Manager's Guide to Motivating Employees 2/E, 2nd Edition

Chapter 9Clear the Path to Employee Performance

Use Motivation to Impact the Whole System

The motivation challenge for managers goes beyond individuals to a larger context. Factors above and beyond your immediate work area have a substantial impact on the motivation of your employees (in many cases, even more impact than any specific efforts you might make to positively influence motivation). Dealing with this larger context or situation is often referred to as thinking in terms of the “whole system,” or just “system” for short.

You were encouraged in Chapter 1 to ask yourself a question: “Am I positively or negatively influencing my employees’ motivation?” We’ve looked at ways to emphasize positive influences and minimize negative influences ...