If you’ve been following us on twitter, you may have noticed we’ve jumped aboard the #mondaymotivation band wagon….
…and why not?! Motivation at work is such an advantage.
We spend approximately one third of our lives at work, so it goes without saying we should feel motivated when carrying out our day job.
So what is ‘Motivation Mapping’?
Motivational mapping is a tool to help us discover what our individual motivators are and therefore enable us to get the absolute best from our team by understanding what’s important to each of us.
Motivational maps start with a simple on-line questionnaire and culminate with a half day of coaching from Lynne Bell. Motivational Maps provide a unique understanding of our work motivators and our motivation levels so that our managers can truly unlock our potential for high performance.
Finding our motivation and keeping what drives us at the forefront of our daily work life helps with an overall balanced mental wellbeing.
Motivators
What is motivation? It’s our drive, our energy!
It was important for us to understand what motivates our team so we embarked on a journey of understanding and mapping team motivation with our business development coach Lynne Bell.
The process was easy; each of us completed a short on-line survey which generated a report, followed by an afternoon of activities where everyone learned about what motivates them and, just as importantly, what de-motivates them.
Everyone has a unique recipe of motivators and it’s important to mention that one recipe is no more important than another.
Motivators are split into three categories each containing three motivators.
These are:
Relationship Motivators
The Star: Recognition, respect and social esteem
The Friend: Belonging, friendship and fulfilling relationships
The Defender: Security, predictability and stability
Achievement Motivators
The Expert: Knowledge, mastery and specialisation
The Builder: Money, material satisfaction and above average living
The Director: Power, influence and control of people and resources
Growth Motivators
The Creator: Innovation, identification with the new and expressing creative potential
The Spirit: Freedom, independence and making own decisions
The Searcher: meaning, making a difference and providing worthwhile things
So with this valuable information we are able to ensure that individual motivators are considered when allocating project work, managing changes and rewarding achievements. Team members are mindful of what motivates their colleagues and why that is different to their own motivators.
This mindfulness ensures a collaborative and understanding environment which is highly productive and rewarding for everyone.
Motivational Maps, the process
Motivational Profiling – on completion of an on-line questionnaire, individuals receive a report which details their Motivators, likely De-motivators, and their Motivation level.
This information can then be used for any of the following:
Personal development – individuals can work through a self-paced and reflective online learning tool to gain a richer understanding of what their motivational profile means for them, their career and, if they are a business owner, their business. From this, an action plan is developed to help increase, and then maintain, motivation levels.
Management Coaching – managers usually have the biggest influence on whether their team members are motivated or not. We provide our expertise to interpret the motivational profiles of each member of the team and identify workable strategies to increase motivation levels. This helps ensure that reward and recognition methods are appropriately targeted and cost-effective.
Performance Management using Motivational Maps® – a prime opportunity to demonstrate Motivational Leadership is in performance management discussions. Research shows this opportunity is missed because managers simply don’t know how to have this discussion with their team members. Motivational Maps provides an easy route into these discussions and we train managers in the skills needed to do this effectively, and in a way that leads to action.
Team development – we produce Team Motivational Maps® which enables potential enablers and barriers to effective team working to be identified and managed. As part of this a Change Index score is produced to show how comfortable the team is with change. This information can be shared with the manager as part of a 1:1 meeting, or as part of a team build workshop.
Career Coaching – given current economic uncertainties and a climate of rapid change, many employees are finding that their job roles have changed or that opportunities they once saw at work seem less available. Career coaching, using Motivational Maps®, provides support to employees by increasing their understanding of their Motivators and seeing how these can be met through the new opportunities at work. This not only reduces change-related stress, but also increases performance levels at a time when traditionally it would fall.
More than just motivators
It’s fair to say, everyone at DKA enjoyed the process of finding out about our motivators, or confirming what we already thought to be true. It is was a great investment from DKA as it demonstrated to us that our happiness at work and future planning of our Practice is very important.
From learning what our motivators are, we also learnt what type of ‘reward’ suits our motivators. For example, an ‘expert’ would really thrive from having detailed reviews which set goals, looking to the future and supporting their desire to learn more.
A defender would do well to tidy their workspace, it would have a big effect on their productivity and create a greater sense of order and in turn, security.
This adds yet another layer of information we can use which allows us to perform at our maximum, develop the skills we enjoy and ultimately be happy at work.
If you’re interested to find out more, head to: www.motivationalleadership.co.uk
