Analysis Of The Main Types Of Motivation

There is a force that is more powerful than any on this earth. It is a force that can help individuals attain greatness. This is the single, most popular force that is seen in almost every team that achieved success. This is motivation, the process of stimulation of individuals towards achievement of organizational goals. In modern world motivation is considered a must for success in every sphere of life. It has been assumed that since human beings tend to be heterogeneous different types of motivation act upon them. Motivation can be of many types including punishments, perks and recognition. There are however 3 broad types in which motivation could be put in. Depending on the situation and personality of an individual motivation can be described in following ways.

Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic Motivation is the motivation that comes from or is stimulated by external factors. This motivation is extremely common and is used often in schools, businesses and other spheres of achievement. Extrinsic motivation can be either positive or negative.

The philosophy behind this is simple- A person will do it if he is given a corresponding reward, recognition for it. This strategy originates hundreds of years back when the ancient emperors used to recognize excellence in various fields and provide subjects with extensive rewards. This strategy has not changed and even nowadays managers reward excellence monetarily or socially. Monetary rewards generally involve a bonus or a commission for which nearly everyone at the office gives their best. At my business I frequently use this strategy during the holiday season to motivate my employees. Employees are provided a share in profit (usually 10%) during a particular day when they need to work long hours. This helps me increase my gains exponentially and also provides employees incentive to work hard as they know higher the profit of the firm, greater will be their own bonus. Socially a person can be motivated by providing recognition in front of all employees, satisfying their social needs and giving incentives to other employees to work harder as well. However extrinsic may not work for people who have already got their monetary and social needs fulfilled. For them a different strategy is required.

Intrinsic Motivation

Sometimes an individual does not respond to extrinsic motivation. This is the case with people who have either achieved success previously or people of high intellect who consider the base needs of humanity trivial. Their achievement usually lies in a sense of accomplishment or self- fulfilment. Making a difference is the key motivator for these people. They may be leaders, intellectuals or simply the rebellious ones seeking attention. These people are intrinsically motivated or for them their thoughts, dreams become the guiding force of their life.

Motivating them is a herculean task as it becomes difficult after sometime to provide them with a goal or strategy. Hence motivating them requires giving them a stretch goal. This is a type of goal which is deemed impossible and requires high excellence. One simply has to turn these goals into desire for the people and they work with all their might. For them accomplishment of task and making a change becomes the reward. Steve Jobs was an intrinsically motivated person who cared so much about the design and elegance of Apple and never actually benefited from stock option plans. This is a typical example of a person who doesn’t care about money or status but only about his work.

Family motivation

There have been debates on whether family motivation should be classified as intrinsic or extrinsic. Some cite it as extrinsic because family factors are considered external motivators, but the motivation to do something for family is an internal feeling. Whatever may be the case family motivation is one of the most important factor for success of an individual. Family motivation occurs in 2 cases. One, when an individual has seen the plight of family and is determined to give his family a better life. One of my ideals, Motilal Oswal is a very good example of a person motivated by family. His family was really poor but he emerged as one of the most prolific stock-analysts of his generation. An individual can also be motivated if his ancestors were great. The honour of carrying the family’s traditional success is primary for these people and they associate themselves with the family history. This category typically suits me as I have always been motivated by my family. “3 generations of entrepreneurial blood” is my key motivator as I seek excellence. This is a particularly effective strategy for rousing my team members.

All the forefathers of my employees worked under my forefathers. Reminding them of their ancestors is a great way to fill them with energy so that they perform incredibly in their tasks. Family motivation is really powerful tool which if properly used can work wonders. Motivation techniques are dynamic and keep changing over time. A leader must identify the right technique for his team and then apply it to full potential. It would be no surprise for anybody that the best leaders in the world are also the best motivators. Any person whether it is an employee or a leader must seek his own motivation so that he is able to perform extraordinarily which is the purpose for which we are born.