How Motivation Drives Performance – Defender Profile

So we’ve seen how Stars, those who are driven by public recognition, can maintain and increase their motivation levels. Now let’s take a look at the Defender.

If you have Defender as one of your top motivators, you really don’t like surprises!  You need stability, security and predictability, which means that you demand more communication than the average employee.

So what can you do if your boss doesn’t communicate enough with you?  Firstly, you can be pretty sure that their top motivator isn’t Defender – always useful to know – and make them aware of your need to know.  Even more enlightening is if your ‘thirst for information’ actually irritates your boss, because this means it might be their lowest motivator.  In that case you’ll need to be patient and try to focus on the priority areas for you, rather than everything at once.

You are, naturally, quite risk averse, so look to secure roles in secure businesses.  If you do take risks then do your research first – but of course, you already do that, don’t you……Running your own business could bring challenges.

Next Tuesday : Friend – the need for belonging and relationships.