Assignment:
Identify the diverse factors that may drive the behavior of the selected team members, what specific motivation theories and strategies will the management team use to motivate this particular team of individuals? Why do you think they will work? What motivational strategies does the management team think would be ineffective for this team? Why? Provide citations to strengthen your claims.
Natalie
Natalie has been with the company for 2 years. She is positive and ambitious. She hopes to own her own business someday. People like Natalie and like to engage her in conversation. Natalie always listens politely but finds her colleagues somewhat annoying and resents their tendency to gossip. Although Natalie works well on the team, her preference is to identify ways to have her individual ideas and accomplishments shine through. Some people find her to be overly competitive. Natalie is a smooth talker and can easily win people over to her point of view. She is great for smoothing over tense situations. She is a real negotiator and is comfortable in any kind of speaking situation. Her written communication skills are very strong as well. When she can get away with it, she prefers written communication because people often monopolize her time in conversations.
Motivation Natalie is motivated by challenges and enjoys competitive opportunities in which her skills and talents can take center stage. She enjoys doing great work. Strengths and Weaknesses Natalie is an excellent communicator, charismatic, and a natural leader; however, she has a bit too much disdain for her colleagues to fully trust them, and some sense her negative attitude toward them. Also, her efficiency is sometimes impacted by her colleagues whom she allows to monopolize her time in conversation.
Michael Michael has been with the company for 5 years. Overall, his attitude remains positive, but he can be cynical at times. He attempts to look for the best in people and prefers to give people the benefit of the doubt. He is working on getting his PhD and has plans to eventually work in personal and corporate wellness consulting. Michael considers himself to be a leader and motivator to the people around him. He has compassion for the emotional needs of people and values their individuality. At times, he is overly confident and speaks his mind a little too freely.
He enjoys collaborating with his coworkers and brings out others' strengths during their collaboration experience. He prefers to resolve conflict passively through joking but will often take things personally. Some colleagues describe him as passive-aggressive. Michael enjoys verbally communicating with people. He prefers open and informal conversations and shies away from formal communication. He is not afraid to ask questions until he is sure he understands a project. Michael has strong written communication skills as well. Motivation Michael is motivated by interesting and complex tasks; however, his depressive tendencies can cause him to lose interest in a project and he has been known to abandon projects without finishing them. Strengths and Weaknesses Michael thinks both tactically and strategically. He has the ability to see discrete parts of a project and relate them to the holistic project goal. He can be impulsive and demands instant feedback from those around him. He battles with depression and can appear lethargic. This interferes with his ability to concentrate on the task in front of him. His lack of attention to detail can contribute to oversights during projects or assignments. His weaknesses are damaging to his confidence.
Elizabeth Elizabeth has been with the company for 4 years. She enjoys the collaborative aspect of the job and has a positive attitude. She can look at the big picture, keeping in mind that change is a great attribute in any company. Her long-term goal is to move up in the company. Elizabeth is perfectly comfortable in the team environment. She enjoys working with others. Her teammates find her flexible and nonthreatening. She has taken on the leadership role on several projects and has demonstrated that she can get the job done. Elizabeth is flexible and will listen to other's perspective with an open mind. She will, however, tell you what she is thinking and defend her position when she feels strongly that she is in the right. She is considered to be diplomatic and her goal is to settle on a resolution that makes most sense for the company and clients.
She prefers open communication and is eager and willing to hear others' thoughts. Her teammates consider her to be a good listener. Motivation Elizabeth is motivated by a culture of trust in her abilities and work ethic. She thrives under a flexible management style that supports growth in her skills. She prefers to be treated as a peer rather than a subordinate. Strengths and Weaknesses Elizabeth's strengths lie in problem solving. She is constantly researching and compiling information to complete her final product. She considers herself to be detail-oriented and contentious about maintaining quality work while meeting all required deadlines. She may rush to meet deadlines when necessary. Her primary area of weakness is in developing new skills. She is comfortable fostering the skills she already possesses but is hesitant about branching out into new and unfamiliar territory.
Katelyn Katelyn is new to the company and has been employed here less than a year; however, she has demonstrated great promise with her knowledge and abilities. She is very driven and seeks promotion. While she feels committed to her employer, she is somewhat impatient and will seek opportunities elsewhere if they do not present themselves at Southwest Transit. She has very high standards and strives for perfection in all that she does. This impacts her performance in teams because her team members may fail to meet her high expectations, which can be unreasonable at times. This can cause friction on the team. She also has the tendency to try to take over projects due to lack of trust and dislike of inferior work, which can cause her teammates to resent her. She has difficulty accepting blame as well.
When encountering conflict over projects, Katelyn generally perceives herself to be in the right and is often unwilling to yield; however, she greatly dislikes conflicts of a personal nature and tends to avoid colleagues and others who put her in uncomfortable situations. Katelyn prefers written communication and formal speaking situations. She can be uncomfortable with conversations, especially with people she just met. Motivation Katelyn is highly motivated by challenging tasks and by praise and public accolades.
Strength and Weaknesses: Katelyn enjoys being engaged in challenging tasks and can produce impeccable work under pressure. She is highly detail oriented. While she has the tendency to grumble when assigned tasks she does not favor, she will eventually get over it and commit herself to get the job done. She is relatively flexible and is generally an early adopter when it comes to change. On the other hand, she can take criticism, even tactfully delivered criticism, personally and sets unreasonable standards for her teammates.
Bob Bob has been employed with the company from nearly the beginning. He believes the length of his tenure at the company gives him clout. His attitude is positive, but he prefers to downplay this attitude with comments such as: "I don't care," "oh well, things happen," or "that's not my problem." Bob is on the edge of retirement. Bob is a team player and exhibits this in his eagerness to assist team members when needed. He is quick to volunteer when a task needs to be completed; however, he is sometimes perceived of as surly and he is not always pleasant to work with. When conflict occurs, he tends to overreact, which can escalate conflicts. He prefers a direct communication style. He is sometimes brash. Some might consider his style unprofessional. Motivation Bob is motivated by a simple "job well done" compliment and prefers to not be publicly recognized. He is highly motivated in the form of a raise or bonus. Strengths and Weaknesses Bob's eagerness is both a strength and a weakness. He has been known to take on too many tasks, which lowers the quality of his deliverables. Still, he is perceived of as a person who will come to the team's assistance in order to get the job done.
Susan Susan has been with the company for just over a year. Her attitude is mostly positive, and she is very energetic. When she is overwhelmed with assignments or personal projects, she can shut down and struggle to focus on the necessary task. Her long-term goals are unknown at this point. Her free-spirited nature and uncertainty interfere with her long-term planning. Susan is an excellent team player. She can easily work well with others and builds trusting relationships with her coworkers. This trust helps others feel comfortable when they seek her out for guidance or assistance. Her ultimate goal is to get jobs done with quality. Her pleasing nature often allows her to be taken advantage of or agree with coworkers against her better judgment.
When conflict occurs, she holds steadfast to her opinions while still keeping other views in mind. She prefers open communication and will not shy away from any subject. She can talk freely with anyone. She struggles with listening at times because she is eager to share her ideas. Motivation Susan sometimes struggles with motivation; however, she is motivated by knowing her work makes a difference. She feels accomplished when she knows she did something to improve the lives of others. Strengths and Weaknesses Susan's biggest asset is her personality. She is also considered a go-getter, but often looks for approval before submitting her final work. She is also very creative. She lacks focus at times and has been known to overlook important details on tasks, which can cause her to have to redo work.