Past Issues
Mat, 2005
Keep The Good Ones
Employee Retention Techniques
April, 2005
What We Measure Part III
Why we measure Sociability.
March, 2005
What We Measure Part II
Some perspective on Readjustment.
February, 2005
Are You Being Served?
Profiling in the Restaurant and Hospitality Industry.
What We Measure Part I
A deeper understanding of Ascendency.
Motivating Termites
Selecting the most motivational rewards for job performance.
We Don't Care What Your Think
Because We Measure Behavior Instead.
Of Course It's Legal
To Use Personality Profiling in Hiring.
Do Unto Others (Or Not)
Good Advice for Sales People.
The Paul Principle
Give employees what they need to succeed.
After I'm Gone ...
Using Profiling to sell or buy a business successfully.
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The MRA Team Spirit Newsletter - November, 2004
Motivating Termites
By John Loven
President
MRA Team Spirit
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"Part of a manager’s job is to motivate everyone, at all times, and
using every possible technique or approach available...Because of all the different and varying elements in motivation, this
is not a simple or easy task. The main reason for this difficulty is
that all people are different, hence what might motivate one person
does not necessarily work for another person."
- Pam Phelps, UEC
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The idea of combining a stick and a carrot as motivation is an ancient one.
It dates back to the days of donkey carts when the stubborn beast might go for
the carrot or away from the prod. It was a regular gag in the earliest animated
cartoons. It's easy to say "I understand how that works - I use the "stick and
carrot" technique all the time".
But let's ask a question: What if you need to motivate termites? Then you've got it
all backwards! The hungry little buggers will swarm toward the stick for a wooden
munch. I don't know how termites feel about carrots, but the stick would be the main attraction.
Sure, it's a silly example, but the problem is a serious one. What motivates
people? Do you know what constitutes a genuinely desired reward for another person?
"Money" someone says, but this is a practical article about the real world.
Hardly anybody has money to throw at every employee. So you've got to find out
what a carrot looks like to every Tom, Dick and Harriet if you want to gain the
maximum motivation.
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It is a costly mistake to get lost in the false theory that more money equals happy employees.
- Dave Worman, Dr. Motivation
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Beyond the unaffordable raise, the next most popular carrot is personal recognition:
the gold watch, the speech, the certificate.
Let's look at two of the four behavioral
traits which MRA Team Spirit profiling measures and see what "valued recognition"
might look like to different people.
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Group Identity
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High Sociability
Some individuals like to take the social initiative with strangers. They like to
talk with others and experience personal success through the success of the group.
They have many acquaintances and bond quickly with others. When a challenge arises
they want to circle the wagons, get the group together and work out a solution.
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Low Sociability
Other people form close relationships with others one at a time, and generally work
best with others in one-on-one situations. They are not comfortable taking the
initiative with strangers and when a challenge arises, they would prefer to go
off alone, close the door, and think it through.
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MRA Team Spirit profiling objectively measures this trait: the individual's
relationship to groups and individuals. Part of an MRA profile is a rating for
"Sociability". Persons with a high Sociability fall into the first category and
those with a low Sociability rating are found in the second group.
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Competitive Drive
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High Ascendancy
When a challenge arises some people rush out to meet it. They like to have -
and use - authority, they want to be the first to the finish line and they will
take risks to win the race.
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Low Ascendancy
Others generally look for non-confrontational solutions, manage risk thoughtfully,
and would prefer to have someone else set the goals.
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This scale is called Ascendancy and is measured in an MRA Team Spirit Profile.
The first group, the competition-driven people, rank high in Ascendancy and the second
group ranks low.
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What does all this mean to a manager?
Suppose you want to reward Jane for making the new sales initiative a success.
Do you do it in front of the whole department or in your office? Do you laud
Jane's participation in the departmental success or do you focus on Jane's
individual skills and contribution. Do you praise her at the staff meeting
or do you ask individuals to stop by her cube and thank her individually?
If you've got $300 in the budget for perks, do you spend it to take Jane's
department out for lunch in her honor, or do you give Jane a $300 gift certificate?
The question really is, "What does Jane want?" On just the two scales discussed above, Ascendancy (A) and
Sociability(S), Jane may fall into one of four brackets;
High A, High S
Jane is goal driven, a leader, and wants the team to win. Presenting the
gift certificate in front of the office crowd would be a winner. Jane also
wants more challenges and a chance to innovate and lead the way for everyone.
If possible, give her those opportunities.
High A, Low S
Jane is goal driven, and wants individual achievement though personal skill.
The gift certificate presented by the highest ranking manager available signals
that individual worth. Challenge her to do more and better and give her as much
individual control over circumstances as you can.
Low A, High S
Jane is team driven. Taking the department out to lunch to honor her lets
her experience her value in the group and share her reward with the team. Personal
expressions of appreciation should be maximized. Give Jane more opportunity to
influence others and put her "on stage" whenever you can.
Low A, Low S
Jane is methodical, accurate and likes to specialize in a defined discipline.
Combine individual recognition and group recognition. Urging individuals to express
their thanks as well as kind words in front of the department will motivate her.
The gift certificate signals that her loyalty and dependability has paid off. Provide
her with job situations where her drive to cover all the bases systematically can
succeed.
Nuance is Nice
These are all nuanced deliveries of appreciation using the same resources. But to
Jane, the value of the recognition is very much magnified if the reward is modeled
after her particular vision of a motivational carrot. MRA Team Spirit Profiling gives
managers the insight to be better motivators.
When all four behavioral Traits measured by MRA Team Spirit Profiling are
combined, an even better picture of how to motivate each employee appears. The
Management Report on an individual profile explicitly lists the factors that
drive, stimulate and motivate each person based on highly individual analysis.
The reports are written in plain business terms, without psychobabble or HR
jargon. They are designed strictly as decision support recommendations to
managers or team leaders.
Questions or comments are welcome.
-John Loven
Questions or Comments? Let Me Know.
Copyright © 2004 John Loven
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