How to Coach Yourself and Others Essential Knowledge For Coaching | Page 81

acknowledgment no longer remains motivated by rewards such
as recognition and acknowledgment, and would instead require
opportunities for self-actualization to remain motivated.
Conversely, an employee frustrated by the inability to fulfill
higher-level needs may strive to fulfill lower level needs.
Organizations can motivate employees by identifying the
individual employee’s position in the need hierarchy and
creating conditions that make it possible for him or her to
achieve such needs through efforts in the workplace. For
example, good leadership can facilitate better group
communications.
Alfred Alderfer’s ERG Theory
Alderfer’s ERG theory is a modification of Maslow’s need
hierarchy theory, and holds motivation dependent on three need
dimensions: Existence, Relatedness, and Growth. Existence
refers to desire for physiological and materialistic well-being,
Relatedness refers to the desire to have significant positive
relationships with other people of consequence, and growth
refers to the desire to grow and use one’s innate abilities to the
fullest potential.
The theory holds that an individual remains motivated to any of
these three need categories:


Need for achievement (nAch), such as the desire to do
things in a better or efficient way, to solve complex
problems, and the like



Need for affiliation (nAff) such as the desire to
establish and maintain good relations with others, to
become part of a group, and the like



Need for power (nPower), such as the desire to
assume leadership, become a decision making
authority, and the like

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