On motivation, and more on the MOOC

It's a long weekend here in the UK and my parents are down visiting. They decided to use this trip to present me with a folder full of school reports, including this charming self portrait:



It forms part of a junior school record of achievement, where I was asked many questions: what was important to me, from friends to family, to how I rated my ability to work alone or in groups, what skills I thought I had, and what targets I was setting myself for senior school. It was basically a personality profile done way before I knew what one of those was. Impressive really, looking back!

What struck me was what it asked in order to identify drivers and motivators. And what was even more interesting is how what I recorded about myself as an eleven year old hasn't really altered all that much.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm in the final stages now of a Gamification course (my first MOOC). One of the key things I've been learning about has been motivation. What makes gamification particuarly worthwhile is its ability to take something otherwise dull or mundane and making it fun. Kevin Werbach's course neatly applies the principals of psychology, understanding what drives motivation, to creating game structures, whether that be external drivers, like points or badges, or intrinsic motivators like the desire to do something for others, or being part of something bigger than yourself.

What I identified about myself aged eleven was that I really hated not understanding something - I wanted to get it straight away, and even now I find it difficult being put on the spot and will spend hours preparing myself and knowing every minutiae about a subject when it's important (a typical introvert response). I also identified that I felt good learning new things. That is something that stays true now, and is one of the biggest drivers for me professionally. I like being challenged, and will go out of my way to find opportunities to increase my skill-set. I'm hungry for new information and am inspired by reading around subjects that stretch my understanding of business and communication. That's really what prompted me to sign up for the Gamification MOOC in the first place.

It makes me wonder what research has been done about the setting of motivators and the application of that knowledge for business. Definitely one to do some more reading around.

Where are all the women in leadership?

screen grab: BBC 'Women at the Top'

Hilary Devey's recent two part investigation for the BBC has given me some food for thought. I'm a thirty year old who knows that she wants a family, but equally hasn't yet reached full career potential. In the documentary this is the point many young women like myself are leaving the career ladder in droves. I want a career AND a family. But can I have both?
When I was born, my mum made the decision to make sacrifices in her career for her family. A consultant radiologist since her early thirties, she was what Hilary's programme would have set out as a future star for senior management. In the long run, deciding to work part time did affect what she achieved, but she feels it was the right choice. Work life balance in the 80's is not what it is now, and would the decisions my mum made be the same if she was in the same situation today?
For me, I know that my current employer offers excellent maternity benefits and flexible working for parents. That is a huge plus. But equally I also know that my current employer doesn't have a strong career pathway for me. It's a dilemma as a thirty year old to decide whether to risk staying on but hurting my career versus leaving for another company that offers better opportunities but less security. There's a huge sensation of guilt hanging over me as I flim-flam between prioritising career over family then back again.
I came away from both episodes of Hilary's programme feeling inspired. I want it all, and I came away feeling more confident that that is possible to achieve. There needs to be better representation of women in senior management positions, and there needs to be better gender balance throughout companies. The research suggests how much more productive, cooperative and happy gender balanced teams are. And that more revenue is generated as a result. It also looked at the psychology of recruitment, and made me realise I myself don't rate myself highly enough when it comes to looking at my skillset. It has renewed my self belief and equally my motivation to go for what I want, which is the best of both worlds.
Gender balance in the workplace is not going to be achieved overnight, but women need to be confident in their abilities and to work with their employers to see the benefits of providing good work life balance.
I know when my husband and I do get around to having kids I will be more driven to find a way to continue my career path, as I confidently believe that I have it in me!

Empowering employees

It's a year since I returned from an amazing one-week management retreat at Ashridge Business School. As a second group of colleagues also returned just a week or two ago, several of us have been reflecting on what we've achieved a year on.

The week I spent at Ashridge was intense, on many levels. One aspect was the challenging hours - straight into work from 8 in the morning or earlier through to 10.30 or 11 at night (working, not socialising, which is rare in my industry!). 

Another was the sheer level of immersion in business theory, from considering the global business environment and challenging assumptions we held about our industry, to change management and finance. 

Then there were the real hands on exercises, including a full business simulation, running a pretend company over a period of seven years (where each year lasted only a few hours). Having no experience previously outside my own area, this was thrilling, and fully absorbing.

Lastly there was the personal journey that we all experienced. From watching ourselves on camera, to engaging in detailed feedback from our colleagues, and a self assessment scoring, I came away with a much clearer understanding of my work style, how I am perceived by colleagues, and how to be more effective both with my team and within my organisation more broadly. I came back brimming with confidence in my abilities, with drive and motivation to be a better manager, leader, colleague.

It was timely that econsultancy posted this article a few days ago, looking at employee motivation. Amongst the great suggestions were having a clear career path, having flexible working, having time to pursue personal projects, and ensuring people found their work meaningful. I wonder why some of the following didn't come up:

- Fostering a keen sense of self
One key takeaway from Business school was how much more effectively we work when we understand our colleagues better. Investment in culture is important. Find out how each team member likes to work- either through psychological profiling or other means. Having this knowledge empowers individuals to communicate better - for example as an introvert I am most effective if I have had time to digest information ahead of a meeting).  Knowing how my peers like to work enables me to respond appropriately to their needs, building a stronger relationship and better work. Inevitably, that makes me happier!

- Building strong teams
Motivation,  I'd say, is closely tied to how able a team is to rely on each other. 
The stronger the bonds between a team, and the more honest they can be with each other, the more effective the workplace. 

- Training and development
While the article pointed to career paths, what can often be missing is the tools and guidance to navigate the route. Investment in training, as I've been fortunate to have in both my current and previous workplace, can be hugely motivating.