Expectancy theory suggests that motivation is based on how much we want something and how likely we think we are to get it. I often discuss this facet of motivation when coaching managers, as it answers many questions about desire, want and need for extrinsic motivation.

The formal framework of expectancy theory was developed by Victor Vroom. This framework states basically that motivation plus effort leads to performance, which then leads to outcomes.

According to this theory, three conditions must be met for individuals to exhibit motivated behavior:

◦        effort-to-performance expectancy must be greater than zero;

◦        performance-to-outcome expectancy must also be greater than zero; and

◦        the sum of the effects for all relevant outcomes must be greater than zero.

Effort-to-performance expectancy is the individual’s perception of the probability that effort will lead to high performance. This expectancy ranges from 0 to 1, with 1 being a strong belief that effort will lead to high performance.

Performance-to-outcome expectancy is the individual’s perception that performance will lead to a specific outcome. This expectancy ranges from 0 to 1. A high performance-to-outcome expectancy would be 1 or close to it.

Outcomes are consequences of behavior. An individual may experience a variety of outcomes in a work setting. Each outcome has an associated effect, which is an index of how much an individual desires a particular outcome. An outcome that an individual wants has a positive effect. An outcome that the individual does not want has a negative effect. When the individual is indifferent to the outcome, the effect is zero.

So you can identify a motivator that can appeal to a specific person by identifying what effort it will actually take for them to achieve the particular goal they are aiming for. If the situation could arise that, no matter how much effort they put into something, it may still result in poor performance, then why should they try? And when the effect, or end-result, of something is what they actually desire, then the motive is increased to actually carry it out.

So, expectancy theory helps managers to see how motivation can be be personalised to individual team members, as well as teams.

Many thanks

Mark Williams

Head of Training

MTD Management Training Course

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When I visit clients, the conversation often turns to how their staff could do with further development. That’s music to my ears, as that’s the service I offer!

But a fundamental question I ask of them makes them stop and think. I ask, ‘If developing your people’s skills is so important, what processes do you have in place so that they learn every day?’

I often get sheepish looks, and they say they leave it up to departmental managers to ensure their staff are motivated and develop their skills on the job.

Do you see people-development as an important issue in your company? Is the slogan ‘Our people are our greatest asset’ just a comment that someone once came up with and is now long-forgotten?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about raiding your budget and sending everyone on countless training courses. No, that would be a knee-jerk reaction that wouldn’t pay dividends. Because the real way to develop your people over time, and increase their contribution, motivation, passion and loyalty is to have a process for continuous, on-the-job learning and development.

How can you encourage this type of culture? You could think about including the following:

Adopting a mentoring and coaching culture: Day-to-Day interactions, observational feedback, formal and informal discussions, goal-setting, project-planning and hands-on assistance.

Personal Development Plans: Job-sharing, seminar-attendance, mentoring others, web research, visiting the competition, visiting other branches of your own company, customer focus groups, reading work related magazines and books.

Temporary projects: job-swapping, ad-hoc projects, matrix team membership

Extra support: secondment to other branches or departments, community services, night school courses, team-leadership projects, NVQs, college courses, e-learning qualifications.

These are just a few ideas on how you can make developing your people a way of life at work. By having continuous learning as a cultural backdrop to everything you do, you create a feeling of advancement and usefulness throughout your staff.

So, don’t leave all your people development needs to others…take control and drive it yourself. And leave the bits you can’t do yourself up to us!

Thanks again

Nick Hill

Training Director

MTD Management Training Course

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Many companies have cut back on their training budgets in today’s economic climate, as they put their attention on surviving and ensuring every penny is well-invested.

But this doesn’t mean they have to neglect the development and progress of their people. In fact, if you know how people learn, grow, advance and develop, you can identify ways of coaching your teams to make progress a natural part of the working environment.

To do this, you have to be aware of how people learn and grow. If you can understand the fundamentals of how the brain works, you can establish a motivated workforce that enjoys expanding their knowledge and applying it in the real world.

Learning is physical. We have found through brain research that learning new ideas, concepts and skills actually modifies, grows and prunes our neural networks, through experience.

You may have come across the ‘Learning Cycle’ or the 4 stages of learning:

Stage One: We have a concrete experience

Stage Two: We develop reflective observations and connections

Stage Three: We generate abstract hypotheses

Stage Four: We actively test those hypotheses and see if they work. If they do, we learn.

In that last stage, we have another concrete experience and the cycle continues.

