Teams & Motivation

Tools & Techniques for putting your team together

• Use Belbin’s Team roles to find out someone’s most effective role.

• Consider personality types – type A go getter, type B more relaxed. Both may be able to contribute most effectively in different roles.

• Kolb’s experiential learning cycle – Learning styles

• Consider using Myers-Briggs Personality types test MPTI (useful for finding out a person’s motivation – testing needs to be carried out by a professional).

Belbin’s Team Roles

• Developed by Meredith Belbin.• His research on management game

exercises found that the teams comprising those who, in theory, should perform best, did not win the games because they did not perform effectively as a team.

• Developed 9 team roles – an effective team needs a range of different roles.

Belbin’s Team Roles

• CO-ORDINATOR• SHAPER• PLANT• MONITOR EVALUATOR• IMPLEMENTER• RESOURCE INVESTIGATOR• TEAM WORKER• COMPLETER FINISHER• SPECIALISTNote that the names do not describe that team role function See www.belbin.com

Kolb’s Experiential Learning cycle

• Also Honey and Mumford’s Learning Style Questionnaire

• David Kolb developed a highly effective way of thinking about how we learn from experience. He described this as a cycle with four stages. 

• Known as the Experiential Learning cycle.

• Cycle can be entered at any stage

One version of the experiential learning cycle

Do

Review

Learn

Plan

Honey and Mumford’s Learning Styles

• Honey and Mumford’s Learning Style Questionnaire can provide picture of what a person’s preferred learning (and ergo working) style is.

• May be hands on Activist or Pragmatist, or prefer to stand back and reflect, or prefer theory.

• Some lucky people have strong preferences for all 4 styles and can work well as any of the 4.

Honey and Mumford’s Learning Styles

• Reflectors - like to think about things in detail before taking action. They take a thoughtful approach. They are good listeners and prefer to adopt a low profile.

• Activists like to take direct action. They are enthusiastic and welcome new challenges and experiences. They are primarily interested in the here and now. They like to have a go, try things out and participate.

Honey and Mumford’s Learning Styles

• Theorists - like to see how things fit into an overall pattern. They are logical and objective systems people who prefer a sequential approach to problems. They are analytical, pay great attention to detail and tend to be perfectionists.

• Pragmatists - Pragmatists like to see how things work in practice. They enjoy experimenting with new ideas. They are practical, down to earth and like to solve problems. They appreciate the opportunity to try out things out.

Myers-Briggs Personality types MBTI

• Self reported first stage questionnaire, followed by longer 93 question self reported questionnaire.

• Based on Jungian psychology. • Widely used by psychologists.• Scientific validity is questioned, but it can act as

a useful tool for self understanding (but can lead to negative pigeonholing)

• There is a web link on my project management website www.hull.ac.uk/workbasedlearning/

• Many free tests on web based around MBTI, but real test administered by trained person

Myers-Briggs Personality types

• Introvert or Extrovert – what motivates them?

• Sensing or Intuitive – what they pay attention to?

• Thinking or Feeling – how do they make decisions?

• Judges or Perceivers – their overall approach to life.

Keirsey Temperament Sorter

• Self assessed personality questionnaire. • Closely associated with the MBTI – but has

significant differences (theoretically and practically).

• MBTI focuses on how people think; whereas Keirsey Temperament sorter focuses on how people behave.

• Books ‘Please understand me’ and ‘Please understand me 2’ by David Keirsey.

Keirsey Temperament Sorter

• Sorter descriptions

• Observant vs introspective

• Cooperative vs pragmatic• Directive vs Informative communication

• Expressive vs Attentive – how people interact with their environment

Keirsey Temperament Sorter

• Four main temperaments:• Artisan, Guardian, Idealist, Rational

• Eight intelligence types:• Expeditors, Improvisers, Administrators, Conservators,

Mentors, Advocates, Coordinators, Engineers.• Above are specific types – not same as normal use of

each word.

• Sixteen role variants• See www.keirsey.com

16 PF Cattell Personality Inventory

• Developed by Raymond Cattell in 1946 based on work by Allport & Odbert on Lexical Analysis.

• Comprises 16 personality factors, one covers intelligence, the rest cover dimensions of personality which are described by extremes e.g. relaxed/tense

• It is a 187 statement questionnaire completed by the respondent.

• Can give useful indication as to how someone reacts to certain situations

• Suggested that the 16 Factors can be reduced to 5, known as the Big Five personality traits.

The Big Five Personality Traits

• Neuroticism – tendency to easily experience unpleasant emotions such as anger, anxiety, depression, vulnerability.

• Extroversion (or Extraversion) – energy, tendency to seek stimulation from others, engagement with the external world.

