Recently I conducted a five-day corporate leadership program. It was a good program, but groaned with over-weight handouts and endless debates.
Tim, a participant in the program,
had a remarkable ability to get along with the other students. There was no doubt that sales and marketing was his chosen métier. He asked thought provoking and interesting questions.
But why was Tim not looking convinced?
May be I had challenged the administration of his incentive and reward system. Towards the end of the day, he came to thank me for the session, but tactfully conveyed that there was not much to take home that day.
Therefore, we decided to chat one to one
I shared with him that even after many years of teaching and training, I still have one unanswered question – “How do we motivate staff?” the psychology of motivation is not only complex but also unending. There is no set formula for motivation or leadership. There is no secret code. These training sessions are heuristic in nature and bombard your cognitive abilities to find a solution in light of the new awareness.
Every model and motivation theory has in it the seeds of destruction and rejuvenation.
May be Tim was taken aback when
I commented that his motivation style resembled “KITA.”
So what is KITA?
Coined by Fredrick Herzberg, KITA stands for “Kick in the A…” In other words, KITA means – a kick in the pants. There are two kinds of KITA:
Negative KITA:
Action generated out of psychological fear, i.e. getting movement but not motivation. The person may do the necessary tasks, but need not be intrinsically motivated. Movement is a function of fear of punishment. It is no different from animal training. Movement requires constant reinforcement and stresses short-term results.
Positive KITA:
What if, I say, “If you do this for me or the company, and in return I will suitably reward you? Do you think I am motivating you? You might say YES.
Think about it again!
Whenever I ask this question during training sessions, there is always a unanimous judgment that positive KITA is motivation. I reckon, recognizing these distinctions is an important step in the process of truly motivating any force of people organized to accomplish a task.
Punished by rewards
Alfie Kohn has written extensively on this topic in his book –“Punished by Rewards.” In my opinion, it is a good resource for every manager, teacher, and parent.
Herzberg calls Negative KITA as RAPE and Positive KITA as SEDUCTION
Which do you think is better or worse? According to Herzberg, seduction is worse than rape.
Why?
Because rape is an unfortunate happening, while seduction suggests you are a party to the crime. Because of this inadequate understanding of positive KITA, the manager does not have to kick you, but you kick yourself.
Herzberg performed studies to determine
which factors in employee’s work environment caused satisfaction or dissatisfaction. He authored his findings in the book “The motivation to work.” Herzberg separated factors into “hygiene” and “motivation.”
Hygiene factors are
those that do not lead to motivation, but without these factors, there is distinct dissatisfaction with the job. Examples of hygiene factors are company policy, supervision, work conditions, and salary.
Motivation factors are
Achievement, Recognition, Work itself, Responsibility, Advancement, Growth.
The factors responsible for job satisfaction are different from the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction.
What is the opposite of Job satisfaction?
If you answered – Job Dissatisfaction, then you are wrong.
The right answer is No Job Satisfaction.
What is the opposite of Job Dissatisfaction?
If you answered – Job Satisfaction, then you are wrong.
The right answer is No Job Dissatisfaction
Remember:
Since the factors causing satisfaction are different from those causing dissatisfaction, therefore you cannot equate the two feelings.
Tim looked somewhat convinced…
I left him with a thought from an article by Dr. Frederick Hertzberg published in Harvard Business Review.
“If you get a bonus of $ 500 in the first year and $ 250 the second year, you are getting extra rewards each year, but psychologically you may think you have taken a cut of $250?”
Right!
But?
If you make a big accomplishment by writing a thesis followed by a small or lesser accomplishment by writing an article, psychologically you do not feel you have taken a cut.
Why?
Because the ultimate reward in motivation is personal growth, and its pay back period is over a long time. You do not need to be incrementally rewarded to keep your engine running.
What have you done lately to keep your engine running!
