Leader's Beacon | The Leadership Experts » Kurt Nelson

4 ways great leaders use the 4-Drive Model to impact employee’s motivation

Kurt Nelson — Sat, 21 May 2011 03:08:55 +0000

How leaders can impact employee’s motivation using the 4-Drive Theory The 4-Drive Theory of Employee Motivation states that there are four main drives that motivate employees, these are the drives to: Acquire & Achieve, to Bond & Belong, to be Challenged & Comprehend, and to Define & Defend. In order to maximize motivation leaders need [...]

Rethinking the 4-Drive Model of Employee Motivation

Kurt Nelson — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:44:46 +0000

I have been touting the 4-Drive Model of Employee Motivation since I first read the 2008 Harvard Business Review article “Employee Motivation: A Powerful New Model” by Nohria, , Groysberg, and Lee. You could say I’ve been a very BIG advocate for this model! It is a powerful theory on human motivation in general, and [...]

How to achieve top motivation – a case study

Kurt Nelson — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:07:39 +0000

A few months ago, we had the wonderful pleasure of spending a day interviewing 11 people at Oak Ridge Hotel & Conference Center to try to uncover their secret - because they have gotten the formula right on employee motivation. Anyone who has ever stepped into their facility outside of Minneapolis can attest to the customer service mentality that every employee exhibits - from the front desk, to housekeeping, to the chefs, groundskeepers, and even in accounting. There is a definite difference in how the majority of these employees "show up" at their job everyday and how they view and take care of their "guests". They are truly a company that is doing something right. Here is a quick overview of some of the findings we found:

How good communications get ruined

Kurt Nelson — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:00:47 +0000

You see, telling a story about incentive compensation and creating captivating visuals to convey that information isn’t easy. It requires that we make choices about what information we share. It means that we may have to simplify the message. It may mean changing how we present and what types of communication that we use.

The Drive To Bond and How We Screw It Up

Kurt Nelson — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:41:03 +0000

We all have a drive to bond. The desire to form meaningful, positive relationships with those around us. Research shows that this drive is one of the strongest motivators that we have as humans (see Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Lawrence and Nohria, 2002). Think of the impact that this strong human drive could have on [...]

Employee Motivation – 9 Simple Tips for Managers

Kurt Nelson — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:34:57 +0000

Employee motivation, in my view, is key to creating long term successful companies. While there are no magic bullets out there, here are 9 tips that we’ve gathered over the years that can help any manager improve the motivation of the people working for him or her. 1. Understand that everyone is motivated differently We [...]

Four Drive Model: New Theory on Employee Motivation

Kurt Nelson — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:23:01 +0000

The Four Drive Model of Employee Motivation was presented by Lawrence and Nohria in 2002. The model is a holistic way of looking at employee motivation beyond the typical “pay” model that is prevalent in the corporate world today. I will not go into detail regarding the model here, but just give an overview and [...]