• Agreeableness – tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and antagonistic towards others

The Big Five Personality Traits

• Conscientiousness – tendency to show self discipline, act dutifully, aim for achievement

• Openness to experience – appreciation of art, emotion, adventure, unusual ideas, imagination and curiosity.

• The Big Five (Five Factor model) do not explain all aspects of human personality though. Research is ongoing…. And argument that there are 3 main traits not 5…

The Big Five Personality Traits

• Barrick and Mount’s research proved that there are significant correlations between the five factor model’s personality traits and job performance in many jobs.

• Strongest finding was that psychometric conscientiousness was predictive of performance in all the jobs they studied

NEO PI-R

• Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Personality Inventory - Revised

• Developed by Costa and McCrae.• 240 questionnaire measure of the Five

Factor model.• Additionally measures six subordinate

dimensions of each of the big 5 personality traits.

Personal Preference Questionnaire PPQ

• Gives leads on personality and outlook.

• Open ended test comprising names of well known people and respondent has to indicate preference between choices of 2 names. And give a reason whether positive or negative

Holland Codes

• John Holland’s theory of career/vocational choice or Occupational Congruency model.

• People are attracted to work environments which match their personalities and backgrounds - choose jobs where they can be around people who are like them. Does this apply to voluntary work?

• Six job/work environments:• Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional

• Holland argues that 2-3 types dominate in each person

Forer effect

• Where an individual gives a high rating to a positive description that they believe supposedly applies specifically to him/herself.

• This could mean that self administered tests have an inbuilt invalidity…..?

Ipsative

• Remember the term ‘ipsative’• That is; people who do well or score highly at

one thing in tests will automatically score low or do badly in other opposite areas.

• For example; someone who is very patient is likely to not be impatient

• Don’t assume all team members will be good at everything. They won’t, and neither will you be!

Motivation and the team

• It’s important to know a little about the theories of motivation to allow you to be able to make a useful contribution to the work of a team.

• If you know how and why you are motivated then you are likely to get more out of working in a team and be able to make a more effective contribution to the team, whether a voluntary work team, a paid employment one or other team.

Motivation

• 3 points to note

1. Carrot or stick based motivation - i.e. An incentive or a disincentive

2. People are internally or externally motivated.

3. What motivates one person may not motivate another.

Motivation – the extremes?

COMPLIANCE COOPERATION COMMITMENT

The Plodder The Enthusiast

Little Enthusiasm High enthusiasm

Little Motivation High Motivation

But remember the old parable of the tortoise and the hare…

• The slow plodder often gets there in the end

• The enthusiast may get bored with implementation and routine run of the mill work; not stick with it and may lose initial enthusiasm

MOTIVATION

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

• Vroom identifies human behaviour as being a function of two factors:1 The perceived value of the reward that behaviour yields.

2 The expectation in the individual that certain behaviour actually will yield that reward.

We will now look at some theories of motivation.

Vroom’s Expectancy theory

• In choosing between alternative behaviours a person will choose the behaviour which will result in their achieving the more valuable output or reward, provided that they see the reward as being attainable.

• The good team manager needs to convince people that their work is do-able, that there is a reward for doing it, and that they are expected to do it.

Using Vroom’s Expectancy theory to motivate

• To use the theory to motivate people you need to ensure that the desired performance will be rewarded and that the reward will be valued by the individual and that the individual perceive sit as being achievable.

(Similar theories by LW Porter and EE Lawler. Known as expectancy theories of motivation).

Five step process:

Using Vroom’s Expectancy theory

Step 1 Define the expectations.- i.e. be clear what is required in order to receive the award.

Step 2 Make the work valuable to the individual. People work to achieve personal goals (e.g. £, challenge, recognition). If people believe and see that working towards a goal(s) will also help them attain personally valuable goals then their commitment will be higher. Try and match work in the team to the person’s own drives and preferences.

Using Vroom’s Expectancy theory

Step 3 Make the work achievable.Fear of failure is often demoralising and leads to stress.

Step 4 Provide regular feedback.

Step 5 Reward people when they meet expectations.External rewards can reinforce internal ones.

MOTIVATION - Herzberg

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory

Frederick Herzberg believed that workers became more productive when they were given greater responsibility for carrying out a complete task. His theory defined two types of factor: one which motivates and the other which merely satisfies, but does not drive behaviour.

MOTIVATION - Herzberg

Motivating factors (Growth factors)

• Factors related to the job itself • Achievement• Responsibility• Potential for growth• The work itself / intrinsic nature of the job

MOTIVATION - Herzberg

Hygiene Factors (maintenance factors) – don’t motivate but their absence can cause dissatisfaction.

