Leaders in Tough Times - Remember Maslow?

Maslow

‘Basic human needs are arranged in a hierarchical order’

Townsend

“Individuals constantly move up and down the pyramid depending on how the perceive their current and potential situation”

According to Maslow ‘there are two major groups of human needs: basic including physiological, such as food, water, and sleep and psychological, such as affection, security, and self-esteem. These basic needs are also called deficiency needs because if an individual does not meet them, then that person will strive to make up the deficiency.’

‘The higher needs are called growth needs. These include such things as justice, ‘goodness’, order, unity, glamour, status, beauty and self-fulfillment. Deficiency needs Maslow argued take priority over growth needs. People who lack food or water cannot attend to justice or beauty.’

So in the current climate leaders will need to concentrate on making their followers feel ‘secure’. I would be searching for articles on “motivation”  (Google) and be keeping this issue at the top of my (your) mind over the next 12 - 24 months. Now is the time to be carefully listening to the concerns of your followers and perhaps taking on the “leader as servant” advice.

This is the third time I have been through this situation and it reminds me of how everyone feels during a merger or takeover. During stressful times all questions about work or the company are really just one question in many disguises. What is that question… “What’s going to happen to me”?

This worldwide situation is a paradigm shift and ‘when there is a paradigm shift everyone goes back to zero’ - Joel Barker

It is s also time to update your resume (blank resume) (resume form)

Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy

Self–actualization

Growth, Achieving one’s potential, Self-fulfillment

Self Esteem

Self Respect, Status, Recognition, Autonomy, Achievement

Social

Belonging, Social Activities, Love and Affection, Acceptance and Friendship

***Safety

Security, Protection from danger both physical and emotional

***Physiological

Hunger, Thirst, Sleep, Shelter, Sex and other bodily needs

Ric

Richard Townsend

www.orglearn.org

MOTIVATION… THE LAST EXPECTANCY LINK!

EXPECTANCY THEORY offers one more linkage insight into why many people are not motivated in their job. The last of the three links or relationships is: 

The Reward = Attractiveness relationship (How attractive is the reward?)

In this last relationship the individual’s personal judgments and personal goals come strongly into play. If you offer a promotion to someone who is looking for more intellectually challenging technical problems/opportunites the reward offered will be ineffective. More money may not be attractive to someone who craves more personal time to be with his or her family. 

The key message this theory offers for effective leader/managers is that it demonstrates the need for leaders to have a sound understanding of an INDIVIDUALS goals and aspirations and their perceived linkage between effort and performance, performance and rewards and finally rewards and individual goal satisfaction.

THE OLD ‘LETS HAVE AND EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH AND HAND OUT SOME RECOGNITION’ JUST DOES NOT WORK.

update your resume at www.orglearn.org use the free blank resume form

FREE BLANK RESUME FORM

A free on-line template where you fill in the blanks (with a positive statement examples guide) and then print out your resume. Resume writing is a great way to document your ‘employability’ or to check how well you are progressing with the ‘commercial’ realities of what you have to offer employers & they should be done yearly particularly at annual appraisal time etc...

The blank form and links to tips are here blank resume or direct to the form here: resume form

With tough economic times are occurring it is even more important to keep our resumes up to date and well written and effective! Well done resumes get interviews and interviews get jobs!

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