How your Skill drives your Motivation at work!

We all face motivation challenges at work from time to time. In my professional experience, 95% of the people I have come across have complained about low motivation levels at work. The situation has not changed much in the last 10 years and I am sure that there will be no change in the next 10 years if we don’t do anything about it.

People who complain of low motivation levels at work can be broadly classified under two heads;

Category 1: Those who are working in their chosen jobs, doing what they love doing.

Category 2: Those who are working on jobs that are forced on to them (those who were unable to get the jobs they desired but eventually compromised to take up what was available).

The following argument holds good for those in Category 1. The argument also stands for Category 2, but only when the individual is willing to pursue their current career path and do well in the years ahead.

Prof. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a Hungarian psychologist and distinguished Professor of Psychology and Management at Claremont Graduate University, USA, named the concept of “Flow”. He posited that people are happiest & motivated when they are in a state of “flow”.

Being in flow means being in a state of concentration so focused that the individual is absolutely absorbed in the activity and nothing else seems to matter, not hunger, thirst, sleep, tiredness or time.

Can you think of any activity or task that gets you into the state of Flow?

Any task that you consider as interesting is measured using two primary parameters – Skill and Challenge. Defining Skill and Challenge;

• Skill is your perceived ability and 
• Challenge presented by the task is it's perceived complexity.

The following picture defines the relation between Skill and Challenge and the position of the Flow Channel.

Here, you start at the point A and your journey in the Flow Channel is as follows;

• State A to  State B - You begin with a low skill level, you try multiple challenges of similar complexities, your skill level increases and then you move to the state B.
• State B to State C – You take up challenges of a slightly higher complexity. In the process, you are able to handle challenges of higher complexities and you move to the state C.
• State C to State E – (yes, I missed the point D in the picture! Sorry.) You handle a few challenges of similar complexities, then your skill level improves again.
• And so on…

What is happening here is that you start with a skill level and face challenges of increasing complexity as you progress. Your skill level improves over time and that keeps you stay in the state of flow. Further, if you face challenges that are too easy or too complex for too long, you tend to lose interest and fall out of the state of flow – into the zone of boredom or anxiety.

Moving into the Boredom/Anxiety Zone or staying in the State of Flow can be explained using four cases;

Case 1: Complex task, Low skill – Imagine what happens when you face a series of tough problems. You try each problem, fail, feel frustrated and eventually, you give up. - you move to the stress and anxiety zone - Low Motivation.

Case 2: Simple Task, High skill – Imagine what happens when you face a series of very simple tasks. You are able to solve all the problems very quickly. After some time, you get bored and then you quit. - you move to the boredom zone- Low Motivation.

Case 3: Simple task, Low skill – When your skill level is low and you start with a simple task, you overcome it and then you are motivated to take up the next task. - you stay in Flow Channel - High Motivation.

Case 4: Complex task, High skill – when you possess high skill levels and you take up a complex task, you might struggle a bit, but you will accomplish the task eventually. When this happens, again, you are motivated to go on and try another task. - you stay in the Flow Channel - High Motivation.

To be in the state of flow, the challenge presented by your assigned task must be balanced with your skill levels. Meaning, as you make progress (increase in your skill level), if you face challenges that are balanced with your skill levels, you are motivated to go on and this gets you in Flow. 

The cycle of overcoming a challenge easily, sometimes struggling and then making progress in the process, is in fact motivating.

Our school textbooks follow this pattern. At the end of every chapter, there is an assignment. The first question is the simplest and the last question is usually the most complex. Assignments are designed such that the complexity increases as you progress in the assignment. After you solve a few simple problems, your skill level moves up a notch. The next set of questions is a bit more complex and when you successfully solve them, your skill moves up another notch. And, so on.

Another example is games because they are designed on the same principle. You start at level 0. As you continue to play, you level up. If you have played the Angry Birds game or  Candy Crush, you will be able to recognize this pattern.

Games have the ability to get you into the state of flow more successfully when compared to your school textbook or for that matter, work. Do you know why? It’s because of the Fun element! The element of Fun is missing in education and work, but it exists in ample qualities in games. When I say fun, I mean enjoyment or satisfaction. The thrill of solving a tough challenge, making progress or even earning a badge is fun. Work or education is boring because we perceive them as serious activities and serious cannot be fun!

To improve motivations at work, we need to assign tasks such that people are able to level-up over time and then we must try to add a little bit of fun element to work. At work, the fun element may be getting recognition, earning badges and receiving appreciation or even receiving frequent objective feedback. This environment is motivating, though I understand that it is difficult to achieve it.

To overcome low motivation levels at work, you must first understand and agree that the complexity of your assigned task is beyond your control, but your skill level is within your control. So, it is prudent to invest time in gaining competence in your skills. When your skill is high, you are geared to face tougher challenges whenever they may be assigned. You do not experience anxiety and hence your motivation levels are always high.

Coming to boredom, it can be handled easily because it is less stressful when compared to anxiety. You can finish up your simpler assignments quicker and then in your spare time learn something new or take up additional assignments to keep yourself motivated.  

Management gurus swear by the statement - Right Man for the Right Job. This is nothing but finding solutions for the Skill Vs Challenge Matching problem for yourself or your team. After you have a solution, introduce the fun element. Then you are very close to solving the motivation problem at work.