Excerpt from Bounds and Woods, Supervision,
Chapter 8 on Motivation (page 262)



FINAL THOUGHTS ON MOTIVATION
It's important to remember Douglas McGregor's words about how to motivate other people: “You don't.” As a supervisor, all you can do is provide a context and a direction for the motivation that is already within each employee. Using the influence you have to shape the work environment and your relationships with employees, you can help employees feel motivated to perform well, be good teammates, and identify their welfare with that of the company. This happens when you do a good job of making them feel a part of the company, giving them personal responsibility and authority for their work, supporting them in every way possible, and providing them with regular feedback so that they know where they stand. Conversely, employees may see the job as simply a way to fulfill their lowest-level needs and feel motivated to do just the minimum required. This happens when you discount their abilities, try to control their behavior, and withhold trust and praise.

The theories we have reviewed in this chapter provide different ideas for what motivates people to perform well. Use them as reminders of different supervisory actions you can take to keep employees feeling satisfied about you and their work. Remember, the most important reason for studying theories of motivation is that an understanding of what drives people to behave as they do will help you interact with them in ways that ensure that they take actions that will lead to desired results. And you're more likely to understand yourself and what's important to you in terms of being motivated to perform well.

In a sense, with each employee, you are creating an interdependent system. You take some action, and the employee responds. The employee's response generates another action from you. And so on. Using the leadership theories reviewed in Chapter 7 to make sure that this system is focused on bringing out the best in both of you, you can help ensure excellent performance. Using the motivation theories reviewed in this chapter, you can make sure that employees will be enthusiastic participants as well.




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