Motivation in Project Management from the Project Manager’s Perspective

There is no global accepted definition on what motivation is. According to the businessdictionary:

Internal and external factors that stimulate desire and energy in people to be continually interested and committed to a job, role or subject, or to make an effort to attain a goal. Motivation results from the interaction of both conscious and unconscious factors such as the (1) intensity of desire or need, (2) incentive or reward value of the goal, and (3) expectations of the individual and of his or her peers. These factors are the reasons one has for behaving a certain way. An example is a student that spends extra time studying for a test because he or she wants a better grade in the class.

Motivation represent the reason behind peoples action, needs, and wishes. It is only to a very small extend something you can create yourself, and overall is mostly based on external factors. The external factor could be the project manager, or something he does. The project manager can create the desire or need, he can give an incentive or promise a reward at the end of the project and set some expectation of the individual.

Motivation among the project participants is important for the projects chance of succes. There is a growing awareness that people is one of the most important parts in a project. Since the beginning of the 2000 the focus has shifted from technical aspects(planning, budget optimizing etc.) to more people oriented aspects of project management such as motivation for instance. This applies for both practices and academic studies. This page will go through what motivation is, why motivation is important among the project members, what happens if there is no motivation, and show theories that can help the project manager understand how he can make his project participants motivated.

Motivated employees increase productivity and efficiency. In a project an extra effort in motivation would increase because in a motivated team has less sick days, and absenteeism and the team members could da a extra effort to be on time. The quality of the work will also be better.

There are several ways of motivating your group members, It is here presented some of the actions the project manager can take into account when motivating his group.

=Theories

Maslows Hierarchy of needs

Figure 1: Maslow's hierarchy of needs

One of the theories not getting around when discussing motivation is Maslows hieararchy of needs. Every member of your team has a need, something he wants. The promise of fulfillment of the needs is what drives us. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory is a five-stage model that show what needs that drives us, in which order to achieve satisfaction starting from basic needs to fulfilling the human potential(self-actualization). The first, the most basic need is the physiological needs. Lunch program at work could fufill this need, or apples in a basket. The second need is the safety needs. Make sure the team members feel safe. This could be fulfill with clear communication so the employee never feel he is unsecure if he is doing his work right, he can depand on the others in team, and so on. The third step is belongingness, and love needs. At this step the group activities is an example of fulfillment of this need. Teambuilding exercises or social events are some of the activities that can fulfill this need. The fourth step is esteem needs. When a group member excel in the project, a job gets done, it is important to acknowledge the work he has done. This could be done by giving the employees a higher position, giving a bonus, but also a small thing as a ‘good job’ can satisfy this need. With the four other needs fulfilled the team member can now reach the highest need, self-actualization and there are feelings of joy and euphoria. This step he has to reach himself.

Video 1 Example of Maslows Hierarchy of needs

Application

Create a desire and need to fufill the project

Participation in decision-making can satisfy employees‟ self-actualization needs and, by doing so, increase employees‟ motivation and job performance (Likert, 1961)

When planning the project it is important for the manager to have planning workshops with the team. It is important that he here is the facilitator, and is open to suggestions. This will create ownership to the participants which will give incentive to do their best in the project.

During the project it is also important to communicate further down when stakeholders, timeschedule etc. change. The communication to team has to be precise, and with a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) matrix for instace

RACI matrix

The RACI matrix illustrate every single task’s goal and the required action from each team member. It helps every person in the team to be on the same page, remove any confussion and is therefore a contribution to the motivation. The problems with the RACI model is that it does not work in dysfunctional teams. If the team already has a poor moral, this tool could feel like a whip that bury the moral even more. [3]

Reward when goals are fulfilled

When goals are fulfilled they must be rewarded. According to Maslow’s hiearchy of ne

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References

[1]Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/motivation.html [2] Komal Khalid Bhatti and Tahir Masood Qureshi, (2007), Impact Of Employee Participation On Job Satisfaction, Employee Commitment And Employee Productivity, International Review of Business Research Papers Vol.3 No.2 June 2007, Pp. 54 - 68 [3] https://www.teamgantt.com/blog/3-project-management-tips-on-how-to-motivate-your-team/ accessed 30.11.2014 Figure 2 http://www.cardinalsolutions.com/~/media/Images/cardinal/blog/RACI1.png?la=en