He believed a healthy motivational status is when healthy people have sufficiently gratified their basic needs for safety, belongingness, love, respect, and self-esteem. Therefore, they are motivated primarily by “trends to self-actualisation defined as on going actualisation of potentials, capabilities and talents, as fulfilment of mission (or call, fate, destiny, vocation), as a fuller knowledge of, and acceptance of, the person’s own intrinsic nature, as an unceasing trend towards unity, integration or synergy within the person” (Maslow, 1968, p.25). Maslow positioned his theories as a vital complement to that of Freud “it is as if Freud supplied us the sick half of
He placed these needs into the shape of a pyramid, in which the bottom layer consists of our lower motivational needs such as physiological needs, leading up to the top layer consisting of the higher motivational needs such as self-actualization. He believed that when a person satisfies their basic needs, they can then move up the pyramid to fulfill their higher needs. Abraham Maslow’s theory on human motivation is an accurate portrayal of how human needs affect their behavior. Many people have agreed with Maslow on his theory. In order for people to continue on with their daily tasks or life goals, they need to satisfy their most basic needs.
Maslow proposed that after one’s basic physical, psychological and self-esteem needs are met, a person strives for self-actualization, fulfilling our potential, and self-transcendence, where we need to find identity beyond our self (Myers 565). Maslow began trying to describe self-actualization by studying inventive and healthy people who were remembered for their rich and productive lives. He studied the characteristics of important historical figures like Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson. After carefully analyzing these people Maslow concluded that they all shared characteristics that made each of their interests ‘problem-centered’ rather than ‘self-centered’ (Myers 565). Maslow used the personality traits of these important people to aid in defining what self-actualization actually is.
Many theorists have expressed an opinion on how a desirable condition can be achieved, the two main schools of thought base themselves on either the Humanistic or the Behaviourist theory. Two major theorists associated with the humanistic view are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. These theorists, whom base their views on this approach, emphasise on the self choosing their own behaviour to achieve, and this behaviour is connected to their inner feelings and personal image and is not pre-determined. These theorists believe that all individuals have an instinctive drive to achieve their maximum potential. Abraham Maslow developed a model known as The Hierarchy of Needs (1) as a theory for understanding human motivation and personal development.
They also believe that a person's subjective view of the world is more important than objective reality. The humanistic perspective on personality deals exclusively with human behavior. Humanistic psychologists believe that human nature includes a natural drive towards personal growth, that we as humans have the ability to choose what they do regardless of environment, and that humans are pretty much conscious beings that are not controlled by unconscious needs and conflicts. Two major theorists associated with this theory of personal development that impacted humanism are Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. Humanism places an emphasis on the assumption that all humans are inherently good in nature and possess free will.
Whether you call it enthusiasm, passion, or dedication, what all people want is to be motivated. Organizations want hard working motivated people working for them. A motivated team will most likely respond positively to change and support organizational culture. In most cases, small gestures have a bigger impact on people than big ones. Achievement and recognition of achievement have been proved time and time again by Psychologists and social scientists, who say that these are the most powerful motivators.
We each had our own reasons why the humanistic theory was important to us. The first theory that we will discuss is the humanistic theory. As defined by Robert S. Feldman, “the humanistic theory is the conscious, self motivated ability to change and improve.” (Feldman, 2009, p.401) Humanistic theorists believe that along with peoples unique creative impulses make up the core of human personality (Feldman, 2009, p.401). For Daniel, this theory meant that we have a basic need and desire as humans, to try and achieve, and to be a good person. For Heather, it meant that the humanistic theory is not inherited but done by interaction.
The first core belief is the concept of the autonomous, responsible and rational adult. Mezirow believed that the goal of transformational learning is “to gain the crucial sense of agency over ourselves and our lives" that is often associated with individuals reflecting on a dysfunctional operational system or company policy, and taking action to change it. A second core belief relates to knowledge creation that is constructivist. Human beings are active participants in the process of making meaning and are the creators of knowledge and hence engage in critical reflection. The pre-conditions that satiate the concept are full information, the ability to objectively evaluate arguments and freedom from self-deception or coercion.
Remember that in principle people want to be valued and considered important. If we even have to criticize or scold someone, do it with full respect for the dignity of that person. If we establish communication with the taste and mutual respect and honor, then we can build partnerships that generate synergies that will increase the effectiveness of our performance both as individuals and as a team overall. Even according to communications professor Dale Carnegie in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People, the biggest secret is one of the basic principles in dealing with people is to give honest and sincere appreciation. A very famous psychologist William James also said that "the deepest principle in human nature is the need to be appreciated."
The basic fact of human nature is that every person will have certain good or outstanding qualities and some drawbacks. Interdependency is to take advantage of every individual’s good qualities to multiply the effect of an individual by using collective wisdom and efforts. To bring out maximum output from the available resources it is must that the leader works on the principal of interdependency .As Stephan Covey quotes in this book ‘It is more noble to give yourself completely to one individual than to labour diligently for the salvation of masses’. A leader must be ready to forego his ego of ‘I know everything and my instructions to be followed’. We hold this truth as self-evident: our lives, work, and well-being are interdependent.