Previously this series examined those environmental factors that most led to motivation and inhibited it. These might seem like two sides of the same coin, but there are indications that the two are less intertwined than one might guess.
Research conducted by Frederick Herzberg suggested that, rather than opposing ends of the same spectrum, they constitute two different scales altogether.
Influenced by different factors in different ways, motivation and demotivation rise and fall independently of one another. The level of one, in other words, doesn’t necessarily predict or determine the level of the other.
What does this mean in practical terms?
One important implication is that human beings can be both motivated and demotivated at the same time. We can be excited by the responsibility of a new job while being discouraged by the red tape involved. We can enjoy the recognition of heading a high profile project while chafing at restrictive systems of supervision and oversight.
The importance of this fact for leaders should not be overlooked. It is inevitable that some workplace conditions will annoy, irritate, and anger our employees. It’s similarly inevitable that some of those conditions will be beyond a leader’s ability to remedy.
But Herzberg’s research suggests that, regardless whether or not they can alleviate sources of demotiavtion, leaders are always capable of providing meaningful sources of motivation. They might not be able to remove the negatives, but they can always find ways to provide the positives.
This reality can be highly empowering to leaders at all levels. It suggests that leaders can always do something. They are never powerless.
Yet it also raise a challenging question: How are to those of us in positions of authority choosing to divide our leadership time between tasks that aim to supply motivation and tasks focused on removing demotivation?
Are we, as leaders, merely addressing grievances? Or are we actively working to grab our employees’ imagination and fire their interest?
This is no trivial matter, for the two approaches yield very different results. And only to the extent that we are consciously working to create conditions that nurture motivation can it be said that we are truly working toward capturing the power of the human spirit in our workplace.