about

the 4-Drive Model

of Employee Motivation

A Simple Story

Kurt Nelson

©2009 The Lantern Group

Meet our protagonist…

We’ll call him “The Manager”

Meet our protagonist…

Hi!

We’ll call him “The Manager”

The Manager works for a Company

The Manager works for a Company

We make stuff!

But there is a problem…

The workers aren’t motivated…

The workers aren’t motivated…

Breaks over!

The workers aren’t motivated…

#%$#*!

The Manager needs to figure out how to increase employee motivation

But how?

The Manager needs to figure out how to increase employee motivation

He tried to get the workers excited!

He tried to get the workers excited!

Let’s go!

He tried to get the workers excited!

Get motivated!

He put motivational quotes up around the office

He tried to instill fear!

He tried to instill fear!

Get moving or your fired!

He even tried to “entice” them

Salary

$$$

He even tried to “entice” them

Salary

$$$

Big Bucks! I got the Big

Bucks!

These “fixes” all worked for a while…

But none of them seemed to work for long

Ho Hum…

But none of them seemed to work for long

Then one day The Manager read a book

Called Driven, by Lawrence and Nohria

And it helped him figure out…what he needed to do

And it helped him figure out…what he needed to do

Eureeka!

He realized there are four main drives that impact employee motivation

Acquire, Bond,

Challenge and Defend

He realized there are four main drives that impact employee motivation

And that he needed to work on all four of these drives with his employees

As Lawrence and Nohria say, “every job must provide an opportunity to

fulfill…all four drives.”

And that he needed to work on all four of these drives with his employees

The drive to Acquire is about an employees need to acquire “stuff”

The drive to Acquire is about an employees need to acquire “stuff”

[ like money, things, awards, prestige ]

$$

They are motivated to Acquire this “stuff”

$$

And they’ll work hard to get it

$$

And they’ll work hard to get it…

$$

And they’ll work hard to get it…and keep it

$$

And they’ll work hard to get it…and keep it

$$

And they’ll work hard to get it…and keep it

$$

Grrr!!!!

So now The Manager knows the way to structure pay and rewards to leverage the drive to Acquire (not just as base pay)

Bonus Check

$$$

So now The Manager knows the way to structure pay and rewards to leverage the drive to Acquire (not just as base pay)

Bonus Check

$$$

Utilize incentives to drive performance and

create a culture of recognition and

reward

The Manager also knows that the Acquire drive is relative

Bonus Check

$$$

Bonus Check

$$$

Employees will always compare themselves to others… the

drive is never fully satisfied

The Manager also knows that the Acquire drive is relative

Bonus Check

$$$

And you need to know what your employees think

Bonus Check

$$$

Find out who your employees compare

themselves too (this is not always obvious) and make

sure that your pay and perks are comparable

And you need to know what your employees think

And The Manager knows that the drive to Acquire is about more than just money

Wendy is NUMBER !

And The Manager knows that the drive to Acquire is about more than just money

The drive to Acquire is also about

prestige and status

Wendy is NUMBER !

And The Manager knows that the drive to Acquire is about more than just money

Make sure you give credit and promote your

employees achievements! Wendy is

NUMBER !

But employees also have a drive to Bond

But employees also have a drive to Bond

But employees also have a drive to Bond

[ form positive social relationships with co-

workers ]

Bonding is an innate drive that helps employees feel part of a group

They will go out of their way to help people in their group

They will go out of their way to help people in their group

Do you need any

help?

These bonds will help to instill loyalty and engender positive emotions about the company

These bonds will help to instill loyalty and engender positive emotions about the company

What a great place to work!

So The Manager now knows that he has to foster bonding and create opportunities for social interaction

Beers on me!

So The Manager now knows that he has to foster bonding and create opportunities for social interaction

Beers on me!

So The Manager now knows that he has to foster bonding and create opportunities for social interaction

Beers on me!

Which leads to the employees identifying themselves as a team

Beers on me!

Beers on me!

Which leads to the employees identifying themselves as a team…

Beers on me!

Which leads to the employees identifying themselves as a team…with more motivation

The Manager knows that teambuilding sessions are about more than fun…

The Manager knows that teambuilding sessions are about more than fun…

Teambuilding should provide

opportunities for greater bonding

and trust building

The Manager knows that teambuilding sessions are about more than fun…

And should create a shared

experience that helps build a unique and

positive culture

And that celebrations actually have a business impact

And that celebrations actually have a business impact

Happy Birthday!

Of course there is the drive to be Challenged

Of course there is the drive to be Challenged

[ be inspired to learn and grow – face and

overcome challenges ]

Where regular employees can become…

Where regular employees can become…

SUPER HEROES!

And by creating variety, stretch goals, new experiences, and opportunities to learn…

Companies create teams of super heroes!

Who come to work motivated and engaged!

Who come to work motivated and engaged!

Who come to work motivated and engaged!

The Manager knows that he has to ensure that his employees are constantly challenged and learning new things

The Manager knows that he has to ensure that his employees are constantly challenged and learning new things

We are going

for that

The Manager knows that he has to ensure that his employees are constantly challenged and learning new things

We are going

for that

And structure the jobs and the processes so they don’t become routine and rote

And structure the jobs and the processes so they don’t become routine and rote

I’m bored

But instead they challenge the individual

But instead they challenge the individual

Set stretch goals, assign different

types of projects, job sharing, have contests, expand

duties…

And provide new learning opportunities

Training classes, job shadowing, mentorships,

strategic planning

The last element is the drive to Defend

ACME

The last element is the drive to Defend

ACME

[ defend the company and the ideals it stands

for ]

Where employees feel such pride and attachment to the company that they are motivated to defend it against all attacks

ACME

Where employees feel such pride and attachment to the company that they are motivated to defend it against all attacks

You talkin’ to

me?ACME

Competitive action

ACMEcomp

The Economy

ACME

Rumors and negative talk

ACME Negative information and rumors

The Manager knows that to activate the drive to Defend, employees must feel a connection to the company

And feel pride about what the company does and how it acts

This means that The Manager has to do and act the right way as well

This means that The Manager has to do and act the right way as well

I need to be honest and courteous –

being transparent about how and what

the company is doing

This means that The Manager has to do and act the right way as well

I need to highlight the good that we do and constantly focus on the big

picture!

This means that The Manager has to do and act the right way as well

And I need to stick up for my team and

walk the walk…

So The Manager implemented these changes and low and behold….

So The Manager implemented these changes and low and behold….motivation improved

The Company prospered…

The Company prospered…

The Company prospered…

And The Manager got promoted!

And The Manager got promoted!

And The Manager got promoted!

And The Manager got promoted!

Yeah!

To find out more about the 4-Drive Model

www.lanterngroup.com

612-396-6392

©2009 The Lantern Group – use permitted with acknowledgement

Read this… Or contact us…

©2009 The Lantern Group – use permitted with acknowledgement

Bye!