3.4 Motivation & Performance

"You can't motivate people; you can only create the environment where they choose to be motivated."

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🏗️ Classic Motivational Theories

You must master ONE of these for the exam.

Herzberg's Two-Factor

Hygiene Factors (Pay, AC, Safety): Their absence causes pain, but their presence does not motivate. (Baseline).

Motivators (Growth, Recognition, Responsibility): The fuel for high performance.

McClelland's Needs

Use for Hiring:

• Achievement: Assign them challenging technical tasks.
• Affiliation: Assign them to coordinate stakeholders.
• Power: Assign them to lead larger groups.

McGregor's X & Y

Theory X: "People hate work." (Manager = Dictator).

Theory Y: "People want to contribute." (Manager = Servant Leader).

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🏆 The Art of Recognition

Recognition is the cheapest, most powerful tool in your kit.

• Specific: "Great job" is noise. "Your fix on the API saved us 3 days" is signal.
• Timely: Feedback has a half-life. A compliment given 2 months later is worthless.
• Public vs. Private: Know your team. Introverts may hate public praise; extroverts crave it.

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📝 Exam Insight: If a team is well-paid but morale is low, giving them a bonus is the wrong answer. According to Herzberg, money is hygiene. To fix morale, you must give them **Growth** (Training) or **Autonomy** (Self-Direction).