Four Motives for Change by Bill Hawkins
Why would a top performer sacrifice personal gain to help somebody else on the team? Why do some people turn down job offers for significantly more money? And why do some people refuse to make what seem to be minor changes when not doing so could cost them their job? The reason is natural law. People are willing to do something, including changing their behavior, only if it can be demonstrated that doing so is in their own best interest as defined by their own values, or the answer to “What’s in for me?” There are basically four motives of self-interest behind the personal change: money, power, status, and relationships.
Money. Does money motivate people? Definitely—up to a point. But how does it work in reference to the natural law? I think you’re all familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. At the bottom of that pyramid are our basic needs. We want food and shelter, and if we don’t have those, we will work really hard to get them. Once we have food and shelter, that’s not such a motivator anymore. We move a little higher on that chart, so maybe it’s a vacation we’d like to take or a nice car we’d like to purchase. Money buys all those things, so money does motivate. But of course, the more we get those things, the less we’re motivated by them and the less money becomes a motivator. So there must be something else.
Power, for instance. I guarantee you there are people on your team who would put in extra effort and make a personal sacrifice for the opportunity to get promoted. That’s why they went to college. They want the challenge. They want additional responsibility. And sometimes it’s not just the position, but the perks that come with it. “I’m willing to work and I’m willing to work hard, but I would love to have the flexibility to do it my way. Maybe work from home sometimes.” The power and ability to have additional freedom and autonomy can be a powerful motivator.
Closely related to power, but different, is status. You see, you’ve got people who want status but not necessarily power. In fact, a lot of organizations have a special elite group that is recognized as the best—the best salespeople, the best people in research and development or engineering. And these people get special status. They get different titles on their business cards, better offices, possibly a better company car, award trips. These people find these things incredibly meaningful. Although it may not give them power, it gives them a status that’s important and motivating.
And lastly, you’ve got relationships. I can assure you that you have peers on your team who will do things just because they want to be liked and accepted on the team. But it goes beyond just being popular. We recently interviewed some retired CEOs, and one of the questions we asked them was, “What is it that you took great pride in as you look back on your career?” Now, these are people who had mergers, acquisitions, dynamic new product introductions; almost invariably, they didn’t bring up those things. What they typically mentioned involved people and relationships with those people. I can remember one instance in particular where a CEO said, “I can remember when Phyllis didn’t know the difference between sales and marketing. Now she’s a vice president of sales and marketing. I take a lot of pride in that and what she has become.” Relationships can make a big change.
So what does it take for people to change? Well, first you have to know what matters to them. If you can’t readily identify what matters, then you won’t know when it’s threatened or when an opportunity arises. It’s easier to commit to change if you know what matters. And people change their ways when something they truly value is offered or threatened. It’s a natural law.