Fear and Motivation

I work out of a co-working space in CT where we view weekly TED talks and discuss the topic later. Great social practice and for overall entrepreneurial health. Our last one was about motivating workers. I came away with this perspective; there's no single motivating factor for any one person. But there are motivational areas to consider when attempting to motivate a person. Here's my current and sure to be expanded list.

Love  & Appreciation
Who doesn't want to be recognized for what they do, for how smart they are for their individual contribution. Our discussion group pondered if this was the only motivating factor. In the end we had to concede that it might be the most motivating factor, but life, requiring cash as it does, would soon wear off the shine of appreciation. At some point, maybe not immediately, the manager will have to back his or her appreciation on a more tangible way, preferably with cash, company car, whatever, just as long as it has value to that person. And this applies to private life as well. I'll do anything for my family. But I'm rewarded a thousand-fold with love and appreciation, no matter how lame my intentions end up.

Job Satisfaction
Sure, doing what you love is great. But if it doesn't put food on the table, it's a hobby. An employee will excel at what they love and are great at. And a good manager will be keen to provide plenty of praise. But, as in the above example, that employee, without proper reimbursement, might stop liking that job so much.

Money
This may the primary motivational factor for many people. After all, with money, you can compensate like a S.O.B. for a lousy unsatisfactory job. But, if you spend most of your day at your job, most of your life not spent sleeping, even the money will look less rewarding. There's still that human quality of desire for the above two items. I can honestly say that after 41 years of working, I've never met anyone who was satisfied with only the cash. This might be because no one has ever made a bucket unless they have the other needs satisfied. Money tends to follow folks who love the way they make it.

Fear
This is the saddest of all motivational factors. Fear of rejection, fear of loss of respect, loss of money and country club status. It's related to the above motivations, but from a different perspective. People who are motivated by fear are motivated from a position of having made it and are afraid of losing it. Its real difference is in its motivational power.

By example, I recall having this fear as an oil industry micro-paleontological consultant. I expressed a fear to my new wife that if things didn't improve, we might lose our big house on Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans. She was busy with a cross word puzzle or something equally important and simply said, "so we'll get a smaller house" and continued with her greater word choice concern. My motivation turned from fear of loss to desire to provide for her... a much more motivating factor.

Bottom line, motivation is a complicated thing for we complicated humans. All the factors mentioned above apply in different degrees depending on the individual and their personal history. A good manager will learn what he can of the person and apply techniques as needed. The best managers will do this not for productivity's sake, but as fellow human being caring for another. THJIS approach is, in my humble opinion, the one most likely to generate the greatest results.