Unveiling McClelland's Theory: Understanding Motivation and Achievement
Gabriel Barile
McClelland's Theory on team's management
Work teams in any company or any project require a fundamental factor for their performance to be at 100%, and that factor is called motivation!
Now, how do we know that a work team in any organization requires motivation? The answer is simple: it will be reflected in its results.
That is, work results are closely linked to motivation, and that is what a psychologist observed directly, developing a tool to improve the performance of an organization: the McClelland Theory.
The professional behind this wonderful theory studied and came to the conclusion that people's motivation is centered on the satisfaction of 3 needs.
Are you interested in learning about this theory? Then you've just got the most complete material on the web, where we review from its concept to the most important advantages that this theory offers for the satisfaction of needs.
Let's get started!
Understanding McClelland's Theory, what is it?
The McClelland Theory is known by other names, such as the theory of motivation, or also known as achievement motivation theory.
This study consists of a work model that is oriented to awaken human motivation, especially in business or organizational environments, achieving with its application, the development of healthy economies and a good organizational spirit.
The study of motivation tries to explain the satisfaction of 3 fundamental needs, which are present in every person; and every individual presents different characteristics, depending on the dominant need or motivator.
The McClelland theory has the fundamental purpose of positively affecting organizational management.
Who is David McClelland?
David Clarence McClelland is a psychologist from the United States, creator of a theory named after him, the McClelland theory, also known as the theory of needs.
However, this is only one of his several outstanding works:
Noted for his contributions to work on the expectancy value of human motivation.
He also worked with outstanding influence on thematic apperception testing, thematic analysis, and behavioral events.
The study of work competencies owes much of its development to the work of McClelland.
He excelled in helping people and their social environment, especially in changing behavior to combat negative elements such as addiction and stress.
His work was important for the start of 14 companies dedicated to research and consulting in the United States.
As a leading psychologist, his work focused on applying his knowledge to improve people's lives, especially in the workplace.
The need theory was a work that spanned two decades, until the late 1960s. The first to cite it was a colleague, Abraham Maslow. Maslow identified basic needs that human beings have, to be satisfied in order of importance or relevance.
However, McClelland simplified Maslow's work by focusing his research on needs on only 3 motivating entities: affiliation, achievement and power. These needs were published in his literary work "The Achieving Society".
Which business sectors can apply this theory?
McClelland's theory was inspired fundamentally to improve the quality of the environment where people develop and, therefore, receive direct motivation.
Therefore, this theory can be applied in various sectors or companies, such as:
In Marketing areas, where collaborative work is fundamental.
The technology sector, where the need for achievement, affiliation and power are combined.
The health industry, where research and medical advances must go hand in hand, mainly in terms of the need for affiliation between medical specialists, technicians, nurses, among others.
Education, where the need for achievement is a fundamental factor for those professionals who want their students to reach optimal academic potential.
What are the motivators of McClelland's theory?
As we have seen in previous lines, McClelland summarized the study of needs and focused his theory on only 3 motivators. An important aspect is that these motivators are understood as unconscious processes.
As a fundamental characteristic of these motivators we can cite the following:
They are independent of gender or age of any individual.
Of the 3 motivators, one of them will be the most dominant in each person.
Although they happen subconsciously, they will be determined by the level of culture and experience to which the individual is subjected.
The needs theory makes it possible to discover which is or are the dominant motivators of the members of a team.
By placing each individual in a role that motivates him or her, key organizational processes such as decision making, feedback and incentive management are efficiently influenced.
So at this point we study these three necessary motivators: achievement, affiliation and power.
Achievement as a need
The first motivator of every person in an organizational setting, achievement, accomplishing a goal.
When achievement is taken as a need or motivation, it refers to the need to fulfill an objective, to reach a work-related goal.
Generally, people with high performance requirements are those who work to highlight their skills or qualities. They like challenges with high difficulty more than situations with little or no risk or little reward.
In the work environment, they are people who prefer to innovate, with new objectives, since monotonous tasks are overpowering to the point of boredom and demotivation. Therefore, they feel that by doing new tasks, they progress and can better exploit their skills.
Among the aspects that highlight this motivator, we can mention:
They are people who want to receive praise or congratulations, both from those around them and from superiors, for having completed more difficult tasks or projects. They appreciate comments on their work.
Performing tasks with greater difficulty and achieving the goal injects the person with confidence in their abilities and higher morale.
Performing a task that is considered easy, repetitive or without incentive is not satisfying.
People with achievement as a dominant motivator may help others in performing tasks, which can be understood as personal fulfillment.
They take technically controlled or calculated risks for the achievement of their goals. In addition, they easily avoid high-risk or low-risk situations.
