Stoke your motivations. Thrive in your role.
What motivates us to act? Do what we do? Commit to what we do?
In 1914, German psychologist and educator, Eduard Spranger, wrote Lebensformen (translated as Types of Men). In his book, he described six major attitudes or motivations that drive how we view, value and experience the world around us. If what we do aligns with our attitude, we will value the experience. If it doesn’t, we will feel conflicted or indifferent.
The six attitudes are:
Cognitive: A drive to find truth and acquire knowledge.
Aesthetic: A drive to experience inner and external beauty and reach full potential.
Utilitarian: A drive for economic or practical returns.
Altruistic: A drive to serve and to help others.
Individualistic: A drive to seek power, status and control.
Ideological: A drive to find the deeper meaning in life and commit to a higher cause.
To illustrate how a motivator (or a dynamic interaction of motivators) can impact how you think, act and lead differently, let’s look at Stephanie.
Stephanie is a Marketing Director. She is super motivated by the fundamental belief that everyone must realize their full potential and feels a deep desire to help others. When she discusses this, she is fully engaged, creative and expressive. Her major attitudes are Altruistic and Aesthetic.
Today, she is working on a new marketing campaign for one of her company’s biggest clients. She muses…. what if I triggered a fresh discussion with my client: “Beyond what we’re doing, what else can we incorporate into our campaign to help your client base grow, realize their full potential, make their lives better?”.
Inspired by her passion, she taps into her dominant motivators and puts her plan in motion. She shares her thoughts with her client. What happens next? Multi-level success. The client embraces her ideas—she is happy. Stephanie feels energized and valued; she brought something new to her clients’ clients. She also brought a new angle to her leadership skills. Win. Win. Win.
As a NOVA profile practitioner, I use a Spranger-inspired motivation assessment tool to understand what energizes my clients so I can help them to, for example:
Assess career options
Identify factors that cause stress or dissatisfaction
Become aware of the unique strengths they possess
So, what motivates and inspires you to reach your next level?
Let’s find out. Together. A new way of working is just an email away. Reach out at len.madigan.coaching@gmail.com
