Cutting through the Fog - Focus on What Matters Most!

Everything slows down when you can’t see clearly!

Simon Sinek coined the phrase from his 2011 book Start with Why "people do not buy what you do; they buy why you do it." Sinek's Golden Circle provides a communication framework that begins the conversation, strategy, or story with why it matters (Sinek, 2011). When employees connect the bigger picture, it touches on meaning, significance, relevance, and impact. When communicating, we express details of what we are doing and tactically how we will do so. What and how are relevant in the context of why it matters? The focus is essential for motivation when connecting it to why it matters uniquely and intrinsically. One of the most significant challenges related to employee engagement, teamwork, and leadership begins with clarity. Managing through the fog of ambiguity may be the source of low motivation. Cutting the fog of uncertainty by focusing on the direction of vision, connecting with value, or the significance of well-defined meaning goals can be a launch point for increasing motivation.

Equally challenging can be the divided focus of many goals, objectives, and priorities that demotivates from disciplines of many instead of a focus on a few essentials. 

Motivating language theory (MLT) relates to how executive leaders can construct and transmit strategic vision and values messages to improve organizational performance (Mayfield et at., 2015). Motivating strategically, well-articulated, and consistently disseminated by top leaders result in higher organizational outcomes, a more committed workforce, and higher collective performance. Sullivan's MLT proposes that when a strategic leader effectively communicates results in better engagement, motivation, build commitment, and shared organizational vision, thus improving performance and quality of work life. The three components of ML are direction-giving, empathetic, and meaning-making language as strategic leaders develop awareness, ability, and style of delivering ML performance, and worker well-being increases throughout the organization. Motivating related to focus may integrate extrinsic goals but also focus on competency development based on awareness, ability, and style. 

Focus as a motivational discipline supports Locke and Latham's goal path theory built on the principles of clarity, challenge, commitment, feedback, and task complexity (Latham, 2011). The goal theory compares to the "do your best" approach, which lacks focus, attainment, and achievement. A goal focus may lead to increased work performance, such as a New Resolution, which may be considered more of a wish than a goal. The threat of goal focus may be sustainability. The goal theory primarily faces the tension of quantity over quality and individualistic efforts at the expense of competing team member objectives. Additional challenges to the goal path relate to attainability. 

Stretch goals may be defined as implausible, leaving achievers demotivated. Whereas utilizing a SMART goal framework provides further focus and clarity. The SMART goals framework includes Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Success in the goal path approach begins by focusing on metrics for progress begins by (1) collectively defining the goal, then (2) regularly monitoring goal progress, (3) system monitoring by tracking workplace resources and changes, (5) including stakeholders to monitoring in terms of collaborating, and (5) coordination ongoing action plans with a timeline of an interdependent action plan (Lathan, 2011, p. 297). As employees and teams define and discipline, their focus, motivation, engagement, and productivity increase.

Reference

Latham, G. P. (2011). Work motivation : History, theory, research, and practice. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.

Sinek, S. (2011). Start with why. Penguin Books.

Motivation for Board Members

What motivates board members to serve?

I was recently asked to facilitate a vision planning board of directors retreat in Colorado. The nonprofit has 13 board members, including two new members after the first rotation from the founding board since the organization's launch five years ago. 

In preparation for my board retreat, I've researched motivation theory as a basis to understand why non-executive board (NED) members serve. 

The motivation of serving as a NED reflects both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Thus, proposing a steward theory (intrinsic) reflects a contribution of a strong relationship between satisfaction and organizational success. In comparison, agency theory (extrinsic) reflects the principles that determine the work and rely on agents as managers who do the job. Though these theories reflect a parallel of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation though may be viewed as the bi-polar, thus an incomplete view. 

Self-determination theory reflects continuous controlled and autonomous motivations holding pressure or tension of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Early research on intrinsic motivation related to self-determination (SDT) highlights the benefit of autonomy, competence, and relatedness compared to controlled motivation toward accomplishing goals (O'Hara, 2017). In a gateway, the study included 54 NEDS results in 369 codable moments from the interviews. Regarding controlled motivations, 278 coded external regulators reveal the reasons for either reward, market-level compensation, or reputation from status or prestige from being on the board. Autonomous motivation revealed opportunities for learning, development, and contribution of expertise to benefit the organization. 

