Using Strength to Increase Motivation - Essay Sample

Being human it means one must have strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and things perceived to be threats. It is essential for every person to be particulate from the four elements and more so use strengths as their motivation. Organizations too are for their workers wellbeing, positive interventions, and engagement since they are profit oriented and it is through employees that they can realize it. Using PsyCap (psychological capabilities) where a person can do a self-assessment to know his or her level of such qualities; companies too usually prefer positive capabilities such as Hope, self-efficacy, optimism, and resilience. After such a test one needs to develop strategies to advance his or her career using strength and set goals that improve job performance. This paper explores my level of PsyCap, strategies to promote my career using my strengths, how I can use goal setting to increase motivation and improve job performance, how my engagement as an employee and job satisfaction influences my work, and a discussion on motivational theories and how it can aid job performance.

My Level of PsyCap

My scores in all the components of the PsyCap had a higher rating. I thought I was the all rounded person that I always wanted since childhood. On a scale score of zero to eighteen, in hope and efficacy I scored 18 since most of the tests are relating to my confidence in doing my activities. I have a very high capacity to give the results I desired for self and people around me as my peers, colleagues, and family due to that, my effectivity is also rated high in my area of work and my results depend on it. I have aspiration and believes what I desired would at one point happen to make my score in hope be 15. When it comes to stressful situation am very resilient, and I help other persons to manage such situations giving me a score of 16. Am also optimistic in achieving team goals and mine thus the level is 17 (Luthans, Youssef-Morgan, and Avolio,2015 p 25). The explanation given to support the score makes me strongly agree with the result of the test.

Strategies to Advance my Career

Having a positive motivational state with a basis which is interactively derived by sense of successful planning and to meet goal-directed energy makes me hopeful. I have written down all the goals I want to achieve in order of their agency considering their importance in my work. I have also included the general goals of the organization that involves all the team members to work together to make them come true (Luthans et al., 2015p 27). Each day before I commence my work I give myself achievable goals of the day and ensure there is minimum disturbance from my surrounding. For the assignment that is to be done in a group, I stand at the forefront to keep reminding and encouraging other team members to be focused on ensuring the goals are met at the end of the day or the desired period.

It is true that problems cannot be avoided in daily operation of an organization. Being optimistic helps me to react to the issues with a sense high personal ability and confidence since I do not only expect good things but also prepare to face problems. I usually categorize events into two; the positive and the negative events. The positive ones I consider them as pervasive, permanent, and internal. However, the adverse ones are regarded as external, situation-specific, and temporary. Most problems are solvable when given appropriate approach; the approach helps me to react to the situations is first defining the problem, getting to know the root course, trying possible ways to solve the issue and finally implementing the way that proves to work.

Self-efficacy is considered the belief that a person has of being able to accomplish a task effectively that is self-confidence. As a strategy, since self-efficacy is a strength, I would at my workplace be confidence in performing my duties and be more proactive in the events that are at the workplace (Lutherans et al., 2015p 28). Furthermore, I plan also to be provide new ideas and test new ways of that improve the performance of the organization.

Nonetheless, my score was high in resilience, psychologist takes it as the act of being able to bounce back and beyond when faced with adversity. In my workplace, I do keep the record of days activities and ways in which problems and regular work proceed (Lutherans et al., 2015p 27). Such documents form an essential source of reference as I tend to return to a former level of functioning and from the experience to solve problems that exist in the current situation. With resilience can cope with the obstacles and thrive in them otherwise, it does not mean I create problems to prove my resilience among my colleagues.

Goal-Setting to Increase Motivation and Performance

Goal-setting can be used to increase motivation and improve job performance in an organization. I will set a goal to enable me to strengthen my performance and apply them to objectives, quotas, professional, and deadline. Dedicating time to set goals comes with the following advantages; having the ability to focus on priorities as I set clear and concise goals (Lutherans et al., 2015p 35). I must properly think before setting any goal putting consideration to all critical factors.

The goals would guide me in proper decision making as I ensure they are concrete ones. With set goals, it is possible to evaluate every minor activity to ensure that it is in line with the set priorities. Furthermore, reflection and refocusing are also reasonable with the guide. Besides, setting goals make a person responsible for their actions (Lutherans et al., 2015p 35). The goals are to be documented and I have to be accountable for their success or failure. Efficient use of time, ability to measure and evaluate my actions, and learn from the best are other ways goal-setting would increase my motivation and improve my general performance.

Engagement and Job Satisfaction

My engagement would ensure that am deeply involved and invested in my work. I will strive I get the autonomy, connection, impact, growth, and meaning of my activities among other factors that promote engagement (Lutherans et al., 2015p 40). For job satisfaction such as good pay and better terms of work, though are not drivers of success it would help me in engagement.

Motivational Theories

Several motivational theories have been developed to motivate employees in aiding their job performance. To start with is the Maslows needs hierarchy which is a needs base theory. Abraham based his theory on the simple premise that peoples needs which are ranked hierarchically (Pinder,2014 p 135). To employees once the lower needs are satisfied, they no longer serve as a motivating factor and they tend to look for other needs as safety, social, esteem and self-actualization. With that, they will work had to achieve the desired needs thus improving their performance.

Second is the acquired need theory also among the need-based approaches to motivating employees. The need for affiliation, power, and achievement are according to peoples experiences. Everyone has a combination of these needs and among the three, one is usually dominant, and it is what is thought of driving an individuals motivation. Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) is used to know the dominant need (Pinder,2014 p 136). For instance, an employee who is oriented to coming up brilliant ideas, meeting deadlines, and success is considered high in achievements.

The third is equity theory categorized under process-based theories. Employees are motivated by the same sense of fairness in their interactions. People in the same rank and same qualification would expect to be given the same remuneration if they perform the same task (Pinder,2014 p 137). People would compare their inputs and outputs with others input and outputs. Employees would feel motivated if they sense equity in their workplace and inequity just kills their morale.

Fourth is the expectancy theory which is dependent on the efforts aimed to determine the rational calculation in which a situation is evaluated by an individual. They tend to assess whether a person believes that higher efforts will lead to the outcome desired as an indicator of success termed as expectancy, the other is the degree of belief labeled instrumentality and value of the reward labeled valence (Pinder,2014 p 137). If the expectations are higher then, one gets motivated.

Finally, is the Herzbergs theory of motivation also known as a two-factor theory. He gives his argument considering what satisfies workers on their job and what dissatisfy them. According to Pinder,2014 p 138 aspects of work environment that employees are satisfied are very different from what perturbs them. Motivating factors are recognition, exciting work, advancement, growth opportunities, increased responsibility, and advancement, however, dissatisfying elements are like hygiene in their workplace.Conclusion

Job performance depends a lot the individual motivation. A motivated employee will set goals and objectives that he or she strive to meet as a result, improving the general performance. My excellent performance in the PsyCap test would improve my work performance and help me meet the set goals. I have stated the strategies to advance my career using the strengths and set goals for motivation, engagement and job satisfaction to improve my performance. Five motivation theories have been explained and how they aid in job performance.

Reference

Luthans, F., Youssef-Morgan, C. M., & Avolio, B. J. (2015). Psychological capital and beyond. Oxford University Press, USA.

Pinder, C. C. (2014). Work motivation in organizational behavior. Psychology Press.