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Unleashing motivation: Tapping into drivers and purpose

 


In our car we know when the fuel gauge shows empty, we aren’t going to get much further, no matter how clear we are on the directions. The same is true for our teams, so what is the fuel that powers performance and stamina in our teams? 
This week we are looking at motivation and engagement in a team. There is an old cliché that it is either dangling a carrot or wielding a stick, but you probably already understand that motivation is far more nuanced than this. This week I will introduce you to the total motivation model, this will give you an understanding of the drivers that help your team to be motivated. As a leader or future leader, this will give you an advantage if you can align the motivators to how your team are motivated. 


Understanding the Total Motivation model

There are several different models that look at motivation (some notable ones are Maslow’s hierarchy and Herzberg two factor theory). I want today to discuss total motivation theory, developed by Neel Doshi and Lindsay McGregor, it identifies six key motives that influence our work:
Direct motivators (Fuel Performance)
  • Play: Enjoying the work itself, finding it interesting and engaging
  • Purpose: Believing the work contributes to something meaningful
  • Potential: Seeing how the work leads to personal growth and development
Indirect motivators (Potential Stressors)
  • Emotional pressure: Driven by guilt or fear of letting others down
  • Economic pressure: Motivation by fear of financial loss (or loss of job)
  • Inertia: Doing things out of habit without genuine engagement 
As leaders we should be aiming to engage the direct motivators which lead to sustainable high performance. If you recognise the indirect motivators, you may already see the damage that these can cause to teams and workplaces. It is important to understand that different people will find affinity with a different mix of motivators. Therefore understanding the individual personalities of the team can be crucial, especially if friction arises.


Cultivating a sense of purpose and meaning

Once we have understood the drivers of motivation the next logical question is how we foster the sense of motivation and engagement in our team. When individuals feel their work contributes to something larger than themselves and aligns with their values, intrinsic motivation increases. Here are some suggestions for how to cultivate this:
  • Clearly communicate the purpose of the business: Regularly articulate the ‘why’ for your organisation. Ensure your team understand the mission, vision, and values that are important to you and your organisation. Constant linking of everyday tasks to the bigger picture gives employees the insight to how they contribute to the goals of the organisation. 
  • Highlight the impact: Make the work of the team visible, this is especially important if your team’s work gets overlooked. Share success stories, data and testimonials that demonstrate the impact your team is having both internally and externally. This has regularly been shown to have huge impact on motivation, especially when the outputs of employees are shown to impact external stakeholders (clients, community, environment etc). 
  • Regular communication with team members: One-on-one check-ins are best, but any regular communication with team members to check on where they are, and gauge understanding of the impact and importance of their work is beneficial. If there are time pressures even brief meetings are better than none, the key is to remain consistent and take the time to understand where the team member is. 
Some of the previous week’s techniques also contribute to creating a sense of purpose and meaning, including building trust, giving constructive feedback, recognising good work, and empowering employees to take ownership. 
By consistently emphasising the ‘why’ and the impact, and by connecting individual roles to shared values, leaders can increase intrinsic motivation and engagement, whatever the team’s function or work environment. 


Practical strategies for leaders

Building a motivated and engaged team takes conscious effort and an honest understanding of what drives individuals you manage. Here are some practical tips to implement:
  • Assess your team’s motivators: Take the time to understand where your team’s motivation currently lies. Are they primarily driven by direct motivators (play, purpose or potential) or are indirect motivators (emotional pressure, economic pressure, inertia) more prevalent? You can assess this through observation, discussions with the team or individuals, or through feedback surveys. 
  • Be an active listener: Create a safe and open environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their feelings about work. Actively listening to their concerns and what energises them about their work without judgement will contribute to your understanding of their drivers and level or motivation.
  • Using the TOMO model create direct motivator-based incentives: As you understand the motivation of your team you can shape your incentive structures, goals and assignments to match their individual motivation style. Remove any pressures that may be acting against your team and replace them with positive incentives that reward behaviours consistent with your values and mission. 
  • Be mindful of workload and capacity: A heavy and unsustainable workload can quickly erode motivation and engagement. Pay close attention to how your team is coping with their tasks and responsibilities. Offer support where it is needed and ensure that workload does not become a pressure point amounting to emotional pressure on the team. It is better to plan contingency time and resources that can be released should the need arise. Regularly checking in with the team about how they are coping can demonstrate your care for them and prevent rising emotional pressure in the workplace. 

Tip for the week 

This week, focus on honing your ability to understand individual motivation using the TOMO model. 
Choose one person you work closely with. If you are a current leader this should be one of your team members, but it could also be a colleague or someone you collaborate with on a project or similar work. 
  1. Observe and reflect on their work habits, their interactions and what they demonstrate enthusiasm for. Listen carefully to any comments they make about their tasks, the work environment and any difficulties they have,
  2. Assess their TOMO profile: Based on what you have seen try and identify which of the six TOMO motives are the most prevalent for this person:
    • Direct motivators: Do you see signs of play (enjoyment, curiosity), Purpose (connection to meaning, joy at delivering specific outcomes) or Potential (desire for growth).
    • Indirect motivators: Do you see signs of emotional pressure (stress, anxiety about disappointing others), Economic pressure (sole focus on financial reward) or Inertia (lack of engagement, ‘going through the motions’).
    • Be aware there is likely to be more than one motivator, at this stage pick the most prevalent.
  3. Consider alignment (or misalignment): Think about how their current role and team environment align with their identified motivators. Are the tasks engaging? Do they understand the impact of their work? Are there opportunities for growth? Conversely are there aspects of their work that might be fuelling the indirect, less productive motivators? Is there anything that you can think of that can make their current role better align with their motivators?
If you are currently their leader you may be able to take action to enhance the alignment with direct motivators or reduce the influence of indirect motivators. Consider small changes that you may be able to make, but consider the impact before taking action. 
If you are not currently in leadership over this individual consider the leadership strategies you observe and how well (or not) they engage with the TOMO model of the people they are managing. 
This exercise will help you develop an eye for understanding the underlying drivers of motivation in individuals, a crucial skill for effective leadership at all levels. 
Next week we will be looking at effective communication and how it underpins successful leadership. 


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