Roffey Park’s 2007 Management Agenda survey recently revealed that 86% of respondents said that ‘making a difference’ motivated them at work.
But that statistic begs some questions. Can ‘making a difference’ be understood as a generic term, or is meaning only found in personal interpretation? Is it altruistic – or do we say it because it’s socially desirable to do so? And does this statistic have implications for organisations?
The rise of corporate social responsibility and the environmental movement are starting to help us make the links between what we do and the impact it has on the wider world. And the psychological contract within organisations has changed such that we are looking for work to meet not only our financial and social needs but also our emotional and perhaps spiritual needs too.
What does ‘making a difference’ mean?
It is a hugely subjective concept, says Helena Clayton, Principal Consultant for Personal Effectiveness, and she suspects it would mean different things to each of our survey respondents. The following are interpretations and themes of ‘making a difference’:
- It’s what I want to be remembered for, the legacy that I want to leave
- It’s being able to make a decision and see the results – it’s making change happen and knowing that I can influence something and see a tangible outcome
- I don’t need to see the result, it’s more of a felt sense of whether I’m making a difference – I just know when I am It’s about doing a job better than expectations, going the extra mile, being a high performer
- For me, it’s not about helping the planet or being a force for social good – those are too big and ambitious for me to connect with – but it’s whether, in my daily communication, I can help my immediate neighbour in some way
- It may be about my values, but it’s also about the choice I make in the moment about whether or not I try to ‘make a difference’
Clearly ‘making a difference’ is a complex, subjective and multifaceted construct.
And what does it mean for you? Roffey Park believes that understanding our values and beliefs provides us with important touchstones from which we can make better choices in our lives. Tapping into our values and beliefs can help us define what making a difference means to each of us. So, if ‘making a difference’ is a key motivator for you, what do you mean by that? Why does making a difference matter to you? What do you need to be in place to be able to make a difference? And how would you know if you were making that difference?
Why it matters to organisations
The search for the engaged employee is in full swing. It is a business issue with the focus on the bottom line. And while there is no silver bullet to engagement it certainly must be the case that individuals will be more engaged if their key motivators are being taken into account. So how can managers and leaders make use of the key motivator of ‘making a difference’?
- Let’s work on the assumption that 86% of your staff report that making a difference is a key motivator, as with our survey sample. That information isn’t much use unless you inquire into what that means for each person. And yes, that often means sitting down and simply asking people about what motivates them. You then need to facilitate them in making this difference and provide people with feedback about when and how they are doing this.
- The role of the manager or leader here cannot be underestimated. An essential role for leaders is to help people locate or create meaning in the work that they do – whether that work is defined as ‘just cutting bricks’ or ‘helping to build a cathedral’. We want to find our work significant or meaningful in some way and it is often assumed that we can – or should – be able to do that for ourselves, but even the most senior or engaged of us need a hand now and then. As a leader, you need to provide direction and clarity of purpose for people no matter whether they are in the organisation and help create a line of sight between organisational purpose and the work they do – helping people feel part of the whole.
- As well as there being a moral case for enabling people to make a difference, there is also a business case. If people are enabled to make a difference in ways that align with their personal values, beliefs and identity then it is not too much of leap of faith to assume that this will ultimately contribute to higher performing organisations. People who feel they are making a difference are likely to be more emotionally engaged with their work, are likely to stay with an organisation and be more willing to release discretionary effort.
- At a corporate level, the fact that so many people are saying that making a difference motivates them at work means that your employer proposition needs to take account of that. If as an organisation you can be clear about what difference the organisation is making then you may have a competitive edge in attracting and retaining people. Be clear about the difference your organisation is making.
Two of our Open Programmes – Personal Effectiveness and Power and Mastering Self Management – focus on developing greater personal effectiveness at work and in our wider lives.
Roffey Park's research report: In Search of Meaning in the Workplace examines people's perceptions of 'meaning' especially with regard to the workplace and the impact on performance. It looks at how employees pursue their quest for meaning through work whether organisations have a responsibility to respond to even deeper individual and community needs in our increasingly turbulent world.