Motivation, Ability and Confidence Building in People

390 Pages·2007·10.21 MB·English

by  Adrian Mackay (Auth.)

To Jan, with love.. .
. . .Mac
T
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Preface
You have been the inspiration behind this book - so thank you! Well, people just like
you: people in jobs, as employers and as employees. Inspiration has come from my former
managers and my staff, my clients, and those delegates on the thousands of training courses
I have delivered or attended over the past 30 years.
As a tutor on the Chartered Management Institute certificate and diploma courses, through
attending classes myself as a delegate at University College Northampton, attending my
MBA classes at Hull University Business School and working with the Chartered Manage-
ment Institute, tutoring at St Gallen Business School in Switzerland, as a sports coach and
RFU Referee in rugby, and in delivering management development workshops as far apart
as Manhattan and Istanbul, I have noticed an enduring theme when it comes to study, work
and play - wherever one looks, it is down to people doing these things successfully.
It occurred to me that three factors need to be in place for success to follow - and for
people to be fully effective, success requires all three to the same degree.
Obviously, we need people that want to do things; people that want to do the right
things and do things right. People who can be bothered to do what is required in the
appropriate fashion; bothered to do things better, cheaper, faster - bothered to do what
their organisation’s stakeholders want. We recognise this as a person’s motivation. In my
studies, courses and reading I discovered a wealth of information and research from others
trying to understand this most pressing human emotion. These ideas have been distilled
into a pragmatic model of how managers (or those tasked with a leadership role, such as
team leaders and supervisors) can apply some of these approaches in practice to manage the
process of bringing out the best in other people - that is, motivation building in people.
But no matter how willing an individual might be to undertake a task, no amount of effort
will produce the desired outcomes if people don’t know what to do. How to do their jobs,
how to learn how to do their jobs better and why be bothered to learn in the first place are
all key issues that need to be addressed. We recognise this as a person’s ability. A natural
starting point for any tutor is to understand how people learn, but it is also fundamental for
any coach, supervisor or manager to know how to instil improved competences in others.
‘Sending them on a course’, standing them up against a wall and lecturing them to death are
not enough to improve someone’s ability - such activity might just switch them right off
and so become a barrier to their further learning. This text builds on a foundation of how
people learn and offers a parallel model to that on motivation building, enabling readers to
explore their approach to helping other people learn - that is, ability building in people.
Preface
The popular academic and professional texts have addressed these two factors at length.
There is over a century of motivational theory to draw upon, where ability development has
gone hand in hand. However, there seems to be a shortfall in the literature on how to go
about developing someone’s self-assurance and belief in themselves. We recognise this as
a person’s confidence. Even if someone has the motivation to undertake a task and has the
relevant know-how to do it, they will often be held back through concerns about ‘what if‘:
‘What if I make a mistake?’, ‘What if they get cross?’, ‘What if I forget something?’ As a
manager, have you ever had a perfectly competent and motivated person check something
with you - yet you know they are just offloading the decision onto you rather than using
the confidence of their own conviction? Have you ever wondered why problems seem to
occur when you are there, magically getting sorted when you are away? This text addresses
the confidence factor as well, providing the reader with a model, again using a parallel
framework as for the other two factors, to explore their style in developing the self-esteem
and self-reliance of others - that is, confidence building in people.
I have battled with all three from time to time as manager, tutor and parent; as instructor,
trainer and coach; as colleague, team member and individual. I needed a practical guide
when dealing with people. Not just in their motivation building - after all, if I was motivated,
why couldn’t I get them motivated? And not just in developing their ability - how could
I pick up the skills yet they couldn’t pick them up from me? And even if I was feeling
anxious internally - how could I appear confident while other people couldn’t do the same
but allow their nerves to get the better of them?
This is your practical guide to the three factors. To assist the reader in making
the text accessible, this text is presented in five sections, each with a companion
web page for students, tutors and practitioners to explore the subject further, found at
http://books.elsevier.com/management?is bn= 0750665009.
First, we take an overview of the subject of managing people and review a short history
of management.
The second section on motivation starts with an understanding of what motivation is
and explores approaches to evaluating the motivation of people. Students and management
practitioners will find a full review of the last hundred or so years of management theory,
a useful summary that underpins the practical approaches in later chapters. Both individual
and team motivation are discussed before exploring the link between effort, performance
and rewards; the importance of ‘selling’ a picture of the future is also emphasised. The final
chapter of this section presents Mackay ’ s Motivation Development Model, illustrated by a
series of case examples of someone who is clearly unmotivated to do their job through to a
situation where they are going above and beyond their job brief.
