This article is the second in a three-part series on employee motivation. In case you missed it, be sure to check out Part 1, or skip ahead to Part 3.

In Part 1, I discussed the Expectancy Theory, and what implications it has on your reward and recognition programs. One aspect of the theory, valence, deals with whether or not your employees value the rewards they receive for behaving a certain way. In this article, I will be exploring that concept in a bit more detail by discussing different sources of motivation. I’ll also be teaching you how to build more well-rounded programs and practices so that you can maximize your ability to influence employee behavior.

Sources of Motivation

The “Sources of Motivation” theory is a model that attempts to blend numerous motivational theories into one working model. Professor Rick Scholl, coauthor of the theory, head of the University of Rhode Island’s Labor Research Center, and a personal mentor of mine, explains,

After examining many of the content based approaches to motivation (those theories that attempt to answer the question: What motivates membership and performance of people at work?), we determined that there are five fundamental sources of motivation. While most individuals are affected by all sources, each individual has a dominant source of motivation that is the prime focus of his or her behavior.

To put it into layman’s terms, there are five major sources that really drive a person to behave a certain way:

• Intrinsic Motivation
• Instrumental Motivation
• External Self-Concept Motivation
• Internal Self-Concept Motivation
• Goal Internalization

I’ll be explaining what each of these means, and then show you how to use all of them in conjunction to push employee performance to the next level.

It’s not really work if you’re having fun

Individuals primarily motivated by intrinsic process engage in activities which they consider fun and enjoyable.

When you think about intrinsic motivation, it’s important to separate “doing” from “succeeding.” Someone who’s truly motivated intrinsically likes the actual act of doing something, whether or not they’re any good at it or reach any sort of goal.

For example, I occasionally like to go to mini-golfing. I’m absolutely terrible at it, and don’t really care if I get better or not. I don’t care if I win or lose, how many strokes it takes me to sink the ball (though I am a little embarrassed when my fiance consistently outplays me), or even if I played better than last time. On a beautiful summer night, engaging in the maddening ritual of trying to get a tiny ball into a little plastic cup is a pretty good time.

I’m intrinsically motivated to play mini-golf. If I played often to get better, or enjoyed winning, that would be a different kind of motivation that we’ll be talking about in just a bit.

Show Me the Money!

Show me the money. Oh-ho-ho! SHOW! ME! THE! MONEY! A-ha-ha! Jerry, doesn’t it make you feel good just to say that! Say it with me one time, Jerry.

People who are instrumentally motivated do things primarily for the reward they receive if they’re successful. This includes bonuses, extra time off, promotions and so on. For a great article on instrumental motivation, check out this article at Talent Junction.

Stuart Smalley Syndrome

I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!

Internal and external self-concept motivation are very similar. Individuals motivated by self-concept are driven by a desire to have their own self-perceptions validated. In other words, they like to prove that what they think they’re good at is something they’re actually good at.

For people who are externally motivated, this comes in the form of praise for a job well done and public recognition. For those who are internally motivated, simply succeeding at a challenging goal or task may be enough.

Take one for the team

Sometimes you have to take one for the team.

Ok, so that’s admittedly my worst quote – sorry!

Goal identification is when a person so strongly identifies with the goal or mission of an organization that they’ll do things just to see that goal realized. This motivation is a very strong driver of behavior at non-profits, where other motivational forces are low or non-existent.

Putting it all together

Every individual is influenced by some combination of these five sources. However, that combination is different for each person, so in order to be effective, it’s important that your human resource programs and practices (both formal and informal) touch on as many of these elements as possible.

Most organizations include just one or two of these elements in their programs. The most commonly used motivational drivers are instrumental ones (in the form of bonuses, promotions and such) and external self-concept through some type of public recognition program. These are great motivational tools, but it’s important to remember that a lot of people aren’t heavily motivated by these things (or as we learned in Part 1, may just be more motivated by something else).

In Part 3, I discuss strategies to help you influence employee behavior using all five motivational drivers. We’ll also look at some of the common mistakes organizations make and how to avoid them.

What motivates you? Leave a comment below!

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