How
leaders can impact employee's motivation using the 4-Drive Theory
The
4-Drive Theory of Employee Motivation states that there are four main drives
that motivate employees, these are the drives to: Acquire & Achieve, to
Bond & Belong, to be Challenged & Comprehend, and to Define &
Defend.
In
order to maximize motivation leaders need to provide opportunities for
employees to satisfy these four drives.
Leaders
can begin to influence and start to fulfill each of these drives by using some
of the systems and processes they already have in place. Changes and
enhancements to those systems can help the organization become one in which
employees can satisfy their drives and become highly motivated!
We
attempt to map the connection between each of the four drives and the different
organizational systems/processes that impact them.
Drive
A: Achieve & Acquire
This
drive is primarily satisfied through a company's Reward System. This
drive is met when companies have a total reward system that:
- highly differentiates top
performers from average performers and average performers from poor
performers;
- clearly ties rewards to
performance;
- recognition is consistently
given for outstanding performance;
- pay is above the competitive
benchmarks in the city/industry;
- top employees are promoted
from within.
Drive
B: Bond & Belong
This
drive is mostly met through an Organization's Culture. This drive is
fulfilled when an organization's culture is one that:
- embraces teamwork;
- encourages the development of
friendships and bonding;
- one in which employees can
depend on their peers to help them;
- that values collaboration;
- that celebrates and shares;
- a culture that is focused on the
"employee first".
Drive
C: Challenge & Comprehend
This
drive is fulfilled primarily through Job and Organizational Structure.
Organizations need to ensure that the various job roles within the company
provide employees with stimulation that challenges them or allows them to grow.
Job roles that satisfy this drive should:
- be seen as important in the
organization;
- jobs should provide personal
meaning and fulfillment;
- roles should engender a
feeling of contribution to the organization;
- organizational structures that
provide growth opportunities within the company;
- learning offerings (training,
seminars, etc) that provide employees with new skills and knowledge;
- job sharing/rotational
opportunities that can provide new challenges.
Drive
D: Define & Defend
This
drive is met mostly through an employee feeling alignment and connection to the
organization. This can be done through a company's Vision/Reputation and
their Performance Management System. Organizations that have a strong
vision or positive reputation in the marketplace can help create that alignment
with employees. The company should be perceived to be:
- fair;
- ethical;
- providing a valued service or
good;
- cutting edge
- good stewards.
Organization'
performance management systems can also help through giving insight into the
company's vision. Performance management system should be one that is:
- open and transparent;
- perceived to be fair to all
employees;
- provides direction;
- trusted by employees.
What
great leaders do!
Rightfully
or not, many employees look to the company to provide them their motivation for
work. While many of these motivations are inherently in a company, good leaders
know that they have to work at it constantly to ensure that they are satisfying
all four drives.
Focus
on all 4 Drives:
It
is important to understand that all the good work that a company or leader
does in these four areas can be ruined if just one of the four drives is a
little lacking. Research shows that weakness on fulfilling one of the
4-Drives "castes a negative halo" on how the company or leader
performs on all the other 3 drives. If a leader wants to be great, it is
important then for a leader to ensure that they are identifying and addressing
any issues that they see in any of the four drive areas.
Individualize
motivation:
It
is also important to know that individual employees each have a unique
4-Drive Motivational profile. Research on this shows that different
demographics and personalities respond differently to the four drives. In other
words, some employees will respond or require greater satisfaction of the A
drive, while others will focus in on the C drive (or B or D). Each employee
will perceive how the company or leader is performing on these differently.
Great leaders are one's who understand those differences and can focus specific
employees on the satisfiers of their specific needs.
Communicate
effectively:
Leaders
need to be able to effectively communicate how their systems, policies and
structure align with the four drives. In other words, they need to be able
to map out the connections between what the company is doing or providing and
how that would satisfy one or more of the drives. For instance, a leader
could discuss the reason that they are sponsoring a community service event is
not only to help the community (drive D) but also to provide an opportunity for
employees to get to know each other and their families (drive B) and to give
them a chance to learn a new skill (drive C). Great leaders create the talking
points that get discussed.
Experiment:
Great
leaders need to constantly look for ways of enhancing each of the four drives.
This is an ongoing commitment that requires leaders to be focused on looking
for different ways in which they can provide the opportunities for employees to
satisfy their needs. They should implement new structures and processes and see
how they work. Add a new twist on an old program (i.e., earn a lunch with the
president if you are the top performer this week), do something totally new
(i.e., take your team to a Boys and Girls club for an afternoon of mentoring),
stop doing something you've always done (i.e., quit giving your poorest
performers an annual raise) – just keep experimenting.
Share
this article with your friends or leave a comment and let us know your thoughts
and ideas on how leaders can use the 4-Drives to create a more motivated work
place!
The Author Profile
Kurt
is a recognized leader in human motivation, incentive compensation, team
development and President of The Lantern Group. For over seventeen years, Kurt
has worked on developing and delivering motivational programs, incentive
programs, communication campaigns, training sessions, focus groups, team
development sessions and strategy initiatives that get people to work more productively
and effectively. Over 150,000 people have participated in programs that Kurt
has designed and facilitated.
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