09/07/2018
Some further thoughts on motivating others
9 July 2018 Michael Booth
Further to last week’s post, let us consider the way in which we take action to articulate the three styles of leadership that I explained. You may recall that I made the point that it is you as the leader who has the power to exercise the most appropriate elements of each style as your followers require. Remember that motivation is defined as a “force” that impels a person to action. Where does that “force” come from? Most often it is from the leader.
Often the environment in which you find yourself makes this difficult, but your skill as a leader will determine how successful you are in overcoming these difficulties. This could be the place, those above you in the formal organisational structure, difficult individuals in your team or other teams or just the state of play in your environment where things are not going well.
Below you will find Maslow’s Basic Hierarchy of needs overlaid with specific actions which are required at each level by both the individual as well as the leader. This is generic and quite simple but defines the elements that apply to all people, irrespective of age, gender, race or level within the organisation.
Your skill as a leader is defined by this basic model. The Controller style, the Facilitator style and the Participative Style fit exactly into the various levels.
Psychological Needs are all that are met when using the Controller style.
Safety/Security Needs are all that are met when using the Facilitator style.
Social Needs, Esteem Needs and Self-Actualisation needs are met when using the Participative style.
However, as explained previously, they are not used in isolation from one another at all times. Practically, the good leader uses all three as the situation requires, but is constantly aware of the need for all three and the appropriateness of application if and when required.
Three examples:
Controller Style
The KITA approach
A man is playing golf, using his dog as a guide. The dog finds the ball in the rough, sits up and applauds a good shot by clapping his paws together. When the golfer’s second shot hits the green, the dog marks out the line on the green by drawing a line with its nose. However, if the putt is missed, the dog does somersaults. When asked why and how many somersaults the dog does, the reply is that it depends on how hard the dog was kicked in the butt for giving the wrong line for the putt.
Facilitator Style
Eskom
I called for an appointment for 16H30. I was most impressed with the tropical effect of the indoor gardens. I remembered how the press had criticised Eskom for the expense of creating such a pleasing working environment. Suddenly at 16H30 there was a mass exodus of the staff to go home, and literally, within five minutes, about 1000 people departed through the doors. I was amazed. When the person I was waiting to see came down to fetch me at 16H40 I had to ask, “How many people actually work here?” His reply: “About 3!”
Participative Style
Toyota
Toyota has thousands of employees. A few years ago they had 1,138,000 suggestions for quality improvement. 93% of these were used. You might be skeptical on the figure of 93%. Satisfy this skepticism by realising that this practice has been followed for the past 15 years. In the first few years the percentage was low but employees improved with practice, year on year, until this remarkable figure of 93% was achieved. The real secret of Toyota’s success was giving consistent feedback and recognition. This encouraged those whose first ideas were rejected to try again.
The President of Scandinavian Airlines once said: “People who have no information can take no responsibility. People who do have, have no option.”
Remember that the more potential your people have, the more you should adopt the Participative style of management.
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