Factors influencing the motivation of individuals

The ideology of motivating individuals goes back to the biblical era. Romans conducting the Battle of Alesia in 52 BC was one of Julius Caesar’s paramount victories over Switzerland, Belgium, France, and northern Italy expanding Roman territory. We cannot imagine the pre-war motivational speeches Julius Caesar delivered to his troops prior to executing battle besides being brilliant. Most are more familiar with epic pre-war speeches given during the Battle of Thermopylae theatrically depicted in the movie 300. These are extreme cases of influence and of course no business manager needs to go to those measures to get the workforce fired up. Working for DoD (Department of Defense) motivation can ebb and flow like the sea, however like any other business necessary steps are needed to ensure employee performance remains focused and productive. In the following paragraphs I will discuss motivating individuals from lesson, lecture (RSA Video), and personal experiences.

Motivation was broken down into three primary categories which lead to increased performance and personal satisfaction. This provides a better understanding how people operate and what drives them to succeed. Autonomy was the first prime stated most like to be the director of their own lives and make their own decisions. As good as that sounds it is achievable only if one owned their own business. Working for an organization you are restricted to following their policies eliminating self-chosen decisions. Some people work for their love of the work; others work for personal and professional fulfillment (Heathfield 2018). Balancing act of what the employee long term goals are and leader’s ability to lessen the restrictions of policy can spark a positive reaction from the worker. I strongly believe in sharpening up on interpersonal skills allowing better interaction from employees when one is in a leadership position. Personal time and attention from the manager or supervisor was cited by workers as most rewarding and motivational for them at work. (Heathfield 2018). When I was in Command of Bravo Troop, 2ND Squadron, of the 13TH Calvary Division I did exactly what was quoted. I listened, learned and respected what my Soldiers did and asked of me. The result was they were happy to come to work and they knew I had the upmost respect for them. Bravo Troop had the highest retention rate in the Bridge 3RD quarter 09 fiscal year. When it was time to change out of Command it was a significant emotional event for me as well as my Soldiers.

Mastery was the second prime and the easiest one of the three to describe. Army thrives on this particular motivational prime because Army prides itself on mastering each skill set to be the best. Practice makes perfect, how many times have you heard that in life. Well it is a very true statement, repetitive practices lower the chance of mistakes. The caveat to this approach is each situation encountered from day to day operations are different. The same situation may not repeat but with proper training both leader and worker will be better prepared to handle the unknown. Motivational processes may apply to the achievement of collective goals or outcomes in exactly the same way they do individual goals or outcomes, we do not know the implications of such a shift from the individual to the collective, since this has not constituted (Ellemers, Gilder & Haslam 2004). Being properly prepared to understand this motivational prime is key to having mastery work in your favor. Quarterly training can assist meeting this prime and ensuring the workforce is properly prepared for any situation it may encounter. Purpose is the last prime for motivation and one of the more important factors of the three. It encompasses the other two primes and as a collective making everything work in unison. You give an employee a purpose as to what they are doing they will perform for you. While working in DoD, at ATEC (Army Test and Evaluation Command) a critical motivator is to test all military equipment. Failure for your product to work could in fact cost Soldiers their lives. The contract company who made the product only cares about one thing and that is to make money. As harsh as it sounds, the truth is for ATEC to test the product and define if product is suitable for Soldier use. This alone is enough responsibility for the employee and manager to maximize their effort to provide the best possible product solution. Granted you may not find a carbon copy of this scenario but give the worker a purpose they will perform.

In summary I have discussed how to motivate individuals from the prospective of incorporating three prime factors being autonomy, mastery, and purpose. How these factors can be utilized in organizations who want to maximize employee enthusiasm which in turn increases performance. Employees who are highly motivated are self-governed and have a great deal of say in how they spend their time and the types of projects they accept. (Davis-Laack 2017).