Motivation and Leadership

One of the greatest assets an organization can have is motivated people. The question for many leaders is "what turns on motivation in people?" Unfortunately, there isn't a switch. Motivation comes from within, but a leader can help to create an environment that encourages high energy and motivated members.

Members Needs

A person joins an organization because they believe they will gain from being there. They have asked themselves the question, "What's in it for me?" and found a positive answer. The opportunity to fulfil personal needs gives the member a reason to join and stay with an organization. If the leader understands the personal needs of each member they will be on their way to understanding what motivates each member.

Abraham Maslow developed a theory related to an individual's needs, called Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. These needs are found in each person. At the base of the triangle are the highest priority needs (physical and security), the ones that a person is motivated to fulfil first. They won't care about the other three needs in the triangle until their security and physical needs (e.g., food, shelter, clothing and safety) are met.

Most members join an organization to fulfil some need in the upper three levels of the triangle (social, ego and self actualization). Some members may be involved because they want to be with friends, the social level. Others may be involved because of the recognition they receive, the ego level. Those members with a self actualization need, are those involved to develop themselves, to learn something new or to reach their potential by using a hidden skill or talent. Each of us has needs. Consciously or unconsciously, we set priorities to fulfil these needs. Once a need is met, it no longer is a motivator and our motivation shifts to another need. If an organization is not filling the needs of the member, then the member may become dissatisfied and ultimately leave the organization. It's an ongoing leadership task to stay in touch with members' needs and to see that the organization is meeting these needs.

Be aware that there are some individual needs which can't be met by the organization. The organization should stay focused on its purpose and not exist to meet the individual needs of one or two members.

Window of Work

People aren't predictable. They react to different situations in different ways. The simplest way to find out the needs of each member is to ask. Remember people's needs change. Activities, programs and tasks should be developed to utilize members and recognize the variety of individual needs in your organization.

The following exercise can be used with members to determine their needs. A piece of plain paper is divided into three sections: Skills I Have, Interests I Want to Develop and Things I Don't Like to Do. The member is asked to write under Skills I Have all the things that they enjoy doing. Under Interests I Want to Develop, they jot down things they would like to learn. The Things I Don't Like to Do section allows members to outline tasks or activities that they don't like and don't want to do for the organization.