The third section addresses ability building. The text does more than look at individual
learning styles - it explores the subject from a wider perspective of the learning organisation
and lifelong learning. From there, Mackay’ s Ability Development Model looks at differing
approaches to encourage someone who starts on day 1 in a new organisation, learning
xiv
Preface
the ropes, right through to full competency in their tasks. Again, a case study approach
is favoured, drawing on everyday situations giving both student and seasoned practitioner
clear, easy-to-relate-to situations.
Confidence building forms the fourth section and considers the development of self-
esteem, assertiveness and achievement. This section will be of value to the individual reader
for themselves as well as for managers - or those tasked with a leadership role, such as team
leaders and supervisors - guiding others to build their confidence. Mackay’ s Confidence
Development Model is a particular innovation and follows similar principles as the other
two models, simplifying understanding of the ideas for all readers.
Finally, Part 5 rounds off the text with a pragmatic look at managing change and the
future of work to place the models in the context of the real world, both for today and
tomorrow.
So, I hope that this text does inspire you, the reader, as people like you have inspired me.
I hope that you have the motivation to explore the text, are able to improve your ability to
manage people and have the confidence to apply the ideas in practice.
Adrian ‘Mac’ Mackay
Moreton Pinkney
xv
About the author
Adrian ‘Mac’ Mackay is Managing Partner with Duncan
Alexander and Wilmshurst, Training and Development Advi-
sors, and is a Director of DAW Limited, that specialises in
providing innovative marketing solutions. Mac’s interests are
advising professional people on marketing, as well as manage-
ment skills, leadership and improved performance, and client
care. He has recent international experience in Europe and the
USA and has worked with many varied organisations, both
large and small.
He co-authored Below-the-Line Promotion (1992), Fun-
damentals of Advertising, second edition (1999) and The
Fundamentals and Practice of Marketing, fourth edition
(2002) with John Wilmshurst; is editor of The Practice ofAdvertising, fifth edition (2004);
he co-authored The Veterinary Receptionist with John Corsan and is also sole author of
Recruiting, Retaining and Releasing People (2007) - a companion text to this book.
Mac is an Honours graduate in Physiology and Nutrition from Leeds University (1977),
he holds a Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing (1983), a Masters Degree
in Strategic Marketing (1994), was elected to the Faculty of the Chartered Institute of
Marketing and is a full Member of the Chartered Management Institute (2002); he is a former
subject specialist on their accredited programmes. He achieved a Postgraduate Certificate in
Management from University College Northampton (2006).
Mac coaches a local junior rugby team and is an East Midlands RFU Society Referee.
He is married to Jan; they share five fabulous children and live in Northamptonshire.
A Short H istory of Management
Managers learn in business school that relationships are either up or down, but the most important
relationships today are sideways. If there is one thing that most of the people in management that I
know have to learn is how to handle relationships where there is no authority and no orders.
Professor Peter Drucker
By the end of this chapter you will:
Have had a brief overview of management theory as it has developed over the last century
Understand the value of theory underpinning your practice
Discover why so many ‘theories’ have had a shelf life
Recognise the importance of motivation in the workplace
Have had an introduction to some of the key influencers in management thinking.
The challenge for management writers is finding things to say that Peter Drucker has not
already said better. One just has to read a couple of his books for the first time - from
the Concept of the Corporation (1946) to Management Challenges for the 21st Century
(1999) - to realise that this is no exaggeration.
‘Drucker’s primary contribution is not a single idea, but rather an entire body of work
that has one gigantic advantage - nearly all if it is essentially right’ (Collins, 2004). While
others wrote widely on management before Drucker (e.g. Taylor on efficiency or Follett
on motivation), it was Drucker who first wove the threads into a coherent picture. In the
foreword of The Practice of Management (1954), Jim Collins wrote, ‘This is the first book
to look at management as a whole, the first that attempted to depict management as a distinct
Motivation, Ability and Confidence Building in People
function, managing as specific work, and being a manager as a distinct responsibility’.
Drucker proposed that limiting access to management jobs to ‘people with a special academic
degree’ would be a mistake - anticipating by half a century both the rise in MBA programmes
and the failure of management ‘theories’.
Professor Drucker explains, ‘Teaching 23-year-olds in an MBA programme strikes me
largely as a waste of time. They lack the background of experience. You can teach them
skills - accounting and what have you - but you cannot teach them management.’ Drucker’s
view is that management is neither an art nor a science but a practice - in which achievement
is measured not by academic awards but by results.
The Practice of Management also had a piece of ‘modem wisdom’, that management is
about innovation. ‘Every unit of the business should have clear responsibility and definite
goals for innovation,’ he wrote - whether ‘selling or accounting, quality control or personnel
management’. When people today speak of ‘business process innovation’, they are restating
Drucker.
His early work warned of ‘the imaginative isolation of the executive’ - the tendency
for managers to become so absorbed in their work that they become blind to emerging
opportunities or threats. He feels that information technology has made matters much worse.
