The Top Four Motivational Tools

My first job after graduate school was coordinating research at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD). I had the privilege of working with an extraordinary team led by luminary leader, Dr. Victor Froelicher. In the four years that the nucleus of our small, productive, and highly motivated team was together, we published 33 major research papers. Several members of our team went on to become productive leaders in their respective fields. What accounted for such productivity, effectiveness, and motivation? The latest research in neuroscience, biology, and psychology tell us that Dr. Froelicher created an environment that satisfied the four fundamental drives of human motivation.

Professor Nohria and his colleagues from Harvard surveyed employees at 300 of the Fortune 500 companies. They found that 60% of an employee's motivation was explained by satisfying these four basic, emotional drives:

1. Acquire. This drive relates to our desire to obtain physical goods, positive experiences, and social status. It tends to be relative, meaning we always compare what we have to others. In the work environment, this drive is not met when everyone receives the same share of a reward or perk, regardless of their contribution. Equal is often not fair. Dr. Froelicher satisfied this drive by making sure rewards were clearly tied to performance. For example, we were not able to go to scientific meetings unless we had our research abstracts accepted. Even if you were a physician, if you didn't conduct excellent research you didn't go to scientific meetings. How could your employee rewards better differentiate good performers from average performers?
2. Bond. Human beings have an internal impulse to connect to others. This includes small groups such as our families, as well as larger collectives, including organizations, associations, and nations. At work, employees who feel proud of an organization are very motivated. At UCSD, Dr. Froelicher fostered bonding among coworkers by having Friday afternoon parties, occasional picnics at the beach, and encouraging us to exercise together. In addition, we frequently collaborated with other divisions. We attended their meetings, invited them to ours, and shared best practices. How might you encourage more camaraderie, collaboration, and cross-functional communication?
3. Comprehend. Everybody wants to make sense of the world around them. We become frustrated when things seem senseless. At work, people try to satisfy this drive by making meaningful contributions and make meaning out of what happens. This was satisfied at UCSD because we had a wide latitude in the type of research each of us was able to conduct. We were able to investigate areas that we found interesting and meaningful. We also contributed by educating our colleagues, and ourselves, at scientific meetings. How could you increase job flexibility and lifelong learning on your team?
4. Defend. We all want to defend our property, positions, and accomplishments. This drive is rooted in the fight or flight mechanism that has evolved over millions of years. In a competitive market, staying in touch with what may threaten you is critical and motivating. Knowing that we were competing for very limited research funds kept us motivated at UCSD. How can you better educate your team regarding market conditions, threats, and opportunities?

These are the ABCDs of human motivation. It is important to recognize that as a leader, you may not be able to affect all of these to the degree you would like to. However, that's no excuse for not trying to change what you can. Employees know that there are limits to the boss's ability to change policies. In fact, research tells us that employees attribute as much importance to their bosses meeting these drives as they do to the organization's policies. How might you adapt these ideas to meet the four driving, emotional needs of your team members?

Keep on stretching when your pulled,
Dave

1. Nitin Nohria, Boris Groysberg, and Linda-Eling Lee; Employee Motivation - A Powerful New Model, ‘Harvard Business Review,’ July-August 2008, 78 - 84.