What Motivates People?

Before we start thinking in depth about strategies to ensure that our staff are challenged, happy, and motivated, let’s zoom out and consider the subject at a human level. What is it to be human and what is it to be happy? After all, we’ve likely heard stories and seen examples of humans all over the world that are at varying—often contradictory—levels of happiness. We’ve probably seen how often seemingly successful actors and musicians, who society looks at as models of creative and financial success, end up facing bankruptcy or rehab (or both). Likewise, we may have read of monks in Tibet who own no physical possessions other than the robe that they wear, and spend hours a day sitting in silence, reporting that they are as happy and content as they could wish for.

When you think about a time of your life in which you were most happy, where do you place yourself? Were you more or less free than you are now, richer or poorer, a care giver or receiver, student or teacher? What is it about that time that made you so happy?

We live in an economic system and culture that places high value on money and possessions. In fact, we could argue that one of the reasons that people change their job or accept that promotion is that it often brings them more money, which they will see as a catalyst for a better life. Why is it that you were interested in getting into management? Were you motivated by higher salaries or did you want to be a source of guidance to others? You should confront those motivations now, rather than later.

The Hierarchy of Needs

Many factors contribute to humans feeling happy, motivated, and content. One of the most famous psychological models was published by Abraham Maslow in 1943. It’s often referred to as Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Although it wasn’t Maslow himself that structured it as a pyramid (that allegedly came later via a management book), the representation is useful to aid understanding.

In Maslow’s hierarchy, we have five different levels of need, from bottom to top. The largest and most fundamental needs are at the bottom of the pyramid, whereas the higher-level needs are at the top. Each level builds on top of the one below it. Once a level is satisfied, then it enables the level above it to be within reach.

Let’s look at each level from the bottom up.

• Physiological. The foundational biological needs of a human, such as water, food, warmth, and rest.

• Safety. Encompassing all that keeps humans from harm. This includes personal, emotional, and financial security.

• Love/belonging. The connection to family, friends, and intimate relationships.

• Esteem. Concerning recognition, status, importance, and respect, both of one’s self and from others.

• Self-actualization. The realization of one’s full potential through developing unique talents, skills and abilities, and achieving goals.

The core tenet of Maslow’s hierarchy is that humans reach their fullest potential and happiness through the progression to the top of the pyramid. Typically, the bottom two layers are referred to as basic needs. The two above that are psychological needs. The top of the pyramid is our self-fulfillment needs. The argument that can be made is that money and possessions could be reframed as only basic needs, assuming that you have enough to reach the higher levels of the pyramid. An infinite amount of money will not make you happier, but an infinite amount of creative activities and ability to master new skills will.

The Role of Work

Work is a very important part of our lives. After all, you’re investing a great deal of your time in reading a book about it. Through our work we are given opportunities to feed into our desires at almost every level of Maslow’s model. We can earn money to meet our basic needs, we can work with and serve people to achieve our belonging and esteem needs, and most of all, we can become experienced and skilled, which contributes toward our self-fulfillment.

So, what is it that makes you get up and go to work in the morning? What is it that made you pick up this book? I highly doubt that you wanted to get into management because of the money, because as much as money is nice, there are mornings where I’d rather be warm in bed than chasing the prospect of a 5% pay increase. Additionally, it’s likely that you’re already working within an industry that is paying above average when compared to other jobs out there. Some more money would be nice, but it probably wouldn’t change your life. (I could be wrong though. Perhaps that slightly nicer car will cause you to erupt with joy for the duration of your remaining days on this planet.)

Instead, I reckon the reason that you do what you do, and the reason that you’re spending time investing in yourself by reading this book, is because you’re a highly motivated individual who is trying to become better in a career that you are passionate about. You want to become even more of an expert. You want to help others. You want to feel the satisfaction of a purpose beyond yourself.

Let’s revisit Maslow’s model but map it to your life at work:

• Physiological. You want to be paid fairly for what you do and to have some reasonable benefits.

• Safety. You want job security and a safe working environment.

• Love/belonging. You want to work with colleagues that you like and that inspire you, and you want to build good relationships with your team and your manager.

• Esteem. You want to be recognized for what you do, both informally through feedback and formally through your job title and promotions.

• Self-actualization. You want to be challenged so that you grow and continually expand your skills. You want to feel that there is always somewhere to advance next in your career.

Framed in this way, you can see why those with highly paid but extremely frustrating or boring jobs eventually quit. They are only having their basic needs met. It’s also why many will take a large pay cut to start their own business or join a startup. The creativity and autonomy of that work outweighs the lower income.

What’s also interesting is that through this model you can begin to see how as a manager you can have a lasting impact on the lives of your staff. Although the basic needs of job security, pay, and benefits are provided by the company as standard, the higher-level needs of belonging, esteem, and self-actualization are something that you can have a hand in helping your staff achieve. Isn’t that great?

For example, just look at the many ways that you can contribute to fulfilling the higher-level needs of your staff. For belongingness needs, you can:

• Build strong relationships with your staff.

• Encourage and demonstrate radically candid feedback to build trust and help them grow.

• Be a role model for those in your team to look up to.

• Connect yourself and your team better to the rest of the organization so that they feel part of something much bigger than themselves.

For esteem needs, you can:

• Ensure that your staff are recognized for what they do through appropriate praise and critique.

• Facilitate discussions around career progression, so staff can ensure they have job titles and responsibilities that are accurate and indicate the right level of status.

• Coach and guide staff to improve themselves and become more confident and capable.

Finally, for self-actualization needs, you can:

• Ensure that you delegate the right work to the right staff, so that they have continual opportunities to learn, contribute, and grow.

• Provide the environment for staff to learn new skills, both on the job and through attending training and conferences.

• Give staff the freedom to solve problems in the way that they choose, as long as the outcome is correct. This can apply to both abstract problem solving through to concrete decisions around technical approaches and architecture.

These higher-level needs of your staff are where you come in. That’s much more than just getting work done: it’s contributing toward self-fulfillment. If that’s not motivating for you, I don’t know what is. Maybe that slightly nicer car?

The Path to Self-Actualization

Every human has fundamental needs. As a manager, you have a great number of opportunities to improve the careers and lives of your staff by ensuring that their needs are met according to Maslow’s model. Very few people work in technology just for the money. Often it’s because they are innately curious, passionate, and wanting to achieve mastery and self-actualization.

It’s your responsibility as a manager to try and create as many opportunities for your staff to meet their needs. Techniques to do so—from delegation, to performance reviews, to career discussions—are all throughout this book. Keep in mind that money and ping-pong tables are not higher-level needs. Interesting work, challenging technical problems, strong relationships, and candid praise and criticism do, however, enable ascension to the top of the pyramid. Get them there.