This guest post is by Heidi Grant Halvorson, a motivational psychologist and author of “Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals.” She is also the author and co-editor of the academic book “The Psychology of Goals.” Follow her on Twitter at @hghalvorson.
Most managers and leaders have the unenviable task of trying to get other people to adopt particular goals. Companies have agendas, and employees need to support those agendas if the company is to succeed. However, if you want your employees to live up to their full potential, it’s not enough that they do what you tell them to.
You want them to make the goals their own. Again and again, studies show that the greatest motivation and most personal satisfaction comes from those goals that we choose for ourselves. Self-chosen goals create a special kind of motivation called intrinsic motivation, the desire to do something for its own sake. When people are intrinsically motivated, they enjoy what they are doing more and find it more interesting. They feel more creative and process information more deeply. They persist in the face of difficulty. Intrinsic motivation is awesome in its power to get and keep us going.
Autonomy is particularly critical when it comes to creating and maintaining intrinsic motivation. But in the workplace, goals have to be assigned. What’s a manager to do?
It turns out that it isn’t so much actual freedom of choice that matters when it comes to creating intrinsic motivation, but the feeling of choice. Here are three tips for fostering that feeling:
- Explain why the goal they’ve been assigned has value. Too often, managers tell their employees what they need to do, without taking the time to explain why it’s important, or how it fits into the bigger picture. No one ever really commits to a goal if they don’t see why it’s desirable in the first place. Don’t assume the why is as obvious to people on your team as it is to you.
- Allow your employees to decide how they will reach the goal. The freedom to tailor their approach to their preferences and abilities will also give them heightened sense of control over the situation, which can only benefit performance. If you can’t give them total free reign, try giving them a choice between two options for how to proceed.
- Invite your employee to make decisions about peripheral aspects of the task. For instance, if your employees have to attend weekly team meetings to improve communication and collaboration (with both the goals and method for reaching it predetermined), you can have team members take turns deciding what the topic of the meeting will be each week, or even what kind of lunch will be ordered. Studies show that these more peripheral decisions create a feeling of choice, even when the choices aren’t particularly meaningful or relevant to the goal itself.
Take time to reflect on how you might be able create a greater sense of autonomy in your own workplace using these three steps. Choice is incredibly motivating — to bring out the best in your employees, harness its power.
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Good Post Heidi
Reminds me of what Pink says in "DRIVE" -
Completely agree with your train of thought here when you state: "However, if you want your employees to live up to their full potential, it’s not enough that they do what you tell them to. You want them to make the goals their own. Again and again, studies show that the greatest motivation and most personal satisfaction comes from those goals that we choose for ourselves. " As a leader, the hardest part is getting the employees goals enligned with the company goals. As you point out…"Explain why the goal they’ve been assigned has value."
Another point well stated is AUTONOMY – A Big Motivator even in a TEAM Setting. Can there be a collaboration on goal setting between leadership and individual team members? I have always found this to be a good way to get the employee to take ownership of the goals.
The clear and concise communication of the goal – not just what the goal is, but why the goal is important to the team's overall mission, to the employee, and even how reaching the goal adds value to the customer, all are important.
Thanks for the post
SPGonz
I agree with you we need to explain to the staff why the goals are important. then they wil work hard towards it. What I normally do i my daily shift briefing is to highlight the goal, then let them know "What's In It for Them" should the goal be achieved. This will normally give them the motivation to work hard.
Even the Vision and Mission Statement of each organization. Most organization has great Vision Mission on plaque on the wall. But when you ask the staff what it is they know the Vission Mission but don't know whats its for. What I do nowadays is give each new staff a small laminated card with the Vission Mission on it. In the daily briefing I asked them to read together and explain itmeans and how we are going to achive it. So far our productivity has increased.
I think that she has drawn our attention on the basic principle in the management of employees and their cause for the work. Excellent article.
hmmmm . . . basically that is all true. This article is somewhat simplistic, but does captures the basics. I smiled when I read this line:
If you can’t give them total free reign, try giving them a choice between two options for how to proceed.
This is almost the same advice that LoveandLogic.com gives to parents about teenagers. Indeed, I was struck by how similar all these points are to dealing with teenagers. I guess that we really never grow up.
To give this article a little more depth you might talk about how to get employees to adopt company goals and/or what to do when employees just don't want to make the companies goals (or are resistant to company goals). And a methodology like the Rockefeller habits or something.
Anyway, good basic information for 101.
Thank you Heidi for filling in more of the details of not only why choice is so important with today's workforce, but just as importantly how to create that feeling of choice. I truly believe today's leaders need to master the art of engaging their employees in a way that creates alignment between company goals and personal goals. As we teach leaders to become coaching leaders, one of the most critical skills is asking good questions to really understand what drives the employee. Great coaching leaders mastered the “dance” of the coaching conversation to create authentic commitment which creates genuine passion and creativity in pursuit of the goals.
Isn't this just more manipulation in a fancier package?
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