Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs model (pictured) is taught on most business and psychology courses as being an approach to help assess an individual’s motivation levels. Interestingly, this TED video takes it a step further suggesting that the hierarchy is just as applicable to a team, organisation, market and even a country as it is to oneself in our approach to life.
The appeal for me lies in the model’s application when considering the engagement and inspiration of client-side teams – especially when embarking on projects to deliver radical changes in the face of immense budget pressures.
We’re seeing more and more client-side employees who are simply tired and weary of change, especially given the current economic climate. Using the model, If we consider these employees to be operating within the ‘basic needs’ slice of the pyramid, where work provides security and safety, it becomes more understandable to see why also asking for input into change programmes, on top of their day-job requirements can sometimes be just too big of an ask.
As consultants and catalysts for change, we can use high impact workshops and a variety of creative techniques to energise and inspire the team. But as the hierarchy implies, to get a team working at their full potential, including thinking innovatively and creatively in response to the problems at hand (the self-actualisation pinnacle of the pyramid) we need to focus just as much effort in satisfying the team’s psychological needs first i.e fulfilling their belongingness and esteem needs.
Creating a team identity and environment could be one way to achieve this. Whether it be a physical and/or virtual space, but in essence providing a space for the team to come together to communicate, share ideas and support each other now becomes a much more relevant factor in running successful and stretching projects. Moving up the pyramid, giving the team a sense of purpose and a goal, together with constant ratification that is visible throughout the organisation could also start to fulfil some of the esteem needs of the team.
So is this it? Is fulfilling the team’s belongingness and esteem needs one of the key factors required in facilitating teams to think creatively to deliver the radical changes required in the current economic climate?