They require feedback with a fair evaluation of their performance. By evaluating the good and bad of their performance, they can fully identify areas for improvement.
Power as a need
When we speak of power as a need or motivation, we refer to always wanting to have influence or control over other people, making this control a way of influencing decisions.
In this case, the power motivator can manifest itself in two different ways, the first being personal power and the second social power:
In the case of the personal power motivator, control is sought in the decisions of others but which favor personal benefits.
On the other hand, the social or institutional power motivator seeks to influence several people with the purpose of achieving joint or shared goals. They understand that, in order to achieve organizational objectives, they must concentrate the opinions and capabilities of team members.
Generally, those who are dominated by power as a motivator excel in leadership positions, or where their decisions affect the behavior of others.
Among the highlights of this motivator, we will mention the following:
They are people who frequently act with authority and autonomy, i.e., they enjoy directing personnel.
They have good communication and social skills. With them, they can transmit more efficiently the tasks or responsibilities to the personnel in charge.
People who excel in this motivator, in a good way, must have a high capacity to listen and be integrative of other proposals.
If this motivator is misdirected, it can lead to an egocentric, manipulative and authoritarian personality.
Affiliation as a need
The last of the motivators is affiliation, or the need for affiliation. These are people who are motivated by having a good interpersonal relationship or camaraderie with other members of an organizational team.
Therefore, the objective of those who see affiliation as a need is the acceptance of others.
Among the most notable aspects of those who have affiliation as a need, we can highlight the following:
They are people who avoid risky situations with their coworkers or that provoke rejection.
They work according to the rules of group work, to promote the good of the team or group.
They maintain interpersonal relationships in the long term, establishing more trust.
They are cooperative people, placing this value above competition.
They excel in tasks or roles that have social interaction as a principle.
They are people who do not seek to stand out from others.
Advantages of McClelland's Need Theory in Businesses
What are the advantages offered by the theory of needs? Well, there are many advantages that this tool for motivation can bring to organizational work teams, among which we highlight the following:
It is a tool that improves intrinsic motivation, because it adapts the tasks or objectives to be fulfilled according to individual needs.
It increases productivity within the team, as well as overall performance.
Once the objectives are achieved and employees feel valued for their success in achieving work goals, it creates a state of psychological and emotional well-being.
How does this theory apply to marketing?
Do you know how to apply this theory in the field of marketing? In this field, teamwork is the fundamental basis for the achievement of goals or objectives.
We must remember that this theory allows us to know or better understand what motivates a work team; therefore, the best management strategies must be designed to create an environment conducive to motivation and productivity.
So, as a last point, we review these steps or tips that will allow us to apply this theory to any organization, company or work team.
Assessing the individual needs of the work team
It is essential to know each of the needs of the members of the organization.
For this, it’s favorable to apply data collection and evaluation tools, such as the famous psychometric tests, which will give detail of these motivations; that is, on what need the individual is oriented, if it is a motivation of achievement, power or affiliation.
Designing tasks and objectives in line with needs
Once the individual orientations in the work team is known, the assignment of tasks or responsibilities will be made according to the test results.
In this case:
Those with a high probability of achievement are assigned tasks with clear and challenging objectives.
Those with membership motivation are assigned tasks that encourage group work or group goals.
Finally, those who are power-oriented will be given tasks or leadership roles, so that their decision making influences others.
Developing leadership
One of the purposes of McClelland's theory is to develop leadership skills. Those with a high motivation for power will be able to access roles where leadership is the key to their evaluation.
In this case, it is sought that these people lead important projects, where they will be given autonomy to make decisions and exert (in a positive way) influence over subordinates.
Maintaining a collaborative work environment
Work environments are strengthened where collaboration is used as a means of interpersonal relationships, especially in values such as a sense of belonging and organizational cooperation.
So, it is good to encourage opportunities where the work team can interact more socially, such as group activities, social events outside the office or informal meetings, either at a colleague's home, a public place, among others.
Maintaining discipline in training and development
Finally, constant training is one of the priorities of any organization, to keep staff up-to-date with innovations and trends.
This also helps employees to obtain or improve skills, which will be helpful for the contribution and achievement of business goals.
To conclude, McClelland's Theory offers valuable insights on how to become an expert in effective and powerful work strategies in the audience.
Applying the needs of achievement, power and affiliation in your marketing approach will allow you to stand out in your field and achieve success.
Did you like our material? How do you feel in the middle of a work team: do you like to achieve goals, emit power or be more empathetic and affiliated with your colleagues?
We'd love to hear how you perform and what McClelland says about your motivation, below, in the always open comment box.
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