‘Executives are totally flooded with inside data to the exclusion of outside data.’
In Concept of the Corporation, he described in detail his ideas for ‘self-governing plant
communities’ in which workers would play a central role in setting priorities and formulating
policies. He considers his ‘. . . ideas for the self-governing plant community and for the
responsible worker to be both the most important and the most original’, he wrote years
later in his autobiography, Adventures of a Bystander. He feels that the labour movement
stifled the self-governing plant community; by representing the workers the unions stopped
every direct relationship between management and employees.
However, Drucker feels that the rise of the knowledge workers - a phrase he coined in The
Age of Discontinuity (1969) - has changed the rules away from the shop-floor. Communities
of practice reaching across boundaries are often stronger than bonds within a particular
company. As he pointed out in Managing in Turbulent Times (1980), successful organisa-
tions must learn to think of themselves as orchestras, not armies. Today, he explained, a
multinational is a network of alliances for manufacturing, distribution, technology and so on.
Sometimes there is stock participation as an indication of commitment but not for control.
These companies are held together by strategy and information, not ownership. ‘Managers
learn in business school that relationships are either up or down, but the most important
relationships today are sideways. If there is one thing that most of the people in management
that I know have to learn it is how to handle relationships where there is no authority and
no orders.’
Hence the need for managers to excel at relationships in which they have little author-
ity and even less control. And that cannot be learnt in the lecture theatre or from
a book.
4
A Short History of Management
The more extensive a man’s knowledge of what has been done, the greater will be his
power of knowing what to do.
Benjamin Disraeli, British Prime Minister
We all have our preferred methods of learning (see Chapter 12) and many of us like to
‘try things out’ and discover the practical uses of a new ‘tool’. We may not much like the
idea of sitting back, reflecting on our experiences and trying to put those experiences into
a logical framework or theory.
Yet a theory may well help us better understand our experiences and help us better use the
knowledge we have gained. Theory and practice support each other: theoretical knowledge
can often give us a good base for developing our practical skills.
So, take time to reflect. Consider and relate the theories outlined in this book to your own
practical experience. Experiment and see if the theory makes sense to you and helps your
understanding of the subject. If, having done all of that, the theory does not help you, then
identify the reasons why and put that theory aside. A theory is only useful if it helps you
better understand and use your own knowledge.
A theory that all management theories have a life cycle was published in America in
1993 in a magazine called Planning Review. It is believed that the theory originated in the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. It is outlined in Figure 1.1. The cause
of the failure frequently lies in the stage of Overextension: organisations looking for the
quick-fix flavour-of-the-month. As the originators imply: announce the new system; arrange
some training courses; and then sit back and wait for the magic to work. If only business
management were so simple!
Whenever we consider a theory, especially one that has been criticised or derided, we
need to reflect on how much of the criticism is due to flaws in the original theory and how
much is due to the theory being misapplied in practice.
Managers’ beliefs about how to get the best out of people at work have changed as the 20th
century has progressed. This section briefly outlines those changing beliefs and refers to a
few of the many researchers who have influenced management thinking.
The approach in the opening years of the last century was very much in line with the
views of Frederick Taylor - the father of scientific management - and other work study
practitioners such as Gantt. They believed that jobs could be standardised and workers could
5
Motivation, Ability and Confidence Building in People
Deficiency
Inattention to an important management principle or to changing market
conditions leads to anxiety and dissatisfactionw ith the status quo
Discovery
Creative thinkers develop (or dust off) solutions to correct the deficiency
Euphoria
The technique’s early success stones are highly pubbised, lowering initial
barriers. Wishful thinking and reluctance to address tough trade-offs create
Excessive application of the technique in inappropriate situations causes
disappointing results. Declining performance perversely drives the
organisation to push the same technique even harder
Examples of failure grow too obvious to ignore. Participants and the press
begin to criticise publicly the technique’s shortcomings, making it far less
popular to employ
Abandonment
Organisations discard the technique and replace it with a more novel and
fashionable approach
Figure 1.1 All management theories have a life cycle.
produce more if they had the right rest breaks to reduce fatigue, the right tools for the job
and the right monetary reward in terms of a piecework bonus. Such concepts are sometimes
referred to as Rational-Economic models.
Given the situation of increasing industrial production and a largely unskilled and un-
educated immigrant workforce in the USA, the scientific management approach did bring
benefits. However, it took no account of workers as individual human beings.
With her concern for creative experience, democracy and for developing local community
organisations, Mary Parker Follett is an often forgotten, but still deeply instructive, thinker
for educators on motivation at the beginning of the 20th century.
By the late 1920s, Elton Mayo (usually acknowledged as the founder of Human Relations
Management) was conducting research at the Hawthorne Works of Western Electric Co.
6