Managers are seldom equipped psychologically to talk to their  people on a personal level. One reason is that many  people are  managers because of their technical ability not  because of their  managerial or people skills. We should reward  technical experts  with higher salaries but not with promotions to  management. We  would be far better off if we promoted to management  the people  who have good managerial and people skills and poor  technical  skills -- which will solve two problems: 
 
1 - Improve overall technical competence 
2 - Improve managerial effectiveness 
 
As long as executives do not know how to identify  future effective  managers, management will be stuck with The Peter  Principle: 
 
"In a hierarchy, every employee tends to  rise to his level of incompetence." 
 
When managers are asked to list the Top Ten  Motivators for their  employees the list looks like: 
 
1 - Salary 
2 - Bonuses 
3 - Vacation 
4 - Retirement 
5 - Other Benefits & Perks 

 --------- the money line ---------- 

6 - Interesting work 
7 - Involved in decisions 
8 - Feedback 
9 - Training 
10 - Respect 
 
Note: 
 
Managers rank money items as their employees' Top  Five Motivators.  When employees are asked to rank their own Top Ten  Motivators  the list looks like: 
 
1 - Interesting work 
2 - Involved in decisions 
3 - Feedback 
4 - Training 
5 - Respect 

 --------- the money line ---------- 

 6 - Salary 
7 - Bonuses 
8 - Vacation 
9 - Retirement 
10 - Other Benefits & Perks 
 
Note: 
 
Employees rank items that are equivalent to money as  their bottom  five motivators. 
 
The managers' top five motivators are the employees'  bottom  five motivators. The managers' top five motivators  are more  related to the need of the managers to avoid 
personal contact  with employees than the desires or motivational  needs of 
their employees. 

 Managers pick the top five motivators because these  are the things  that managers can "give" their employees without  ever having to ask  what the employees want or need, i.e., no  involvement on a personal  level is needed and all decisions can be made behind  closed doors--  all the while avoiding personal contact even to the 
detriment of the  organization. 
 
Note: 
 
Managers give the same sequence as employees when  asked to rank their own motivators.

Written by by Robert F. Gately

Hi,

This was really very interesting. I want to put  in a point of my own too. 

Let us take a simple equation E=M * C2 . Here E  is the enthusiasm among woekers, M is the mission  they understand and agree with and also have clear  values to sutain their efforts while on journey. C2  is actually C square that is Cash & Congratulations. 
 
Equation means that enthusiasm is proportional to a  meaningful mission times cash & congratulations.  Traditionally workers had no measure to assert their  importance. Wages served as a convenient scale. But  slowly both employees and employers become over  focused on this. Slowly with the change in the  dominant factor of production from land to capital  to human talent, workers have now outgrown this and 
are demanding more. 

But the managers are still hung on cash more because  cash is limited and they can easily escape from the  responsibility if they are not able to deliver all  that is expected. 

Your point that they avoid getting personally  involved was absolutely correct.  Sir, dont you think that management would be much  more effective if we found out what people do  naturally and then design our systems around that  rather than going the other way round..as we are at  present? 

Could you pls let me know other examples of such  conflicts in the workplace? 

Thank you very much for sharing the wonderful article.

srini

Dear srini, Practically when any manager/supervisor deals with  the blue coller workmen, then the picture is totally  different. It afterall depend upon the  circumstances. The main and important motivator is  money. We should not place asie the need of human  being. He is more demanding nature. He always  compare his wages/salaries with the other people,  though one can deny it.If it is not so why the  workmen who get the money in five digit opt the  option of confronatation in industries?  Other motivational factors come later when the  thirst of more money is satisfied. Recognisation and  non-monetory tools are effective when they are used  along with the monetory tools.  This is my practical knowledge.

Prabhakar,

Motivational factors cannot substitute thirst for  money. However, we  must accpet that Motivational factors come into  picture only when  demand of output / care required is more. Many a  times Motivational  factors fail because of alternative options like  vacancy in the competitor  company.

Under such circumstances non monetary  motivating factors  are mere waste.

Ayaan 

Hi chrm'ites

Dont u all think recognition can be a driving factor.. to have a make-belief/true "we need u so much" can go towards a long distance... mostly in offices of <500 people.

I guess my idea may not be a practical stuff.. but it does work in a peer group.. i mean i have used it a lot.