So, how it works is 1) we get information (activating the sensory cortex in our brain), 2) we make meaning of that information (in the rear integrative cortex), 3) we create new ideas from these meanings (in the front integrative cortex) and 4) we act on those ideas (using the motor cortex).

This is how we learn: by gathering information, analysing it, creating new ideas from it, and acting on it.

How can you use this knowledge in developing people’s skills? Well, a key condition for learning is self-driven motivation, a kind of ‘ownership’. To feel in control, to feel that we are making progress, it’s necessary for us to feel that the learning cycle is self-perpetuating. That is, if we find learning fun and easy, we want to continue doing it, and we will open ourselves up to new creative thoughts and ideas.

Coaching is the best way we ever found to encourage learning in the workplace. If we consider the four stages of learning again, give people a concrete experience at work (that is, get them to carry out a task). Ask them what they learned from it that could be improved. Discuss what ideas they can formulate to ensure any improvements are made to work in the future. And then assist them in putting those ides into practice.

As we become more informed about the structure of learning, we can apply them more and more in the workplace. Having a small training budget doesn’t mean we have to neglect the development of our team members. We can use these ideas of how people learn and coach them to improve, develop and progress through practice and application.

Many thanks

Mark Williams

Head of Training

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MTD Management Training Course

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Coaching has long been seen as the best way to progress your team’s skills and talents. If you’ve ever been coached effectively, you will know the great effect it can have.

So how do actually set about carrying it out so that you gain your team member’s full buy-in, and can give yourself the best opportunity for success? Here are four steps to lay the foundation for coaching in your department, so it becomes more of a culture within your department:

Step 1: Set the vision. Decide exactly what you would like the outcomes to be and identify what the team member(s) need to do to achieve them. Clarify expectations, identify the timetable, establish what resources you have available, encourage and motivate them on the first steps of the journey.

Step 2: Step away and let them come to you if they have questions. Empower and encourage them to use their own best judgment. Redirect them to others if they have simple questions. Fight the urge to step in and take over. Support them, but don’t take on their problems

Step 3: If it’s going well, support and acknowledge this fact, and model what is working so that you can repeat if necessary. Monitor how they are doing, evaluate the results and adjust if needed. Keep the motivation going.

Step 4: If it’s not going well you may need to step in and assist. Understand what the issue is and what have they tried. Make a decision quickly after you have checked in with them. Repeat what the vision and deliverables are. Clarify your expectations and resources available. Identify if they need a bit more mentoring rather than coaching.

If you follow these steps, you give yourself a better chance of succeeding with your coaching within the business.

Thanks again

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

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I hope you took a few minutes over the past couple of days to think about some of the coaching myths we covered on Monday. I think that after a while you’ll see how important it is to have a professional or executive coach in your life, especially if you want to continue to climb up the corporate ladder. Today I’m going to share 5 more myths and, hopefully, you’ll undertand what I’ve been trying to say.

5. I don’t need more feedback.

We all get feedback from our managers, peers, and even subordinates. The problem is that they aren’t giving you neutral feedback. They’re giving you feedback based on their personal expereriences with you and they can’t take a step back and look at you objectively. They’re also less likely to let you know if they think your behaviours or attitudes are inappropriate. A coach will give you honest feedback, whether you like it or not.

4. Coaching relationships are short term experiences.

On the contrary, if you seek a professional coach you should seek to build a long-term relationship. The cycle of growth and development never really ends and, as such, you’ll always need a coach to help you reevaluate your goals and objectives and make changes to your plans. Your goals will determine how long you need a coach.

3. I have a mentor. I don’t need another one.

Having a mentor is great but mentors and coaches aren’t the same thing. Mentors are usually people within the same industry you are in – with a focus on helping you learn the specific ropes of that industry so that you can build your career. Coaches, on the other hand, may have skills that complement yours – skills you need to learn that have nothing to do with your industry in general. Mentors focus on work. Coaches focus on you.

2. I’m not coachable.

Everyone who wants to be coached is coachable. It’s true that there are a few people who simply can’t be coached but it’s not for lack of trying. Their attitudes and behaviours simply make it impossible. You can’t expect a coach to do all of the work for you. Your coach won’t even be able to motivate you if you don’t want to be motivated. There are even days when the most coachable people simply can’t be coached. You’ll get over it – and you will learn.

1. Coaching forces people to form dependencies.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Working with a coach will not make you dependent upon him. Your coach is more likely to help you learn to be self-confident than he is to allow you to form a dependancy.

Stop making excuses about why coaching won’t work for you and start reconsidering your options. Having a coach in your life is likely to help you foster your career – and before you know it you’ll be a better manager with a promising future!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Leadership Training

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