Are there certain people who just can’t be motivated? Are there Wally’s who render the motivation fairy powerless? While I would like to believe that isn’t the case, I have to wonder…
Motivation is Personal
One of the core beliefs that I have is that motivation is very personal. People are individuals with different motivational triggers and drives. While there are basic underlying motivational drives (see 4-Drive Model), those drives impact each of us differently and create a unique motivational profile.
This implies that if one can understand that motivational profile of a person, one should be able to understand what to do to motivate them…right?
That is the implication…however I believe reality is a little different.
Salespeople who are engaged in their roles, who are motivated to succeed, and who’s goals are aligned with the organizational goals have been shown to have a significant impact on helping an organization succeed (Badovick, Hadaway, & Kaminski, 1992). Successful organizations understand this and try to keep their sales employees motivated and engaged through a variety of motivational methods – mostly involving extrinsic rewards.
While much has been much written about how extrinsic rewards may have a detrimental effect of on a sales person’s intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, Kohn, or Pink – note: there is also a lot of research on how this extrinsic/intrinsic effect can be mitigated) there is little disagreement on the short-term impact that extrinsic rewards can have on a company’s performance . The short-term benefit of extrinsic rewards assures us that these rewards will be used in businesses no matter what Dan Pink has to say on the topic. However, this does not mean that these types of programs can’t be improved.
Successful organizations and leaders of the future not only need to focus on the optimization of extrinsic reward programs but also on moving other levers within the organization that can drive sales motivation. Using the Four-Drive Model of Employee Motivation (Lawrence and Nohria, 2002) provides a clear framework for how to do this.
The 4-Drive Model of Employee Motivation’s second drive is the drive to Bond & Belong. The drive is defined by our innate desire to form “close, positive relationships” with people around us. The image of the lone wolf going it alone or the inventor holed up in his workshop are atypical – most people want to bond with others and feel they belong to a group. Here are three tips to increase the B Drive:
A few weeks ago Susan and I spent the day interviewing 11 employees at Oak Ridge Hotel & Conference Center in Chaska, MN (see Oak Ridge Part 1 here). We had observed that Oak Ridge had “gotten the formula right on employee motivation” and wanted to probe more to find out how. From our original findings, we highlighted five things that stood out: 1) leadership counts, 2) It is not about the money, 3) It is about the team, 4) Genuine recognition rejuvenates and 5) It is all about appreciating people. I’m taking a different approach this time, looking at it from the 4-Drive Model and seeing how each of the drives showed up in the 11 interviews.
In previous blog articles we have discussed the positive or engaged traits of the 4-Drive Model. When employees are motivated and engaged in the work they do the 4-Drive Model can help provide a framework for what behavior is occurring in the workplace. This is important as sometimes when discussing motivation it can be hard to put language around what is happening, the 4-Drive Model is one way to create a common language and understanding of motivational drives in the workplace.
So what happens when employees are disengaged? What are the characteristics within the 4-Drive Model that are on display?
Susan and I just had the wonderful pleasure of spending a day interviewing 11 people at Oak Ridge Hotel & Conference Center to try to uncover their secret – because they have gotten the formula right on employee motivation. Anyone who has ever stepped into their facility outside of Minneapolis can attest to the customer service mentality that every employee exhibits – from the front desk, to housekeeping, to the chefs, groundskeepers, and even in accounting. There is a definite difference in how the majority of these employees “show up” at their job everyday and how they view and take care of their “guests”. They are truly a company that is doing something right. While we haven’t had time to fully analyze the interviews (we will in the upcoming weeks), there are a few things that I can say definitively:
1. Leadership counts – the one overriding conclusion that hit us in the face was how important leadership is in this process – they need to be present, genuine, and focused on the right things.
2. Its not about the money – I was a little surprise to hear (actually to NOT hear) about bonus plans or contests or other recognition that had a big dollar value. It wasn’t important. It didn’t drive their day-to-day activities or play an integral part in their motivation.
3. It is about the team – teamwork was an overriding theme in all of the interviews that we did. It wasn’t ever about “my job” but instead about serving the customer. If that means that top managers have to change sheets, then that is what happens.
4. Genuine recognition rejuvenates – real, honest recognition that is done on a regular basis, in public, helps reinvigorate and help drive the culture. Knowing that their work is important and recognized keeps people engaged.
