A couple of weeks ago a day of celebration occurred at my house, it was my Birthday which actually goes for more than one day it turns into a week of celebrating with friends and family.
As I went about celebrating my Birthday, I enjoyed my FREE Birthday gifts from a couple of businesses. The search for the FREE Birthday gift has become somewhat of a tradition and badge of honor to see what you can ‘rake’ in for FREE on your Birthday amongst my family members. I have no problem walking into a place of business and proclaiming that ‘today is my Birthday’ which implies that I would like to be treated extra special during my visit. A few of you may completely understand this line of behavior while others are probably thinking wow she is really off her rocker. Regardless of what line of thought you align with the fact remains that I have high expectations for my business interactions on my Birthday.
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:
This was our most viewed slideshare presentation with over 14,000 views – I’ve now turned it into a 4-minute youtube video….with music and everything. Hope you enjoy and please forward on to anyone you think would benefit from watching.
Oak Ridge Hotel and Conference Center get motivation – it isn’t about a single program or special one-day events. . . it is about creating a culture that engages and motivates.
Here is a short video that highlights some of what we found out when we talked with them and asked them. . . “What Motivates You?”
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.
What would happen if at your next team meeting instead of talking off of your typical status spreadsheets your team each gave their status update in 5 minutes and using 20 PowerPoint slides?
I recently came across Ignite Phoenix through one of my crazy online searches. It is a really neat concept for those looking for a creative spark and an innovative motivator. During Ignite Phoenix, a group of people gather together and witness 18 presentations on topics from horrible office coffee to what I learned from cows. Each of the presenters has 5 minutes and 20 PowerPoint slides to share their story. That is it. Short and sweet.
One of the organizers, Jeff Moriarty, introduces Ignite Phoenix #6 and provides the foundation for what it is all about. Their YouTube video area is fun to check out and it might just motivate you to come up with your own ignite presentation!
What story would you tell if you had 5 minutes and 20 slides?
Susan
If you know someone that might benefit from this article pay it forward and pass it along.
P.S. The other fun video to checkout is Slideshow Karaoke it is really creative!
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?
As some of you might know, I am working on my PhD in I/O Psychology and have been for many years. Too many years actually – which is why I think my wife insisted that I attend a five day Dissertation Writers Retreat held by Capella University just outside of Chicago. So for the last five days I’ve been working on Chapter 4 of my dissertation which is the results section. I’ve been having a blast inputting data, crunching numbers, running statistical tests and analyzing the results and what I found out is surprising…at least it was for me.
Celebrations mark important milestone in organizations from project completions to recognizing employees for the number of years employed by the organization.
Like motivation, the process and appreciation of celebrating can vary from individual to individual.
Are you the type of person who loves or loathes the public display of celebrating your birthday at a chain restaurant? Come on, you know you want to try on the big sombrero and have your picture taken with 8 strange restaurant employees while you blow out a birthday candle on a sweet treat. You may have guessed from my past blog articles that I would be in the “love” column for public birthday celebrations. I love enrolling others in the restaurant to join in the celebration! The noisier, more obnoxious, and joyous the celebration the more I light up like a big bright star and shine with happiness.
But alas, not everyone enjoys what I like. Despite how much I try and enroll others in a little Happy Birthday dance I understand that this type of celebration is not for everyone. Remember that everyone is different and some may LOVE or LOATHE your company celebrations and there rarely is an in-between emotion. I encourage you to take a look at how your organization celebrates: does it come off as something that needs to be done to check it off some master celebration to do list or is it genuine and personalized to the intended recipients?
Celebrations can be as simple as a meaningful phone call to congratulate an employee on something they did well that week or they can be full organization wide productions. Regardless of how big or small the celebration is keep in mind that celebrations are like motivation in that every person has individual preferences and will react and appreciate the act of celebrating in a different manner.
Celebrating is natural and when done right can leave lasting, positive impressions on your organization and employees.
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 
