Article: Hidden Employee Motivators

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On a fairly frequent basis most people experience what are referred to as “differences of opinion,” “ethical dilemmas” or “values conflicts” between themselves and their coworkers, supervisor, or their employer.

When you discover a person’s ‘dominant value’, you will discover their hidden motivators. Everyone views their world through the values they hold. Where does your conversation wonder when talking in a free environment? Your answer is one of your ‘dominant values’ and must be something you protect, nurture, culture and explore.

When we are actively involved in what we value, or have a passion for, we have a greater chance for success at work. Many people are trying to live up to someone else's expectations of them. They are unhappy and do not know why.

Years ago I was in a small country drug store/restaurant in Colorado and noticed a man tying flies on fish hooks. I commented that he seemed to enjoy what he was doing and that his hands were so graceful he would be good at suturing (sewing up a wound). He commented that he was in fact good at suturing because he was an MD. He told me that he loved tying flies and running his store.

I asked what his parents thought. He said, “Oh they think I’m nuts! I work as an emergency room physician once a month to make them happy. However, I am the happiest when I am in the store tying flies and waiting on customers.” Are you living up to someone else’s expectations or are does your work align with your core ‘value’?

Everyone has thousands of positive, neutral and negative ‘Attitudes’ or ‘Values’. Target Training International™ uses a model to classify broad clusters of ‘values’ into six areas. In the list below, you will most likely identify two top ‘values’ (attitudes) that drive your life, actions and decisions. Two ‘attitudes’ or ‘values’ you will be indifferent to and two will give you a negative feeling.

Theoretical: The person with a high “Theoretical Value” has a passion to discover, seek out, understand and systematize the truth. Sometimes this may appear to be the intellectual type because they thrive on learning and discovering. They delight in continuous education, research opportunities, and solving mysteries. They like to teach what they learn.

Utilitarian: A return on time, talent, and resource is very important to the person with a high “Utilitarian Value”. They talk a lot about making and saving money. They like financial incentives, bonus plans, and maximizing their resources for a good return.

Social: The person with a high “Social Value” wants to eliminate hate and conflict in the world. They will tirelessly invest themselves unselfishly in others and share their resources willingly. It is important for them to invest in causes that better the individual and humankind.

Aesthetic: Form and beauty is very important to the high “Aesthetic Value”. They do not work well in bleak settings. Their sensitive nature prefers harmony in all situations. They are subject to their surroundings and tend to be concerned about the environment at large. They like unrestricted creative expression and continuous self-improvement.

Traditional: The person with a high “Traditional Value” has a system for living and wants others to follow the system or rule book. This value is expressed in religion or an organized entity such as Rotary International or a similar type organization. According to them, rules and regulations should be adhered to. They value unity of beliefs, living orderly, and activities for the betterment of humankind.

Individualistic: The high “Individualistic” person will express themselves in one of the other values. They gravitate towards leadership and have a passion to achieve position. They tend to use that position to influence others. They are independent and don’t easily accept any form of control. They thrive on exercising control and leading a team to victory. They appear to be strong, sometimes to the point of overpowering.

Employees are the happiest when their daily activities contribute to satisfying their top ‘Values’. For instance, research shows the best sales people tend to have a high “Utilitarian Value” (usually in the top three values) according to Target Training International’s™ President, Bill Bonstetter. Participating in activities that contribute to making money satisfies their drive to earn more. They are happy and will most likely stay with their job for a long time.

My business partner and wife, R.J. has a high “Aesthetic Value” and also the “Utilitarian Value”. She cringes at the thought of “selling something” to someone. It is just not her. However, in the jewelry sales setting she is tops. Selling beautiful jewelry stokes her furnace and makes her feel good. When she worked in the retail fine jewelry industry, she won all the contests and very much enjoyed her work. Not bad for someone that does not like sales!

To demonstrate how each “Value” type would respond differently to the same situation, let’s ask each of the above types of people this question:

“If I gave you a field of roses, what would you want to do with the roses?”

Here are their typical responses:

Theoretical: “What kind of experiments could be done on the roses to make them disease resistant and more colorful? What do the roots look like? What other kind of plants are in the field?”

Utilitarian: “What would be the least expensive way to harvest the roses? Would it be better to sell them in individual bouquets or wholesale them to a national flower broker? Does the deal include the property? What will be my best return on investing the money?”

Social: “I could cut the roses and give them to people in nursing homes. I might sell them and give the money to the Feed the Children national organization or the local food pantry. The roses or the money will be given to those in need and not be used for the individual.”

Aesthetic: “What a beautiful field! The different colors of roses are very pleasing to the eye. I will collect some of the roses and put them on my kitchen table. I will paint on my canvas a picture of the uet. I love the fragrance.”

Traditional: “God is so good for providing such beautiful flowers. The flowers prove that there is a God. I will give the flowers away and it will give me a chance to evangelize and share my beliefs with others.”

Individualistic: This “Attitude” or “Value” is always expressed in one of the other “Values”. For instance, the “Individualistic/Utilitarian” would say: “I will hire a group of workers to harvest the field of flowers. I will lead us to financial victory.” The “Individualistic/Social” would say: “I can establish and be in charge of a home for orphans from the sale of the flowers.”

Everyone viewed the field of roses through their dominant “Value” or “Attitude”. Understanding another person’s conception or view of the world is the beginning of becoming ‘people smart’. It leads to more influence with coworkers or those you supervise and increased cooperation.

Research has proven that superior performers in all fields bring very specific things to the job. To start, they all are fulfilling their passion on the job.  A good example of this would be a librarian who has a strong desire for knowledge.  Every day they are surrounded by books and people who are seeking knowledge or information.  Another example is a person who is passionate about aesthetics.  They can fulfill their passion in careers such as architecture, interior design or jewelry sales.

Awareness of why people do what they do opens up a whole new level of understanding and communicating. When employees learn where other employees are coming from, they begin to see each others’ behavior from a different viewpoint and less relationship tension occurs. Click here for more information about our CEU Certified workshop “Your Attitude is Showing.™”

Identifying the why an individual acts the way they do, or what motivates their behavior, is an important component of the hiring process. Managers need to go beyond the traditional resume and interview process. Our step-by-step benchmarking and selection system dramatically increases the chance for hiring the right person the first time. Click here for more information about our employee selection process.

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