How To Motivate Your Project Team?
Motivation is the reason or the factor that pushes us to do something. Motivation serves as the driving force that moves the business to progress. It is a theoretical construct to explain behavior. It drives the people to act, to create desires and needs. Motivation gives direction to people to achieve a specific goal.
Organizations promote and conduct activities to awaken the desire of its people. These motivation theories are anchored to the following theories:
The Theories of Motivation:
- Acquired Needs Theory
People get motivated when they expect incentives or tokens after performing well. Companies may give bonuses or salary increments and even promotion to encourage the employees to achieve high quality work.
- Activation Theory
Mental arousal is necessary for effective functioning of employees in the work place. People need a specific amount of activation to achieve goals and go good work. Activation works when people react to complexity, variation and uncertainty that may occur at work.
- Affect Perseverance
This is when an employee remains faithful to the company even under unfavorable circumstances.
- Attitude-Behavior
In this theory, the attitude and behavior are used to make employees motivated. This involves subjective norms and perceived behavioral control, individual’s intensions of the management towards its workers.
- Attribution Theory
This theory motivates people to take part and make history with the company. It includes letting the people make attributions to the company in whatever form.
- Cognitive Dissonance Theory
There is a tendency that individuals are seeking for consistency among their perceptions. People are urged to do the required actions to achieve a specific goal. It is helping to realize that mistakes can result to repercussions.
- Cognitive Evolution Theory
This theory is when big chunks of tasks are divided to make it attainable. People are inspired to work if the tasks are simpler and clearer. In general, this theory is designed to explain the effects of outer consequences on domestic motivation.
- Consistency Theory
This theory uses inner values in keeping the employees motivated. The theory focuses on the individual’s stability which creates rational decisions especially when inconsistencies occur. This creates tension then motivates the people to do what is expected of them.
- Control Theory
It is one of the most excellent ways to motivate employees. Employees are aroused in having control of things. This theory declares that behavior is never caused by a response to an external stimulus.
- Disconfirmation Theory
Keeping employees in an environment which is in aligned with their perceptions and beliefs will help them keep motivated.
- Drive Theory
In this theory, people need to satisfy what they need. This theory is also based on idea that we are driven by basic biological needs like food, water and shelter.
- Endowed Theory
This theory is where employees feel they made progress toward something. It is one way of giving direction to employees to arrive at a particular point and usually for personal gain.
- Escape Theory
It is when people feel that they are in the wrong place and pushing them to get out of the situation and look for that workplace where they can blend in.
- Extrinsic Motivation
This theory is giving reinforcement through giving rewards to the employees.
- Goal- Setting Theory
This is the desire to attain goals in whatever circumstances that may occur. This drives the employees to beat deadlines and perform better under pressure.
- Investment Model
It is motivating the employees to invest on themselves for their career- advancement. The employees are encouraged to take further studies or take training programs to make them more knowledgeable of the field.
- Positive Psychology
It is providing the employees a good atmosphere at work. It keeps them motivated if the workplace is a happy place to go to and there are exciting things that may happen.
- Reactance Theory
It is when motivating the employees through a salary reduction. It creates desire for them to get the previous salary back. But a not so good idea. It may cause the employee to just leave.
Conclusion
These are the Motivation Theories that exist in the workplace and being used by the project managers. These theories have significant impact on how the employees will react and take into action. Project managers should be able to know the different Motivation Theories to employ in the workplace to get their employees perform better.
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