5. Its about people – employees were seen as people first. Management spent time getting to know them, getting to understand who they were, spending time finding out about their families and interests. They care and it shows.
Over the next few weeks we will let you know more about our findings and get in depth with some analysis. Oak Ridge Hotel & Conference Center has been kind enough to give us access to their people and allow us to share our insights with you. There is something to learn here if you are interested in creating a workforce that is motivated and engaged. Stay tuned!
Recently I was in Dallas conducting focus groups. After two long days of travel and facilitating, I raced back to DFW airport with the intent of trying to get on an earlier flight that I knew left at 3:15 PM. Admittedly, this was a crapshoot and I would be cutting it close. I was scheduled for the 5:55 PM flight, but the 3:15 PM flight would get me home in time to see my family before my two young children were in bed (which is pretty important to me). As luck would have it, I was able to return the rental car, run to catch the bus to the terminal, get my ticket, and get through security and arrive at the gate at 2:55 PM – a good 20 minutes before the flight was scheduled to depart. Here is an approximation of the exchange that occurred between me and the gate agent who we will call Mr. No.
Dallas, March 24th, 2:55 PM
Kurt standing at the counter said, “Hi. How’s it going? I’m on the 5:55 flight but was hoping there might be a seat open that I could fly standby on this one.”
“Are you a gold or platinum member?” Mr. No replied.
“Not anymore.” said Kurt, wondering why that mattered, “Is there a seat available?”
“I can’t help you if you’re not a gold or platinum medallion member.”
“So there’s a seat but you can’t help me?” Kurt asks with some despondency.
“I can’t get you on now. If you had been here ten minutes earlier I might have gotten you on.” said Mr. No.
“I don’t have any checked bags and will sit down right away. I promise.” Kurt says hoping a little levity might help:
“I’m sorry. I can’t have you go down there – they are getting ready to leave.”
“So you won’t help me? There is 20 minutes before the flight leaves!”
“You’ll just have to take your original flight.”
“I’ll pay. What would it cost to change?” Kurt said
“$50. But I can’t do that now.” Mr. No says right before turning his back on me and checking some paper coming out of the printer.
“Ok?” Kurt said, while pulling out his i-phone to start Twittering about this horrible experience with Delta.
Motivation Observation
It appeared to me that the agent was concerned about the on-time status of the flight, the extra work it would cause to put me on the flight, and the fact that I wasn’t a premium status customer more than he was concerned about responding to my needs. I could go on and on about the motivation (or lack thereof) of the gate agent for Delta, but I do not know that agent, or the procedural rules or incentives that Delta employs to drive motivation – so any insight would be conjecture.
What interests me was my response to this situation and the motivation that drove that response. My first inclination having been denied appropriate customer service was not to ask for a manager or send an e-mail to Delta’s customer service – it was to get on Twitter and to tell over 700 people about my “horrible” experience. I ended up tweeting about this over 15 times in the next 3 hours either directly about the experience or responding to other people’s tweets about this. Here are my first 4 tweets (typos and all):
“Delta airlines won’t let me board plane on standby because it leaves in 20 minutes – horrible cust service!”
“I understand why airlines get such a bad rap – counter agent too concerned about on time deptarture and not cust service”
“Flight leaves at 3:15 I was here at 2:52 – agent couldn’t accomodate me ( not gold or platinum) even if I paid! http://twitpic.com/1aob2q”
In terms of the four drives, which drives were activated? Clearly, my Defend drive was kicked into high gear. The fact that I felt that my goals were being hindered by a Delta kicked that Defense Drive into overdrive! I felt I needed to get payback and the idea of Twittering about this provided a means of vindication. I would make Delta pay by announcing how horrible they were to the world. Hundreds of people would hear me venting in real time and who knows, it could be passed on to hundreds or thousands more through retweeting.
Therein lies a potential second drive – the drive to Acquire. While this sounds contrary since I wasn’t going to the manager or to customer service to ask for money or a free ticket, what I was doing was looking for recognition. Recognition from others on how I had been wronged. I wanted the world to know about what I was going through and to recognize me for that fact. There was a challenge to this as well. Could I write a tweet that was compelling enough to get retweeted and forwarded on – this was a challenge. How many people could this vent be exposed to? Thus a third drive, the Challenge Drive, was also engaged.
