Has ‘Purpose’ and ‘Self-Mastery’ Left the Building?

Over the last 4-5 years I have been observing how companies hire and manage their talent. My observations tell an interesting story; one of them seems to be a missing message when engaging and motivating candidates/employees. The omitted message is that of a strong sense of purpose, direction, inspiration, and call to self-mastery. When these elements are absent from talent acquisition/management processes it follows that candidates/employees may not experience a sense of belonging or engagement. When an employee is not engaged or does not have a strong sense of purpose/belonging the opportunity to reach self-mastery is often never attained. That can have a huge impact on innovation.

In mid 2019 it seemed as though the hiring message shifted and became more focused on benefits, raising the minimum wage and working from home/remotely. In some instances, it appeared as though when making hiring decisions there may have been some settling for talent that otherwise in previous years would not have been the case.

Referring to figure below “Maslow Hierarchy of Needs-Employee Engagement”, when a company focuses their hiring efforts solely on Level 5-Survival or Level 4-Security the hiring process tends to be about getting paid, getting benefits/sick days, working overtime, working from home, etc. When hired through this method the employee may predominantly stay focused on their survival and security by requesting overtime and/or asking their peers what they are getting paid as a way to negotiate a raise to pay. The result, they may never become engaged in the corporate mission or delivering results. Even at Level 3- ‘Almost Engaged’ it can be a tricky one to handle as these employees must be stretched and highly engaged to stimulate their passion and desire to achieve. It is only the engaged and highly engaged employee that will be called to think big, consider possibilities, and willing to stretch to achieve self-mastery.

A few years ago, several consultants conducted research into what drives and motivates people in the workplace. ….  Daniel Pink’s study was the most notable, as he clearly researched the notion of “money as a motivator” to discover… “if you want to inspire and create a culture of innovation then you need to motivate your employees through…”

1.       A strong sense of ‘Purpose’

2.       Autonomy and ‘Self-direction’ i.e., get out of their way and let them create, build, and innovate.

3.       ‘Self-Mastery’

Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, proved many times that money is NOT a motivator as he would offer employees $1500.00 to leave Zappos as a way to assess an employee’s level of engagement/commitment to Zappos vision for its customers. It was very apparent that Tony wanted his people engaged and delivering extraordinary customer experiences. So, he weeded out those who were at Zappos for the money by using this payout methodology.

When you consider each of the three factors above it is not surprising that when they are present in the work environment they can inspire and influence one’s curiosity to think big and create. Engaging the ‘Beginner’s Mind’ is also important to discovering what’s possible. That can be challenging to do when an employee is focused mainly on their survival/security.

Steve Jobs understood this principle from his study of Zen Buddhism, and by following its precept of “Beginner’s Mind,” he cut through the resistance to new ideas and his inventions became the cornerstone for the world’s first trillion-dollar company.

So, here we are….  Today companies like Amazon who has been known for their high innovation for the first time since its inception will lay off approximately 18,000 employees.

I think Maslow’s discoveries into employee engagement will always have a place in how we hire and retain talent. The realization that it takes fully engaged and highly engaged talent to innovate and deliver results. And yes, security and survival still need to be included in the conversation.

As for my perspective, consider the context of holding employees as 'people'… what if during the hiring process you included emotional intelligent type questions to discover what motivates your candidates.. Create inspiring discovery sessions asking questions to discover their level of self-direction and mastery…

a.       What are your expectations for the role, company, and growth?

b.       If you could work on anything you want what will that be?

c.       What is your greatest achievement so far? How did you make it happen?

It is so crucial to the overall corporate vision that the people you engage have every opportunity to achieve self-mastery. If they do, then the company will be set up to realize amazing results… so inspire everyone one of your people with a strong purpose and then get out of the way so they can master and deliver results!!

My books offer insight into emotional intelligence and the beginner’s mind. They are available on Amazon in paperback, Audible and Kindle formats. "It was ME all Along, the Path to FREEDOM"  and  "The Dolphin Lady, the Story of a Unique Relationship”