This post is by Paul Marciano, author of “Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work: Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles of RESPECT.” Follow him on Twitter @drpaulmarciano.
If you’re not clear on the difference between employee motivation and engagement, you’re not alone. I was once asked to explain it to the CEO of an international consulting firm that claimed expertise on the subject. What I want you to know right off is that there are significant differences between the concepts and meaningful implications for how we manage people and, in turn, their productivity.
The clearest way to explain the difference between an engaged and a motivated employee: Imagine watching a team of employees working hard to complete a project by deadline. If they do so, they will be rewarded with a bonus from the client. As an observer, you see all of the employees fully in the game, working hard, and you would say, “Everyone is really motivated.”
At the eleventh hour, something goes wrong, either a computer crashes or the team realizes it doesn’t have the resources to complete the project on time and will not receive the bonus. Now, you have two groups of people: those who look at their watch and say, “Oh, well, we tried. Time to go home,” and those who say, “What is it that we can get accomplished?” Who do you want on your team?
Engaged employees are in the game for the sake of the game; they believe in the cause of the organization. Motivated employees are in it for what they can get out of it. When the carrot is taken away, the effort of the motivated employee disappears. Engaged employees are hardy — they continue to work toward accomplishing the task and supporting the mission of the organization, despite environmental challenges. They keep both feet in the boat and paddling hard toward the destination. In contrast, when times get tough, motivated employees start looking for other boats to jump into or put their heads down and hope not to get noticed.
Another important difference between motivated and engaged employees is the quality of their work. Motivated employees want to get to the finish line to get their carrot. In contrast, engaged employees want to “win” and do the best job possible, meaning taking their time and getting things right. It also means paying attention to their surroundings, in contrast to motivated people, who are like racehorses wearing blinders. Engaged employees are truly passionate and thoughtful about their work and are the difference makers in your organization.
Let me share a personal example: I recently hired a wonderful woman, Jeanne, to help with my business development. Jeanne is truly engaged because she believes in our work and mission to spread respect in the workplace. She sends me e-mails and text messages about ideas at 10 p.m. Saturday because she can’t wait to tell me Monday morning. She goes above and beyond what I ask or pay her to do and, most importantly, keeps her eyes open and brain turned on for opportunities as she goes about her work that I would never see. You don’t get this with people wearing blinders who are simply motivated to earn a paycheck.
Twitter
Facebook
Linkedin
RSS
While I agree with the distinction, I think more conversation is warranted to determine what can be done to truly engage a team vs. simply motivating them. Otherwise in reading a piece like this people can walk away with a thought that they need to hire and prioritize engaged individuals vs. genuinely considering what an enterprise can do to inspire and maximize engagement. Case and point is your last example…should it be considered admirable that this person is thinking about work over the weekend? And is that to be a differentiating trait for employees….OR…should we be considering what types of conditions and initiatives are in place at her workplace that lead her to be so vested and eager to contribute?
@Victor… you're right. The beginning of engaged employees starts with hiring the right person/people. (Identify their passion.) Then find ways to energize the 3 things necessary for higher engagement (and incidentally, profitability). http://bit.ly/aJdo3f
Thank you for your insights Paul. I like the idea of employees being fully motivated and engaged. I've found that people tend to be most motivated and engaged when the work they do speaks to them on a deeper level. Leaders have a great impact on whether employees are encouraged to use their talents and abilities to motivate themselves from within. The more the job matters to someone the greater their engagement.
Good thinking Paul but motivation is yet key. When we all stop to think of motivation strictly in material terms and begin to see it as a product of the work environment and a deliberate attempt to foster ownership. When responsibilities are backed with commensurate authority, credits will be allocated appropriately, when this begin to happen the workforce naturally becomes engaged.
[...] ?? ??????????. ?????? ??? ????????, ????? ?? “????????? ? ??????? ?? ???????” [...]
Your article is good. However, I disagree when people use their own time to give to their work. This employee will be so sensetive when they face any problem with their company and they end up consuming their energy. My point would be engagement with appreciation plus the right utilization of their knowledge (brains).
Paul,
If you define motivation in this case as extrinsic motivation (carrots and sticks), then I'd agree with your definition. If instead we use intrinsic motivation, doing something for the joy of doing it, then the distinction you draw becomes blurred. At this point we have 50 years of empirical evidence in Psychology, 30 years of evidence in companies and a few years of Neuroscience research that says extrinsic motivation is only useful for tasks that don't require any creative thought.
I think what your saying is that engaged employees are intrinsically motivated. If fact, I don't think it's possible to have an engaged employee that is not intrinsically motivated. All an employer can do is work with it's employees to create a culture built on trust so that employees motivate themselves.
Trust is part of engagement (a safety net of sorts). Engaged employees have a passion for the work (intrinsic, as you say)… they want to get better, they see the linkage between their actions and an outcome, and they feel a sense of control (or autonomy). More here: http://bit.ly/aJdo3f
[...] by Paul Marciano Article [...]
[...] ?? ??????????. ?????? ??? ????????, ????? ?? „????????? ? ??????? ?? ???????“ [...]