"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will"

Vincent T Lombardi

What motivates us to get up in the morning and go out to work … every day? What determines whether we take an optimistic or a pessimistic view on things? What really makes us successful? Motivation is a fascinating subject, which has intrigued researchers for decades. Motivation is a state of mind which is influenced by our environment, by those around us and of course by ourselves. Everyone is motivated … to do something, whether that something is to put in a full day's work and achieve a task or whether it is to do as little as possible and hopefully not be noticed. The behaviours of managers and co-workers will influence our internal state of mind, just as successful medical representatives will stimulate a motivation to prescribe in the minds of their customers.

"Whether you believe that you can or whether you believe that you can't … you'll be absolutely right!"

Henry Ford

So what is motivation?

In 1938, Henry Murray developed a list of human psychological needs that lead to particular personality traits. These needs, summarized below, led to further studies of motivation by others.

1. Achievement:
   A person operating from this need strives to accomplish difficult tasks or to compete with others.
   
   
2. Affiliation
   This person seeks to develop close relationships with others. Loyalty and friendships are important and this person enjoys working as part of a team.
   
   
3. Aggression
   This need results in a tendency to attack, injure or punish others. He/she will win forcefully and will enjoy making others look bad.
   
   
4. Autonomy
   Some people need to be able to act independently. They like to be in control of their job and will take full responsibility for results.
   
   
5. Deference
   Deferential people tend to admire and support their superiors and other authority figures. They support and respect traditions.
   
   
6. Dominance
   These people will seek to control their environment through attempting to influence others to accept their views and opinions. They will manipulate others to their own advantage.
   
   
7. Exhibition
   The goal of this type of person is to be noticed and to elicit a reaction from others - the life and soul of the party.
   
   
8. Nurturance
   Nurturing people find satisfaction in helping others who are more needy or disadvantaged than them.
   
   
9. Order
   This person is highly organized, clean, neat and precise.
   
   
10. Power
    A high need for power results in an attempt to control other people and resources and to seek high status in society.

David McClelland and his colleagues later developed the achievement aspect of this research further. McClelland defined a high need for achievement as a self-motivation to high levels of accomplishment. High achievers are turned on by the accomplishment of a task, the acquisition of a skill, the meeting of a challenge or the invention of something new. Such things matter more than secondary external factors such as money, power or prestige. McClelland's research showed that high achievers have several easily-recognisable characteristics:

• They set challenging but realistic goals for themselves
• They assume personal responsibility for solving problems
• They calculate risks
• They seek frequent feedback on their progress
• They are decisive.

Do you recognize these traits in successful pharmaceutical industry representatives and managers and indeed yourself?

"Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory."

General George S Patton

Interestingly, McClelland et al went on to demonstrate that families and cultures that encourage individual development and self-reliance tend to produce people with higher levels of achievement motivation than in children from families that encourage dependence on their parents. However people can learn to become more achievement-orientated during life.

Probably the most well-known theory of motivation is that of Abraham Maslow, who in 1943 categorized basic human needs and placed them into a hierarchical structure, from primitive or immature needs to civilized or mature needs. Maslow's theory is based on the principle that a person's motivations, priorities and behaviours are dictated by whatever he/she is experiencing at the moment. He speculated that individuals fulfill their needs in ascending order and the needs of each level must be at least partially met before the individual can pursue the needs of the next level.

According to this model, we must satisfy our basic physiological (bodily) needs first and only when we are physically comfortable will we think about a better house or car. Our security needs are satisfied through having a job, an adequate salary, insurance policies, pension plans police protection etc. We gradually become less pre-occupied with taking care of ourselves and we begin to want to be liked and desired by others. Family, friends and work colleagues provide the appreciation we need. We work towards recognition and status within a group, for promotion and power and finally we progress to fulfilling our personal development needs - striving for our personal best.

Maslow's hierarchy was later depicted in 1980 by Paul Hersey as a frequency distribution instead of a pyramid; this suggests that people are rarely motivated by only one level of need but rather that we behave in response to a variety of needs and these fluctuate like the levels of a graphic equalizer, according to specific situations.

In 1966 Frederick Herzberg developed a two-factor theory of work motivation, which suggests that job factors are associated either with feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

Satisfiers or motivators are intrinsic elements within a job which provide personal motivation and satisfaction. These include interesting or challenging work, responsibility, recognition of achievements and an opportunity for advancement. The positive feelings that result from these factors elicit motivated behaviour. When these factors are absent, people are not dissatisfied, they are simply not satisfied or particularly motivated.

Dissatisfiers or hygiene factors are extrinsic rewards which tend to be significant when lacking or perceived as deficient. They help people to satisfy their lower level needs and include both the physical work environment (temperature, comfort, noise, safety) and the context within which the work is performed (salary, personnel policies, status, job security etc.) When these factors are positive, they may not increase job satisfaction but if they are absent or negative they may lead to job dissatisfaction and may impair performance.

This theory therefore relates to Maslow's model as Herzberg maintains that only higher level needs are actually motivators and that meeting lower level needs satisfies hygiene factors. Interesting work, the ability to grow and to be recognized for achievement are true motivators.

So how do you motivate yourself or help others to motivate themselves to achieve?

1. Define expectations
   Ensure that goals, objectives and performance standards are clearly understood, mutually-agreed and SMART.
   - Specific
   - Measurable
   - Achievable
   - Realistic
   - Time-bound
   
   
2. Increase the perceived value of the work
   People work to attain personal goals such as money, security, challenge or accomplishment. Ensure that clear links are established between the achievement of organizational goals and individuals' personal goals. You must therefore know what these are! Talk to people, listen to them, and understand them in order to take advantage of personal driving forces.
   
   
3. Coach,support & actively listen
   Provide essential support to ensure that the person has the necessary skills and knowledge to achieve the task. Make time for this!
   
   Ability (Skills + Knowledge) x Motivation = Success
   
   
4. Offer feedback
   Knowing how you are doing is a key element of motivation and feedback must be timely, specific and focused on behaviours not assumed attitudes. Formal periodic evaluations of progress should be largely summaries of these informal evaluations - with no surprises!
   
   
5. Provide rewards for success
   Rewards may include public or private recognition, increased autonomy and responsibility, promotion, professional development etc. Specific rewards should be tailored to what is important to that particular individual. To recognise the efforts and achievements of others, you must be around to notice their behaviours and attitude - catch people doing something right!

And following everything that you do, take some time to reflect, learn and move forward. Follow this flow either in your mind or discuss with someone else, and focus on the positives.

Self-motivation and the ability to motivate others, both colleagues and customers, are essential requirements of a professional pharmaceutical sales representative or manager. By becoming more aware of what stimulates motivation in yourself you become better able to help others to achieve that same state of mind - however remember that what motivates each of us may be very different, and the way we feel determines what we do!

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty"

Winston Churchill

References:

Murray H.A. (1938) Explorations in personality. New York: Oxford University Press. McClelland D.C. Atkinson J.W. & Lowell E.L. (1953) The achievement motive. New York: Irvington. McClelland D.C. Atkinson J.W. Clark R.A. & Lowell E.L. (1976) The achievement motive. New York: Irvington. Maslow A.H. (1943) A theory of human motivation. Psychological review, 50(4), 370-396. Herzberg F. Mausner B. & Snyderman B.B. (1959) The motivation to work. (2nd edition) New York: John Wiley. Vroom V.H. Work and motivation. New York: John Wiley

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