My mantra is that we should always strive to ensure that people who take over a role from us are able to do better than we ever did . So , we should indeed prepare the ground not only for their seamless entry , but their prosperity thereafter . from us are able to do better than we ever did . So , we should indeed prepare the ground not only for their seamless entry , but their prosperity thereafter .
EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION
What Makes People Tick Such That They Deliver Their Best ?
By Kola Olutimehin
To rephrase the above question , what is it that makes people to tick such that they can deliver their best ?
Some people have answered this question , simply as ‘ money ’ whilst others allude to it not being the only thing . I share in these views , but also take it to the Maslow ’ s Hierarchy of Needs , which is the five-tier model , which suggests that people are motivated to fulfil basic needs , and other needs then get thrust in front of them as the first few levels get satisfied .
The five models from the bottom-up are what Abraham Maslow referred to as :
Physiological ( food and clothing ) » Safety ( job security ) » Love and Belonging
( friendship ) » Esteem ( recognition ) » Self-Actualisation ( becoming one ’ s best ).
Is there a part that an organisation can play in this ? Is this based upon the prevailing culture of the community or just the leadership thrust of the organisation ? Where does the power lie – is it in consultative or autocratic modes of leadership ? There is no one answer , but I have found that the attitude that is inculcated within the organisation could either enable or stall employee motivation ; we simply refer to this as culture .
Just a little over a decade ago , I was a speaker amongst an array of well-known persons at an event . As this was part of my introductory days into corporate speaking in a new environment and a country that I was not used to working in , I was pleased that I had the privilege to listen to others before my speech .
I recall that I enjoyed the speech of one of my fellow speakers as he spoke on his experience working for a highly visible businessperson who owned and ran a conglomerate of businesses . This speaker focused on the importance of hard work ethics and powerfully drove his point home .
Then , as he prepared to round off his speech , he boasted that no one could have ever achieved the level of results that he provided to his boss after he left . As soon as I heard that , I was saddened about this remark and felt troubled by it . I muttered to myself , thus : so , you basically put your boss in a mess when you left him .
My mantra is that we should always strive to ensure that people who take over a role
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My mantra is that we should always strive to ensure that people who take over a role from us are able to do better than we ever did . So , we should indeed prepare the ground not only for their seamless entry , but their prosperity thereafter . from us are able to do better than we ever did . So , we should indeed prepare the ground not only for their seamless entry , but their prosperity thereafter .
This is what I refer to as true success . As you already know , the word ‘ success ’ is part of successor . As such , the conclusion that I draw from this is that a person ’ s success can only be ascertained by the results of their successor based on whether they ( the successor ) have done better than they ( the predecessor ) ever did . Where this supplanting of results is not the case , but the predecessor has done really well , I prefer to refer to them ( the forerunner ) as an achiever .
So , if we take the view that the predecessor is still within the organisation , and has only changed roles , does this not infer that he or she is now in competition with their successor for the Employee of the Month or the Employee of the Year award ? If that be the case , why would they want them to do well ? The ponders of this world shall never end …!
So , what is it that should birth a mental stir for continuing employee motivation towards ‘ true success ’ within us ; that desire to be superseded , which is not a natural inclination ? It has to be a hunger for a better future for those coming after us , which I refer to as being in possession of a generational mind-set . As I have been asked on a number of occasions , what does the person with a generational mindset take benefit of today ?
I discuss just one aspect of this with the article presented below .
The True Employee of
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