A fourth drive was also activated – the drive to Bond. By tweeting about this I was engaging in a conversation with other people about my experience. I was commensurating with others about my experience and theirs. We were sharing stories and experiences and building relationships. By tweeting, I had a group of individuals whom I could talk to about this experience and feel a bond with them. It was a way of venting without having to do it in person to the people in the airport (who would probably thought me a demented maniac).
When all four drives are activated, it is a very powerful motivator. I did not hesitate in writing my tweets. I still feel that it was a good thing to do. While the Defense drive was the main motivator, the other drives played a significant part in my overall motivation. This is a very real insight for me – how all four drives together are much more powerful than any one alone.
Moving On
I would love to hear about any customer service failures that you’ve experienced and see if you see how the four drives impacted your response (or not). Please add a comment and join the discussion.
What happens when each of the Four Drives is fully engaged? Passion.
Passion is a very powerful and emotional motivator. You may have heard of the organization called, Kiva, if not, it is a nonprofit organization that connects mico lenders to those who need mirco loans in developing countries around the world. Matt and Jessica Flannery had a concept in mind to bring together small business owners in developing countries with people around the world that would be willing to invest and help their business flourish. This was a new concept that had never been tried before so it was groundbreaking and probably a bit scary. But they were probably motivated by more than just the thought of doing something good for the world. They had passion.
Turning a dream into reality can take a lot of hard work, perseverance, and no holds bar passion. Let’s take a look at what happens when the Four Drive Model is fully engaged to fulfill a dream.
Drive toAcquire & Achieve: The Kiva founders had a clear goal, to link business owners in developing countries with micro lenders across the world. Having a clear goal on what you want to achieve is critical because it describes the end result. In addition, the more specific the goal is the better, adding dates and measures of success are shown to have an increase in goal fulfillment.
Drive Bond & Belong: This drive is engaged because of the incredible opportunity to have human beings help each other out in service of something bigger. This is the Drive to Bond & Belong at its finest. Individuals who do not know each other are helping one another out where they can for not only financial support but emotional support as well. The sharing of stories of where the money is coming from and what it allowed the business owner to do are incredible bonding moments.
Drive Comprehend & Challenge: To create a brand new, never seen before business concept definitely engages learning and growth opportunities. Similar to the pioneers that went West in search of gold, to explore new territory in the arena of giving and receiving would be scary but exhilarating all at the same time. I am guessing when things got tough or it was hard to see the end, the founder’s initial goal was able to help get them back on the right track and keep moving forward.
Drive Define & Defend: This was an opportunity to define a new way of helping and servicing a population that had great potential. The ripple effect is incredible and as the first donation came in to help the business owner something took place. This exchange was not only monetary but it was emotional it was a connection that formed across continents. The business owners and micro lenders formed a tribe, a grouping of individuals bound together by something bigger then themselves that they would defend if ever confronted by anyone.
Passion, when engaged fully has each of the Four Drives fueling the fire. It also allows one to help move the passion forward from conception to implementation by giving a framework for breaking down the different areas of motivation and drive.
Never underestimate the motivating fuel of passion. From a stem of a dream, the fuel of passion, something new is brought into the world.
Susan
If you know someone that might benefit from this article pay it forward and pass it along.
You may have caught a glimpse of the Winter Olympic Games on television this week as Vancouver hosts the world’s best athletes. The Olympics are an amazing competition full of tradition, athleticism, teamwork, determination, and perseverance. The athletes are interviewed, marketed, and packaged for the viewers like a good action movie complete with personal tragedies, heroes, villains, and great nail biting endings.
What impresses me the most is the human spirit and how the athletes handle the pressure and the honor of being an Olympian.
Where does the motivation come from…
to be the best in the world at something?
to sacrifice?
to train?
to raise money to fund an Olympic dream?
to represent an entire country?
to know that in an instant a dream will be fulfilled or come crashing to the ground?
The Olympic athlete is the Four Drive Model personified in human form. The motivational drives that fuel the athletes are internal drives that pick them up when they fall down, push them to train just one more hour, or to face their fears in front of millions of people. When is the last time you failed in front of millions?
It is a courageous act to be an Olympic athlete and compete against the world’s best. As I watch the Winter Olympic Games I am in awe of the dedication and passion the athletes demonstrate to the world. It is a gift to catch a glimpse of a dream realized through a competitive sport born out of an idea to be the best in the world.
Susan
If you know someone that might benefit from this article pay it forward and pass it along.
In previous blog articles we have discussed the 
