Working from the Heart: 3 Steps to Boost Motivation in Your Nonprofit
- Adam J. Markey
- Aug 15, 2017
- 6 min read
Nonprofit organizations do vital work. Whether it’s helping to conserve the habitat of an endangered species or providing after school activities to youth, employees at nonprofits work hard to achieve organization goals. But these folks did not join nonprofits because they wanted to be paid well… though it is certainly possible to work up the ranks, most get paid fairly low wages, with a median salary of 48k for program managers (Payscale, Inc., 2017). Rather, individuals work for a nonprofit because they identify with their mission. They want to be a part of something bigger than themselves – and they want to make an impact on the world. It’s important, then, that since the motivation to work hard does not come from financial benefits, that the motivation comes from within.
Take Jessica. At 32 years old, this talented Harvard graduate has committed her time and effort to an organization that she feels passionately about - let’s call it Clean Cities. She joined on in a middle management position because she had heard about the good work that they have done so far cleaning up school neighborhoods in the Boston area. Jessica got accepted for a higher paying job at a corporation nearer to her university, but she accepted the job at CC because she believes in the cause. With a salary of just under 43k, Jessica works hard to make that vision a reality.
But what if Jessica doesn’t connect to the mission of the organization? Perhaps she had been under the impression that by “cleaning up the environment” the organization would be boldly challenging corporations that posed environmental hazards. Instead, once in her position she discovers the organization is more focused on beautifying the neighborhoods on a superficial level. To make matters worse, there is always a mountain of work to be done. In fact, it seems as if the more she gets done, the more there is left to do. Despite putting in long hours to catch up, her efforts go unnoticed and unappreciated. Jessica feels as if the work she does will never be good enough. She begins to feel bitter and resents her commitment to the organization. Employees who feel undervalued are more likely to be unengaged workers, putting in minimal effort and hurting the bottom line. Depending on the extent of their disillusionment, an employee may quit or even seek to sabotage the organization’s mission.
Connecting an employee’s values to the organization’s mission is crucial to helping that employee feel autonomically motivated – innately inspired to do one’s best (Gagne & Deci, 2005). Further, when an employee feels as though the work she is doing is appreciated, she is more likely to feel engaged (Chapman & White, 2011) and participate in more prosocial behaviors such as passing on the encouragement to coworkers (Grant & Gino, 2010). Both of these result in the increased likelihood that you will retain top talent (Gagne & Deci, 2005; Nelson, 2016). Employees who identify with the mission and who feel appreciated also have a greater chance of engaging in more organizational citizenship behaviors – altruistic tendencies that can have a profoundly positive impact on the workplace (Kirkpatrick, 2009).
So how can you curb this process and help employees to feel not only like they are doing meaningful work, but that they are doing a good job of it? These three easy steps will help to reconnect your employees and help them to know that their work is appreciated.
1. Understand employee values.
Get to know your employees and what they value. For a helpful (and free) tool that illuminates a person’s driving values, have employees visit www.viacharacter.org. Starting a conversation with your employees to discover what each person holds dear to their heart can be a great way to build rapport and show your employees that you care. Just be sure that in opening up, your employees do not feel pressured to answer a certain way. Start the conversation by sharing yourself, and be as open and honest as you can – transparency in a leader helps build trust in the relationship, which can help with the exchange of ideas and new ways of thinking (Cuddy, Kohut, & Neffinger, 2013; Serrano & Reichard, 2011). Try to think about why you value the character strengths that you do. Once you have identified the values in the room, have a conversation about what that value means to you, and how it influences your daily life.
2. Match your values to your mission.
In what ways do the values your employees hold influence the work that they do at your organization? Perhaps they do not at all. Invite employees to a meeting in which you can look for common ground in values. Create a large chart that lists all 24 values with space underneath them. Give each employee three stickers to place under any category that they would like to see as the focus of the organization’s value profile. When every person has gone, the top three values can be identified and incorporated into the mission statement. Infusing your mission with common values is a great way to inspire employees and increase their identification with your organization (Serrano & Reichard, 2011; Kirkpatrick, 2009). This can also be a great way to make employees feel that their voice has been taken into account; this lessens the impact that a non-match will have on an employee, as they will view the process as fair (Greenberg, 2009). Not to mention, an organization that lives its values and regards them as an important part of its creed will attract more employees that feel passionately about its mission. Employees that truly are not a good match will likely leave, reducing the potential of retaining bitter individuals (Schneider, Goldstein, & Smith, 1995).
3. Show appreciation.
Nobody likes to feel like they are a cog in a machine, even if that machine is value-driven. Take the time to remind your employees that the work they are doing matters. While there are ways to easily assess for individual appreciation styles in order to customize encouragement (see Chapman & White’s “Appreciation in the Workplace” for an excellent survey and guide), simply expressing appreciation to employees has been shown to increase confidence, morale, and productivity (Nelson, 2016). Make sure that when you verbally appreciate someone you are able to be specific about what it is that you like; halfhearted “good job” praise can be viewed as inauthentic (Chapman & White, 2011). Instead, try “Great job on your delivery at the meeting today, Jessica. I liked that you were punctual and really caught the audience’s attention.” Food is also a wonderfully impactful way to express your gratitude.
When it comes to appreciation, a little goes a long way. Combined with a compelling mission that clearly connects to employee values, you have the makings of a dedicated team that is ready to bring your vision to life!
References
Chapman, G., & White, P. E. (2011). The 5 languages of appreciation in the workplace: Empowering organizations by encouraging people. Moody Publishers.
Cuddy, A. J., Kohut, M., & Neffinger, J. (2013). Connect, then lead. Harvard Business Review, 91(7), 54-61.
Gagne, M. & Deci, E. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, 331-362.Grant, A. M., & Gino, F. (2010). A little thanks goes a long way: Explaining why gratitude expressions motivate prosocial behavior. Journal of personality and social psychology, 98(6), 946.
Greenberg, 2009. Promote procedural and interactional justice to enhance individual and organizational outcomes. In Edwin Locke (Ed. 2), Handbook of principles of organizational behavior (255-271). United Kingdom: Wiley.
Kirkpatrick, 2009. Lead through vision and values. In Edwin Locke (Ed. 2), Handbook of principles of organizational behavior (255-271). United Kingdom: Wiley.
Nelson, B. (2016). You get what you reward: A research-based approach to employee recognition. In Grawitch, M. J. Grawitch & D. W. Ballard (Eds). The psychologically healthy workplace: Building a win-win environment for organizations and employees. American Psychological Association.
Payscale, Inc. (2017). Program manager, nonprofit organization salary. Retrieved from http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Program_Manager%2C_Non- Profit_Organization/SalarySchneider, Goldstein, & Smith. (1995). The ASA framework: An update. Personnel Psychology 48(4).Serrano, S. & Reichard, R. (2011). Leadership strategies for an engaged workforce. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 63 (3), pp. 176-189.
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