Dave, your observation on the behaviors and attitudes of volunteers
reveals an important insight into the source of motivation in most human
animals. Most of us enjoy working on endeavors that we feel are of value
to others especially if the assignment uses our special skills and
talents. What you observed in the high school basketball players and the
Salavation Army bell ringers is people who were intrinsically motivated.
However, few businesses are run on the theory of intrinsic motivation.
Most of use are disciples of B.F. Skinner and the behaviorialist school of
thought. We believe the key to inspired performance is dangling a carrot
before each employee's nose. We proudly attest that we are a Pay for
Performance company and we "motivate" our employees with bonuses, merit
increases, profit sharing, gainsharing, vacations, prizes and Employee of
the Month plaques. All of these attempts to motivate people with
extrinsic devices tells employees that there work is so odious that we
couln't expect them to do it without bribes. Extrinsic motivators also
create a climate of competition among employees that will destroy all the
teamwork advances you may think you have made.
So should you quit paying your employees and seek volunteers to run the
corporation? Perhaps there's a better approach. My experience tells me
that Shared Vision is generally the most effective way to capture the
power of intrinsic motivation, the hearts and souls and energy of your
people. But we must get rid of all the obstacles we have created. I'm
suggested a program of controlled burning (of incentive pay) before the
healthy new growth (of shared vision) can take hold.
Best wishes for a happy holiday season and a healthy corporate culture!
Roxanne Abbas
-- "Roxanne S. Abbas" <75263.3305@compuserve.com>