Motivation – GGP 2

Preeti Nagarajan

Motivation Introduction Motivation is one of the most challenging subjects to write on, for the simple reason of putting abstract thoughts to words. However, challenges can be very motivating. In the middle of a hectic month when project deadlines loom low over my head, motivation was a good subject to think about, as it reinforced my beliefs while I wrote them out. In order to organize this paper, I have chosen to follow the pattern of questions suggested.

Questions and Answers 1. What is Motivation? / What is the origin of motivation? Motivation is the ability to persevere towards a goal with a strong resolve and an insatiable desire to accomplish, synergized with unlimited amounts of energy. It is like a chain reaction. When a motivated attempt leads to the successful accomplishment of a goal, the feeling thus generated encourages and instigates more motivation in order to succeed in the future. Therefore motivation originates from a personal orientation to persevere and have a strong desire/will to achieve a goal or a challenge.

Strong Resolve + Insatiable desire to accomplish

MOTIVATION

Unlimited Energy

Figure 1: Motivation

2. What motivates you and people around you? First off, my assumption here is that what motivates me, could also be what motivates others. However, I have not verified it in order to keep these reflections purely mine. The factors that motivate a person/employee could be considered broadly similar, across a population or even among different cultures; however the priority of one factor over another can be discussed. Factors can be classified as internal or external based on where they originate. An ‘internal’ factor originates in the minds of the people that are motivated. However, on the contrary, an ‘external’ factor is something from outside that

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Motivation – GGP 2

Preeti Nagarajan

contributes to motivating this person. Listed below are factors that motivate me and people around me: 1. Personal Goals or Challenges: The presence of a short/long term goal or challenge can surely motivate. A goal could be a challenge which could enhance motivation. However, at the same time a goal could also be mundane. A person could then be motivated to do better each time. A mundane goal/task could also be de-motivating which is discussed later. Goals can be considered to be an internal factor if they are set by the person/employee. However, challenges could originate externally, for example, a critical scenario in a project or just a new design that has to be implemented within a very short period of time. 2. Inspiration: Being inspired by a person or a deed is an easy way to get motivated to do something. This is because; we often benchmark ourselves and what we do to a role model in a constructive way. Inspiration is an internal factor. 3. Perseverance: Resolve to do something; a single minded desire to achieve a goal can fuel motivation. Perseverance is an internal factor. 4. Interest and Curiosity: Personal interest/curiosity in a certain area of work might motivate a person to continue to learn and work more in the same field. These are both internal factors. 5. Encouragement: Steady encouragement from people around (professional and personal) can be a great morale motivator. Encouragement is an external factor. 6. Deadlines and Pressure: Even though these don’t seem obvious, a deadline and/or pressure can be a motivating factor to complete the task. These are external factors. 7. Management Decisions: Could affect an employee’s morale or motivation. For example, a decision to increase in performance based benefits could motivate a person to work harder. 8. Employee/Personal Satisfaction: These have an indirect effect on motivation. An employee with higher satisfaction levels is motivated to perform better. a. Work Environment: A good work environment (external factor) where care is taken that the employee’s needs are satisfied is considered to motivate the employee’s performance. b. Salary/Other monetary benefits (Example: Bonus): Salary (external factor) satisfies an employee, and in ways, quantifies his/her worth in the industry. Greater the satisfaction levels, the greater the motivation. 9. Success: is a factor that fuels and instigates higher levels of motivation in a person. This helps in the successful completion of the next project.

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Motivation – GGP 2

Preeti Nagarajan

EXTERNAL FACTORS

INTERNAL FACTORS

5. Encouragement 6. Challenges 7. Deadlines and Pressure 8. Mangement Decisisions 9. Work Environment 10. Salary

MOTIVATION

1. 2. 3. 4.

Personal Goals Inspiration Perseverence Interest and Curiosity

SUCCESS

Figure 2: Motivating Factors One common scenario is that people tend to motivate one another, which is surely a desirable quality within a group that has to work as a team. This helps each person to function at his/her best.

3. What about De-Motivation? A de-motivated employee is a loss of precious ‘productive’ time. People/employees could be de-motivated for the following reasons: 1. Un-interesting /Mundane task: This could be de-motivating to especially those, who would like to have new and challenging tasks everyday. 2. No-encouragement: Even outright discouragement could hamper the desire and the will to work. 3. No-interest: When an employee is not interested in the assigned tasks then there will be little or no motivation reflected on the work done. This employee will not be able to walk the extra mile in providing results par excellence. 4. Management Decisions: Could go against employees will, in which case they are de-motivated to carry on with work as usual. This could be explained with Reorganization as an example. If an employee gets relocated to a different department that is not of interest to him/her, then this could very easily demotivate. 5. Absence of performance based bonus/monetary benefits: When work done is not recognized with appropriate work based benefits, and then the employee could very easily get de-motivated to work. 6. Absence of Recognition for good work that has been performed is surely a demotivator.

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Motivation – GGP 2

Preeti Nagarajan

4. How does a leader/ manager/ superior motivate a member of his/her team? A good leader or a manager has to be a good listener in order for him/her to understand and motivate the employees. Following are ways in which the manager/ leader/ superior can motivate a team: 1. Setting clearly defined goals: By this, the responsibilities are clearly divided within a group thereby leaving no room for ambiguities. This is very important for efficiency of a projects execution. 2. Performance based Rewards: There could be performance based bonuses, ranging from small perks like ‘dinner for two’ in a restaurant to ‘monetary rewards’ like cash awards for exemplary performance, example; ‘Inventor of the year’ award. 3. Praise and open feedback: Through constant feedback to the employee, with adequate praise and recognition for timely delivery at deadlines, the employee is highly motivated to perform well the next time around also. 4. Supporting the employees cause: There could be instances when the bureaucracy of an organization could hamper the development of a project while also de-motivating the employee. The leader at this point in time could provide help to make things easier for the employee while keeping in mind the limitations placed by the management. 5. Trust: Between the leader and the employee is of paramount importance. The leader should maintain the employees trust while respecting and encouraging the employee to do the same. Every motivated employee contributes towards the productivity of the department/company, hence making it very important for the leaders and managers to keep an eye for a healthy work environment.

5. What motivators do you think are effective; ineffective? Effective Motivators are those that provide a constructive end-result, by enhancing the employee’s morale to work more efficiently. The following are effective according to me: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Task/Goal/Challenge Encouragement Perseverance Interest and curiosity Work Environment Salary

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Motivation – GGP 2

Preeti Nagarajan

In-effective motivators that work rather indirectly while motivating an employee are: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Deadlines and Pressure – affects the quality of work Management decisions – increases uncertainty and reduces employee morale Work Environment – if not taken care of, could be rather displeasing to work in Inspiration – absence of a role model at work to benchmark ones-self with reduces the drive to do better due to constructive competition.

Cultural aspect of motivation: Motivation is dependent on culture. In fact, it might even vary from one person to another. The factors that motivate may vary from one person to another or from one culture to another. The order of importance of these factors as discussed above could be different in each case. So, it is hard to pin-point exactly what motivates a person, however it is better to observe and talk to the person/employee itself to find out what motivates him/her. At the end of the day, an employee often measures himself keeping in mind the amount of work he/she has done during his/her working hours. With a deep sigh of relief, the work would not have been completed in the absence of Motivation. Motivation fuels productivity, especially in a company like Ericsson.

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