The Battle of Motives

Janice, a VP of Operations for a large engineering firm, began our coaching call with a frustrated outburst.

“You want to know what’s on my plate for our call today??I’ll tell you.?It’s John’s head.”

“What’s wrong with him that he doesn’t get it??I’ve asked him multiple times to deal with an ongoing production issue.”

“But he continues to drag his feet and keeps requesting more information from the project team.?My patience is running thin and I’m ready to put him on a Performance Improvement Plan”.

“And I don’t think there’s a thing you can do to help with this!”

What Janice failed to recognize was I had a secret weapon.?One that would provide a clear path for addressing this problem.

What was that secret weapon??I knew the core motivational filters for both Janice and John through an assessment I use with teams I coach.

Results from that assessment told me Janice was primarily motivated by getting things done quickly.?She was a task-oriented administrator who would figure problems out using trial and error combined with quick decision making as she worked to solve them. ?

In contrast. John was primarily motivated by getting things done right, the first time.?He was an analytically-oriented engineer who used a cautious, diagnostic, and systematic approach to solving problems.

Now, one approach is not better than the other, they are just different.?And each has its own strengths and weaknesses.?

But Janice, viewing the problem through her own motivational filter thought John was being too slow and perceived him as “dragging his feet”.?John, viewing the problem through his own motivational filter thought Janis was taking unnecessary risks in having him rush to create a quick solution.?

Both had positive intentions of getting the problem solved, but a battle between their motivational styles was creating miscommunications, misunderstandings, and conflict.?As you can imagine, this was not helpful in getting the situation effectively addressed.?

Helping both Janice and John understand the primary cause of their conflict paved the way for Janice and John to collaborate, leveraging each of their motivational strengths, to get the problem addressed in a manner both found not only satisfactory, but better than either of them would have developed on their own.

While there’s an almost infinite number of motives behind human behavior, research has shown these motives can be classified according to three primary motivational value systems programed into every human brain.

Being motivated by performance – A concern for getting things done quickly and achieving results. Characteristics include, being quick to act, competitive, and ambitious.

Being motivated by process – A concern for practical analysis and order. Characteristics include being analytical, cautious, and methodical.

Being motivated by people – A concern for the protection, growth, and welfare of others.?Characteristics include being caring, helpful, and supportive.

We all have a blend of these three motives, but each at different levels of preference.?

What’s your unique blend??You can use the descriptions for each motive to do a simple analysis to get an estimate your blend and that of others.?A great way to do this is to rate yourself on score between 1 (low preference) to 10 (high preference) for using each of the three areas.?Do this in a way that the total for all three adds up to 10.?

You can do the same analysis for others by observing their behavior.

Now, use that information when you encounter any impasse when solving problems, making decisions, or dealing with some conflict.?Use it to determine if you might be overdoing a motivational preference with a higher score, underusing another with a lower score, or battling with different motives of another person.?

By the way – if you gave almost equal preference to each of the three motivations, making you an equal blend of all three, you’re not out of hot seat!?While that blend makes you adaptable, it also places you at risk of being too flexible and unwilling to take a position or viewed as not having strong opinions.????

For a more precise measure, contact me at [email protected] to learn how you can complete the same assessment Janice and John did.?You’ll not only get a precise measure of your blend, but you’ll also learn how that unique blend supports your success, ways it may be getting in your way, and strategies for better management of your motivations to be more effective at working through impasses and conflict.??