• Work relationships• £ salary* (but may be a short term motivator and it

might allow us to purchase something which does act as a personal motivator)

• Personal Life• Status• Security• Company Policy and Administration / rules &

regulations

PATH-GOAL Theory

• Robert House’s Path-Goal Theory - that The leader of the team can affect the performance, satisfaction and motivation of a group by:

1.Offering rewards for achieving performance goals

2.Clarifying paths towards these goals

3.Removing obstacles to performance

PATH-GOAL Theory

• However leadership and team management also depends on situation factors:

• Locus of control a participative team leader is suitable the team members with an internal locus of control whereas a directive leader is suitable for people with external locus of control.

• Ability - team members who think they have a high ability do not like a directive leader

• See handout on Group or Team Leaders - Management Styles

1.Directive

2.Collaborative

3.Consultative

4.Delegative

Theory of needs (McClelland)

• McClelland’s theory of needs (1961) identified that an individual’s motivation can result from 3 dominant needs.

1.Need for achievement N-Ach

2.Need for affiliation N-Affil

3.Need for power N-Pow

The theory is also known as: learned needs theory, or acquired needs theory, or three needs theory.

Theory of needs (McClelland)

Need for achievement – the extent to which someone wants to perform difficult and challenging tasks at a high level.

• Want success & need positive feedback often,• Seek to stretch themselves,• Like to work alone or with other high achievers

Make effective leaders but may be too demanding of others as believe that other team members are also highly results driven.

Theory of needs (McClelland)

Need for affiliation – people see good interpersonal relationships with others as being important.

• Want to be liked and accepted by others.• Tend to conform to the norms of the group• Prefer co-operation over competition• Strive to make and keep relationships; high trust.

May undermine the objectivity and decision-making capability of the team’s manager

Theory of needs (McClelland)

Need for power – people who want to be in charge

• Two types – 1 personal power and 2 institutional power.

• Personal power – want to direct and influence others

• Institutional power – like to organise the efforts of others to achieve organisational goals

Theory of needs (McClelland)

Need for power.• Are often attracted to team leadership roles but

may not possess the required flexibility and people skills.

• Team leaders with a high need for institutional power tend to be more effective than those with a high need for personal power.

Maslow’s Hierachy of Needs

• 5 needs in the hierarchy1. Self actualisation2. Esteem3. Love4. Safety5. Physiological

Not necessarily a fixed order to the hierarchy, but lower level needs should normally be satisfied before higher needs can be considered.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

5 needs in the hierarchy

1. Self actualisation

2. Esteem

3. Love

4. Safety

5. Physiological or basicSee any basic Sociology or Management textbook for details more general management textbook. (e.g. Mullins pages 480-483)

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Five levels of need; individual progresses up to the next level once a level of need has been satisfied. Argued that self-actualisation the highest level may not reached by everyone. The levels are not necessarily in a hierarchical order.

1. Physiological needs – basic needs such as food, air, water, sleep etc.

2. Safety needs – security and safety, freedom from pain or threat of attack, protection from danger, stability.

3. Love and belonging – (Social needs) the need to belong to e.g. a club, a group be accepted by others.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• 4 self-esteem needs (ego needs) both A self respect and B esteem of others. A The desire to confidence, strength independence and freedom and B the esteem of others including reputation, prestige status recognition and appreciation.

• 5 Self-actualization - the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming. At this stage people can maximise their potential.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

• Maslow’s theory remains popular as a theory of motivation within the workplace as it is a convenient framework for viewing the different needs and expectations that people have, where they are in the hierarchy, and the different motivators applying to them at different levels.

Alderfer’s ERG theory (modified Maslow’s hierarchy)

• Has 3 levels of need:• Existence needs – sustaining human existence &

survival, (hunger, thirst, sex) 1st 2nd levels of Maslow

• Relatedness needs – relationships & social environment, sense of belonging, social a stream, friends and family. 3rd 4th levels of Maslow.

• Growth needs – development of potential, self esteem, self-actualization. 4th 5th levels of Maslow

Unlike Maslow’s theory Alderfer’s model says that more than one level can be activated at the same time, and that people can progress backwards down the hierarchy.

Alderfer’s ERG theory

• The implication of ERG theory is that each of the three categories may vary from person to person.

• An effective team leader needs to recognize that people have multiple needs which must be satisfied simultaneously.

• The three ERG needs are shaped, developed and acquired over time by people and are present in everyone to different extents. They can be modified through education/training.

2 other factors to consider

• Pygmalion effect – self fulfilling prophecy where people perform better simply because they are expected to do so.

• Hawthorne effect – where people believe that their needs are being taken account of they become more productive. From experiments carried where workers’ productivity increased when the levels of light were changed but then continued to increase in the levels of lighting went back to what they really were.

Exercise

• Taking account of the material on the previous slides what general principles can you draw out as to how to motivate people within a team?

• 1 Assuming you are the team leader/manager.

• 2 Assuming you are a member of the team with no more power or authority than other team members.