Tenure on board revealed self-identification with a mission for good. Finally, motivations were satisfied in connection, shared passion, and fun as a fellow board member. The case study concluded that motivation as a NED is sourced from material incentives, reputation, meaningfulness, congruence with firm goals, and enjoyment. The result of the case study revealed a person-centered approach to determining controlled-autonomous and controlled motivations needs of board member engagement (Walther et al., 2017). 

A holistic approach to understanding NED motivation may inform further research based on the types of boards and the organization's purpose. Further understanding the person-centered approach reveals differences in what motivates individuals, reflecting the strength and success of boards based on their member's diversity.

Reference 

O'Hara, D. (2017). The intrinsic motivation of Richard Ryan and Edward Deci. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/members/content/intrinsic-motivation

Walther, A., Möltner, H., & Morner, M. (2017). Non-executive director's motivation to continue serving on boards: A self-determination theory perspective. Corporate Governance (Bradford), 17(1), 64-76. https://10.1108/CG-05-2016-0120

Foundations of Motivational Theory

Maslow, Herzberg, and McClelland’s research concluded that every person is intrinsically motivated. How people are motivated can be conditioned on external circumstances or opportunities to self-actualize. Maslow’s hierarchy builds from a baseline of needs. Maslow’s pyramid to understand motivation compares to Herzberg’s continuum of dissatisfaction to satisfaction. He uses fourteen points as criteria to determine how individuals are satisfied with their work. Like Maslow’s base model for the physical needs of shelter or the next level for safety, these base levels are met by financial means. Herzberg concluded, “money is a hygiene factor and does not motivate” (Bassett-Jones & Lloyd, 2005, p. 932–933). Extrinsic rewards meet a baseline expectation that work earns a wage meeting basic needs but is not the leading motivator for workplace satisfaction. Instead, workers are motivated, thus satisfied by achievement, recognition, productivity, the opportunity to take responsibility, and the opportunity for advancement (ibid).

McClelland’s model supports self-actualization and advancement at a higher leveler of motivation. He distinguishes between three motivations: achievement, power, and affiliation (Dinibutun, 2012, p. 135). His conclusion agrees with Maslow and Herzberg for intrinsic motivation at a higher level beyond base deficiency or hygiene needs. McClelland’s three motives give all expressions of self-actualization. 

Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation provides the internal horsepower for getting stuff done or abandoning work altogether. Yet, understanding motivation which raises questions regarding what challenges motivations. New Year’s resolutions are primarily well-intended and highly motivated, starting with little to follow thru. One of the primary and significant challenges today in motivation is confidence. The feeling of confidence (or lack) has been labeled self-efficacy by Bandura and is still relevant today in most modern theories of work motivation. Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s capacity to perform a specific task or reach a specific goal (Bandura, 1965). Bandura’s theory promotes the belief that competence influences choice, performance, and persistence. The four sources contribute to an individual belief: accomplishments, vicarious learning or modeling, emotional stimulation (anxiety), and social persuasion and encouragement (Anderson & Betz, 2001). Throughout this course, I look forward to learning about motivations, but also the undermining challenges today of lack of confidence that prevent people from achieving their goals and potential. 

References

Anderson, S. L., & Betz, N. E. (2001). Sources of social self-efficacy expectations: Their measurement and relation to career development. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 58(1), 98-117. https://10.1006/jvbe.2000.1753

Bandura, A. (1965). Influence of models' reinforcement contingencies on the acquisition of imitative responses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1(6), 589-595. https://10.1037/h0022070

Bassett-Jones, N., & Lloyd, G. C. (2005). Does Herzberg's motivation theory have staying power? The Journal of Management Development, 24(10), 929–943.

Dinibutun, S. (2012). Work motivation: Theoretical framework. Journal on GSTF Business Review, 1(4), 133–139

Neher, A. (1991). Maslow's theory of motivation: A critique. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 31(3), 89–122.