The Four important Factors of Motivation

Let’s begin with the four factors that are the basics of motivating anyone, in any organization. These four factors are (1) leadership style, (2) the reward system, (3) the organizational climate, and (4) the structure of the work.

Leadership style:

This is a key factor in determining how people feel about the company and how motivated they are. Very often, just changing the leader changes the psychological climate of the company and, in turn, the whole performance of people in the organization. The appropriate leadership style depends on the goals and objectives of the organization, the people within the company, and the external environment. In a SWAT team or a fire department, the appropriate style would be more directed and dictatorial, with the person in charge telling people what to do quickly with little concern for personal sensitivities. This style can also be found among entrepreneurial organizations, many of which are struggling for their very survival. In most cases, however, traditional to-down leadership style is no longer acceptable in today’s breed of employees, who expect to be able to speak out, be heard, and have a clear influence on how they do the work.

The Reward system:

Every organization is characterized by a particular type of reward structure, often differing from person to person and from department to department. As author Michael LeBoeuf says in his book,The Greatest Management Principle in the World,"What gets rewarded gets done.” If you want more of something in an organization, simply increase greater rewards for that behavior. If you want less of an activity in an organization, simply reduce the rewards, or increase the punishment or disapproval for that behavior. People respond to incentives. It is quite common for companies to identify their most profitable products and services, and then increase the percentage of commission that salespeople will receive for selling those specific products and services, while maintaining lower commissions for less profitable items. Salespeople, and managers for that matter, respond very quickly to increased or decreased financial rewards for specific behaviors or for achieving specific goals.

Organizational climate:

Is your company a "great place to work”? The organizational climate is deliberately created and maintained by management. It largely consists of the way that people treat each other up and down the line. When Thomas J. Watson, Sr., started IBM, he laid out the three core values of the company. These values—excellent products and services, excellent customer service, and respect for the individual—would determine the future of IBM, eventually making it the biggest and most respected computer company in the world. The principle of "respect for the individual” was adamantly enforced at every level of the organization, both nationally and internationally. You could make almost any mistake at all at IBM, except one. You could not disrespect, demean, or insult another person, either inside or outside of the organization. Treating people badly, especially people under your authority, was grounds for dismissal, no matter how long you had been with the company.

The structure of the work:

Some work is inherently motivational, requiring creativity, imagination, and high levels of energy. Work that involves communicating, negotiating, and interacting with other people in order to gain their cooperation to get the job done quickly and well brings out the best energies of the individual. It is exciting and challenging. It is usually highly rewarding as well. However, an enormous amount of work must be standardized, routinized, and made relatively unexciting in order to be done efficiently and cost effectively. It is hard to motivate factory workers who work on a production line all day and whose activities are carefully monitored and regulated to ensure maximum levels of productivity. Good organizations are always trying to structure the work so as to match the nature of the work with the nature of the employee and to make the work as interesting and enjoyable as possible.

The reward structure, the organizational climate, and the structure of the work can be changed, but usually slowly; everything must be thought through carefully and in detail. The leadership style of an organization, however, is the one factor that can be changed quickly, and this change can make a major difference almost overnight.