Tag Archives: job satisfaction

Carrots and Sticks

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“People have a fair, intuitive sense of their own capability,” Pablo continued. “And, they yearn for opportunity to exercise their full potential. To do otherwise causes people to wilt. A great deal of a person’s self-esteem, even identity comes from the value they see in the work that they do.”

“So, the system in which they work has impact on how they behave?” I floated.

“It’s not just the system, it’s what people believe about the system. What we believe, our assumptions, the way we see the world is what drives our behavior. Look, the real question is, if we believe that people want to fully participate at their highest level of capability, spread their wings toward independence, that they do not need a carrot and stick to get on with their work, then what kind of managerial system would we create?”

“This sounds a bit idealistic, don’t you think?” I countered.

“Not at all,” Pablo replied. “This is about hard nosed work. Making decisions and solving problems, tough decisions and difficult problems.”

A Matter of Matching

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“Deep life satisfaction?” I repeated.

Pablo nodded. “Think about yourself, in your own role, working with managers. Do you feel a sense of deep life satisfaction for the work you do?”

“Of course,” I replied. “It’s not something I constantly think about or talk about, but it’s there. You are right, it is a sensation, a feeling. But, you are certainly not saying that everybody in the company gets that same sense for the work they do?”

“And, why not?” Pablo replied with a question. “When people are continually challenged to their maximum level of capability, not above it, not below it, but right at that match-point, what happens to job satisfaction, up or down?”

“Well, up, of course.”

“Do you have to hire a motivational speaker?”

“No.”

“Then motivation is simply a matter of matching capability required with capability possessed,” Pablo could still sense hesitation on my part. “Do you remember your first job?” he asked.

“Of course,” I smiled. “I washed dishes in a restaurant, but that was not even close to my potential, it was just my first job.”

“You see,” Pablo grinned, “even when you tell the story from many years ago, your face lit up. I bet you remember that first paycheck, the uniform you wore, your first sense (sensation) that you were contributing, getting on with the work at hand and contributing to your own self-independence.

It was a beginning, a beginning of life at work, where you continue to show up, each and every day, committed to the full application of your highest level of capability, in pursuit of your potential.”