Five steps to heaven?
Featured in the Motivation in Practice training manual
By Eddie Davies
Category: People Management and Motivation
Credit price: 3 download credits (Single user)
In order to help motivate their team, the modern manager needs to be aware of what motivates people. Many managers make the mistake of taking a broad-brush approach to motivation and try to apply one approach to all staff – often an approach that the managers themselves find stimulating. One of the key ideas introduced by Abraham Maslow – the theorist who is the focus of this training activity – is that not only are different people motivated by different goals, but also that different goals will emerge at different stages of an individual’s life. Managers learn that they need to get to know their team members and adopt a flexible approach to motivating them, both now and in the future. The popular five-stage version of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is adopted throughout this training activity as it offers a concise and practical approach.
You introduce the training activity by having the participants define what they mean by motivation. You compare participants’ ideas to a definition of motivation. You introduce the concept of needs and the central role of these in many motivational theories is discussed. You lead a discussion on the work of Maslow and his five-stage Hierarchy of Needs and the participants then apply this to approach to members of their current team. The training activity then moves on to a lively syndicate-based exercise, during which participants brainstorm possible actions that can acts as motivators at each stage of the hierarchy. At the end of this, participants develop an action plan identifying which motivator at which level they can apply to key members of their team.
Who is it for: This training resource is intended for use by trainers with participants to look at the work of one of the main motivational theorists, Abraham Maslow, and his five-stage motivational Hierarchy of Needs.
| Resource Type: | Activity |
| Min Group Size: | 4 |
| Max Group Size: | 12 |
| Typical Duration: | 01:55:00 |
| No of Pages: | 17 |
Resources: View standard resources for Fenman training activities
Additional resources: Timer with bell or buzzer (optional).
Purpose: This training resource is intended for use by trainers as a stand-alone activity or to be used in the early stages of a longer training event that has a focus on motivation. It has been successfully used on a number of training programmes, such as an introduction to effective management, building and leading a team, improving staff performance, motivation, and self and time management.
Download the training activity, Five steps to heaven? as featured in the Fenman training manual; Motivation in Practice