In answering the question “how do we best cultivate healthy, productive employees?” – it turns out science answered this question for us nearly 80 years ago. Dust off your psychology textbook and open your eyes. On the topic of employee motivation, Abraham Maslow has something important to say, and I suggest you listen closely.
Of course, I am referring to one of the foundational pillars of modern psychology, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This hierarchy (or pyramid) of needs describes how each of us can become the fullest version of ourselves by reducing fear and ascending to meet our potential one level at a time.
As Mazlow informs us, once we no longer fear being bitten by giant spiders and left in a comatose state to incubate and birth their offspring from an itchy welt wriggling just under our skin, we are able to break the chains of our psychological captors and punch up through these lower needs to arrive at higher states of existence. Ideally, fear and hunger are replaced with a desire to better ourselves, our tribe, and eventually humanity through our ever-increasing empathy for the human condition.
Maslow’s hierarchy was a revolutionary idea which pulled anyone willing to listen through the looking glass of our collective human experience. It changed how we view each other, and ourselves, and explained much of human behavior. From Maslow, we learned how to better understand why people do what they do, why they fail, why they succeed, and helped pave the yellow-brick road to enlightenment. Minus the little people.
Needless to say, we are bullish on Team-Maslow. Big time.
However…
Adopting and applying Maslow’s pyramid of needs for business, it turns out, isn’t so straightforward. With a clever twist however, it can be done.
The research on this divergence has produced an overwhelming and undeniable mound of evidence proving Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs doesn’t operate as intended in the business world. Rather than offer a dissertation on this topic, I’ll share the primary ways in which Maslow’s psychological map and compass fail to help you arrive at your ultimate business destination.
Here are the problems with his direct hierarchy translation:
1) The 9 to 5 problem. Employees work 9 to 5. Not 24×7, unfortunately. Businesses can’t possibly be responsible for the other 16 hours of an employees day which are mathematically twice as influential on an individual’s journey towards fulfillment.
2) The Help-Wanted Problem. Bluntly, employees don’t hunt for jobs to gain fulfillment. They work for food, liquor, tribal armband tattoos, healthcare, and trips to Disneyland. And, those are the lucky ones.
Not convinced? Imagine a company full of individuals whose on-the-job performance matches this top-o-the-pyramid job description:
- Wanted: Individual interested in collectively traversing the path to oneness. Will require both scheduled and spontaneous meditation breaks interspersed with random kindness-to-others *happenings*. Occasional spurts of assembly line work may be encouraged -if you can fit it in. If not, that is fine, too. Sandals and Buddhist robes will be provided. Should be expected to tolerate field trips, spiritual excursions, and bus-ride sing-alongs. Strong applicants will have memorized Kum-By-Yah lyrics and have a strong inclination towards vocal harmony. Must be open to spontaneous and emotional rapture. Tambourines provided.
Right, we see it too. Total disaster on every level. Not to mention – how do you keep those robe-tie ends from getting dunked in the toilet? Gross. A business hiring this type of candidate would fold up its operation long-before the tent-stakes are erected.
3) The My-Cousin-Vinny Problem. It might be hard to imagine but most of us need to have a moderate-level of misery in our lives in order to be successful and happy. While many don’t readily or easily accept this, it is nonetheless true.
Sidestepping the fog of psycho-babble, this reality can be summarized:
Regular and occasional struggle simply makes us better, pushing us beyond our previous perceived limits. In other words “what doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger”.
Remember that phrase? Of course you do – and you also know it is true.
This struggle is exemplified in the 1991 Academy Award winning movie My Cousin Vinny. In this movie, the main character Vinny goes from five time bar-exam flunkie to murder trial winning attorney.
Question: How does he do it?
Answer: Through personal growth and…wait for it…misery. Enlightenment was absent during production.
He achieves both personal and professional growth by struggling through several serious conflicts including sleep problems, train whistles, fist fights, a mound of evidence against his clients, a strict judge, contempt of court challenges, nights in jail, wardrobe issues, and finally, relationship problems with his fiancé.
Does any of that sound like enlightenment? No. It does not. This is a man clearly mired in the lower 3 levels of Maslow’s Pyramid. He never reaches enlightenment. Yet, his struggles are identifiable and worthwhile. Furthermore he is fairly happy. He is also a likeable character, and most importantly, he gets the job done.
If you replace the Vinny with a Tibetan Monk invoking a monastic vow of silence, you don’t have a movie. No movie. No academy award. Furthermore, two innocent New York kids get sent to the electric chair. Sounds like enlightenment with a side of sizzle. No thanks. Case closed. Cue the gavel slam.
4) The Yin/Yang Problem. Have you ever wondered why rainbows look so beautiful? Beyond just a pretty arc of colors sweeping across the clouds they are the embodiment of the wonder and relief of a recently passed thunderstorm. This rainbow – thunderstorm connection is a pairing of a low hierarchy event with a higher one. AKA – Yin and yang.
We see examples throughout history if we care enough to look.
- Thunderstorms and rainbows.
- Purple and orange popsicles.
- Schwarzenegger and Devito.
- Tango and Cash.
- Master and Blaster.
- Bert and Ernie.
In a nutshell, we need both Yin and Yang in business to perpetually motivate employees to do their best.
For the optimal employees, the path to success looks like:
- Work hard. Struggle. Work harder. Succeed. Get promoted.
- Rinse and repeat.
For sub-optimal employees, the path looks like:
- Work hard. Struggle. Fail. Cry. Get Demoted.
- Hit rock bottom. Eventually dry out. Go to rehab. Bounce back.
- Beg to get your old job back
- Rinse and repeat.
In each of these cases, Yin and Yang are hard at work shaping a career into an admirable work of art. The finished work more resembles an abstract three dimensional Jackson Pollack sculpture rather than a balanced pyramid celebrating symmetrically lines towards the North apex. In the business world, there is no one-way, unfettered direct ascension to the top of any pyramid. Pain, struggle, disappointment, and perseverance do most of the heavy lifting here. Enlightenment need not apply.
Put another way: enlightenment is a great and noble pursuit but is often counterproductive for a successful and profitable business. Save that new age hooey for when the blood had pooled in your forehead during downward dog. Winners need losers. Success needs failure. In business, Shirley doesn’t exist without Laverne.
At this point, if you feel as if Maslow left you standing at the bus stop as your bus pulls away, you are not alone. When I first discovered Maslow’s failure to map efficiently and directly to employee motivation and productivity, it felt as if my Maslow’s ladder was kicked out from beneath me.
However, putting firm ground underneath me, with Maslow, all is not lost. It turns out, there is a smarter way to apply Maslow’s research towards motivating employees.
And, the answer is a simple one. And, thanks to ICBM, it also works.
Stay tuned for Part 2.