reduction and corporate restructuring.

Balancing organisational and individual interests

There is a potential fundamental problem here in that these drivers as expressed by directors in terms of organisational performance are not necessarily aligned to the personal needs and drivers of the workforce.

So we can see from the outset that successful change management is the result of a balancing of enterprise performance requirements with individual fulfillment needs.

The literature of motivation research from Maslow onwards has highlighted the complexity and multi-faceted nature of human needs.

The process theories of motivation clearly showed that people need to have the WIFM [what's in it for me] question answered. They need to see the steps and they need to believe that they can do it and that they want to. They also need to believe in the equity or fairness of what you as leader tell them.

Rationality vs the emotional dimension

So, on the one hand we are rational beings focused on meeting what may be regarded as our survival needs - very loosely expressed in terms of pay and rations - and are prepared to enter into a Faustian pact with our employers on the basis of an initially perceived mutuality of interest.

But, on the other hand, the emotional dimension rapidly emerges as that initial perception of mutuality of interest rapidly dwindles as - especially in the current climate - we are expected to improve our performance, to produce more for no more [maybe less] money and often with fewer resources.

In my experience the commonest leadership style in many corporates [and especially in change management initiatives in the UK] is essentially transactional in nature, that is, based on "getting the job done", short-term and hard data focused, and supports the structures and systems that maximise efficiency and guarantee short-term profits. This approach clearly works but it is short-term in focus.

The direct effect of this is that the transactional focus on motivation in the workplace in change management contexts is nearly always on getting the quickest return, and in change management terms by fixing the most obvious and glaring problems.

An alternative to the typical transactional leadership prevalent in many corporates today is transformational leadership - a concept first brought to prominence by James MacGregor Burns in his book Leadership [1978] - and one that is deeply resonant with the practise of inspirational motivation in the workplace. Transformational leadership is all about values and meaning, and a purpose that transcends short-term goals and focuses on higher order needs.

The transformational leadership concept is supported by post Maslovian motivation research notably Herzberg, ERG theory and subsequent research and theories which highlight that for all our rationality we are primarily emotional creatures driven [in broad terms] by growth needs for achievement, recognition, personal development and personal growth.

Motivation in the workplace is all to do with energy

Another perspective taken from the field of quantum physics has shown that the universe is a single gigantic field of energy, and that this energy field is an undivided whole in a constant state of dynamic flux.

From this has emerged the understanding that everything is interconnected as part of that whole and every manifestation of "slowed down energy" that appears in the physical world as a "tangible something" remains at a sub atomic level simply as energy. Thus we as human beings can be regarded as energy beings. We are quite literally energy beings functioning in an environment that is an energy field. So motivation in the workplace - or anywhere else for that matter - is ultimately all to do with energy.

If the object of motivation is the activation of goal-oriented behaviour then it follows that people are motivated when they are inspired. For people to be inspired means - literally means to have life and energy breathed into them. So, in practical terms, motivation in the workplace means energising, enthusing or inspiring people.

Motivation in the workplace and specifically in change management contexts is all about creating and transmitting energy, and emotions are particularly dynamic expressions of energy.

Inspiring motivation in the workplace at a tactical level

At the day-to-day tactical change management level this all boils down to finding out what matters to your people individually, as Dick Axelrod, the co-founder of US based Axelrod Group Inc [a consulting firm that pioneered the use of employee involvement to effect largescale organisational change] says:

"Despite the best of intentions, leaders are still employing change management processes that produce disengagement. Creating an engaged organisation requires leaders to choose a strategy that, by its very nature engages people."

He offers this summary analysis:

3 tips to inspiring motivation in the workplace

(1) Find out what is important to the other person.
(2) Support others in achieving their goals.
(3) Share what you care about.