A520.4.2.RB - Motivation Beyond Money

A520.4.2.RB - Motivation Beyond Money

Yes, we all like to be paid, but money is not among the three most important reason why we work. Andy Mulholland shares his insights as to what those three things are.

Create a blog entry discussing each of the motivators identified in this video and discuss their impact on you; additionally identify 3 additional motivators that have a major impact on you.

This whole week’s topic about what motivates employees has been so very relevant in my life lately. Mulholland mentioned the three things that motivate people (paraphrasing): interesting work, the ability and opportunity to expand their skill set, and most importantly being recognized or valued beyond gobs of money. I could not agree more. When I was watching this video, it suddenly all made sense to me about why I felt the need to apply to different jobs (within Boeing) for the last year or so. I was not able to do interesting work, the opportunities to expand my skill set were getting handed to other people even though I expressed interest and desire to participate, and I didn’t feel valued. I think the last one was the real kicker…my whole team has gone through this whole transition of being the go-to people for data and help with making large decisions (by using our data analysis) and just our work and recommendations actually meaning something to upper management to suddenly just none of that. We were left out of meetings and critical production impacting decisions were being made without the data. For example, the decision to add an additional media to an NC program on a machine was implemented. The people who implemented it did not understand that the minutes it added to the milling of the part wasn’t just for that part but for 150+ parts A DAY, every day…which added up to some serious impact to production. Suddenly the run times were slower and we were getting less parts out. When my team recommended a change board for these NC program changes, management still didn’t understand why it was important. We were not valued. “HR is a professional thing that needs to be developed in a company.” Mulholland (2011)

This past week I accepted a position with Boeing South Carolina. It will be a lateral move, my job code stays the same, but I won’t be a union (SPEEA) member anymore and I’ll be working in final assembly instead of fabrication. These are huge things. The first thing people asked me when I told them that I was moving to SC was about the pay. And the wage package was good, but it wasn’t the deciding factor. I didn’t really care that I was losing my retention status with the union or any of the things that go with that culture. What sold me was the vibe I got in the area and at the facility. I asked the people who interviewed me what their best day at Boeing was so far and both answered with something that had to do with accomplishment and hope and pride. The site is relatively new and still growing and that idea excites me. They’ve never had my job code there before so the prospect of figuring out what the work statement is going to look like is exciting too. It’s all an opportunity for me to expand my skill set. I know that the new job won’t be perfect…nothing about Boeing is sunshine and unicorns, but the work can be both intensely hard and incredibly interesting and the people I talked to from that site gave the sense that they felt valued. I needed a change to stay relevant so I went for it. “To complete a goal anyone can reach is not reward enough for highly motivated individuals…they must believe an accomplishment represents a meaningful achievement.” Whetten (2016)

The three other factors that really impact me is just how people treat each other. I don’t want to sit in a meeting and hear senior managers bashing their subordinates and I don’t want to hear subordinates bashing their leadership. This is different from disagreeing with each other – bashing is just hateful and negative, disagreeing implies that there can be a conversation and a solution. I also look for collaboration within organizations. Being part of cross-functional workshops is one of the best things I get to do in my job. Not only do I get to meet more people, I get to build on those relationships and relate to them on a different level. Most people have ideas about how to do their jobs more efficiently or have looked into newer technology but there never seems to be an ear for them to share it with. These workshops can be those venues and it is exhilarating and highly motivating. One other thing that impacts me, and this from a woman’s perspective, is having women in leadership positions to look up to and work with. We have several of these women in our organization but a couple of them are just snarky and mean and think that they have to bulldog their way to the top. The thing is that women leaders aren’t male leaders and they shouldn’t have to emulate men to be accepted. Women in business (or any industry) need to build each other up so that our unique voices are heard and not talked over.

References:

Mulholland, Andy. ( © 2011). The three things we work for (money isn't one of them). [Video File]. Available from Books24x7 http://common.books24x7.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/toc.aspx?bookid=43753.

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills (9., global ed. ed.). Boston, Mass. [u.a.]: Pearson.