Employee Motivation: Rethinking Maslow

Leaders,

I'm doing some work this week to prepare for new workshops on the subject of unlocking employee motivation.  So while I'm working on those concepts, I figured I'd share some of what I'm thinking and see if you have any feedback to offer.

When I took leadership classes in high school and college, there was a big focus on Maslow's Hierarchy of needs.  You can read about the hierarchy here, but in a nutshell the model says that human needs are satisfied in a certain order.  For example, you probably are not focused on living up to your potential when you are hungry or frightened.

What I'm discovering however, in my work with dysfunctional and extraordinary teams, is that Maslow's model is missing something.  I often work with teams that include people who are struggling in life outside of work.  People with very modest incomes raising kids on their own, for example.  People with medical challenges, or issues of substance abuse in the home.   If we take Maslow's hierarchy as gospel, it would be hard to imagine anyone in these situations being able to reach their potential or 'self actualize.'

But here is the kicker - some people who are struggling with issues of survival and belonging in the home environment are still able to reach their potential in the workplace.  You don't need to have a perfect home life to make a success of yourself at work.  And once you find that success at work, it often can lead to better income, more stability, etc.  So sometimes you can turn the pyramid on it's head a little.

The way that we can unlock motivation, even in people who are struggling in life, is to create an environment where people can connect to purpose and meaning.  It's like the oncology nurses I worked with who told me that despite the challenges of the job, they derived much purpose and meaning from "giving people more time" with loved ones.  Where heart and meaning can thrive, motivation occurs naturally.

A good example of this at work is Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" which chronicles Frankl's stay in a Nazi concentration camp.  If someone can find purpose and meaning under those conditions, can find motivation under those conditions, it is nothing to expect that we can inspire authentic motivation even when the conditions under Maslow's pyramid have not yet been satisfied.

There are a lot of "levers" you can adjust to influence human motivation.  Some, like pay and benefits, offer only limited impacts after a certain level.  Others, like connecting people to a higher purpose, have big impacts even in difficult environments.  Which levers are you moving?  How much impact are you getting from those efforts?

Just a few thoughts as I prepare for my upcoming workshop on Motivation.  If you have any feedback or thoughts on this subject, as always I welcome them.

Another thought for today: What higher purpose motivates you?  (In life and in work?)

Comments

[cyberions]

You might be interested in Motivational Interviewing, by Miller & Rollnick -- starting with ambivalence, then articulating and building on people's internal desire to change, however weak it may be to start with.

[Cheri]

Thanks for the tip. I'm loosely familiar with Motivational Interviewing, but I've yet to delve into it in any detail. I'lll check it out!

[Larry Kaminer]

Great blog by the way! I notice that the difference between my current business and previous ones I have started and run, is the current one is driven by a powerful vision. Vision is about others, not just me. The previous ones were goal oriented and I found that although goals are good, pure goal orientation was all about ME. So I have learned that the best way to operate peoples lever is to always keep them vision /passion focused. Someone tried to explain this to me when I was 25 yrs old and just as he did so he qualified his statement explaining that I would only really understood what he was talking about in my 40s. He was right!

[D. Kevin Berchelmann]

I believe Maslow's hierarchy is sound theory; it just doesn't compartmentalize well, and it's incredibly specific and situational.

It's difficult to look at someone else's situation and ordain them as existing at one level or another in that hierarchy, since only that person really knows the impact of the situation.

Further, many people are experts at denial, and that denial can sometimes actually work to their advantage; take the person with severe home or medical challenges who continues to shine at work. Could be purposeful denial, or could even be a therapeutic response to that survival need...

Weighty topic, one that matters in the work we do. Thanks for bringing it up, and great blog.

KB

[jonathan]

The Mashlow Theory is too theoretical, though in some cases they are still applicable. But it builds a good foundation for the new theories.