With the 2023 Tax Season fast approaching you need to make sure your team is ready to handle everything that gets thrown at them. In this article we discuss how best to motivate a diverse group of people. What might drive one team member to achieve may not work for someone else. When motivating your team you need to keep in mind the personalities and needs of each individual tax professional that makes up your tax office.
McClelland’s Human Motivation Theory
In his 1961 book “The Achieving Society,” David McClelland presents his theory on human motivation. This theory helps to identify what motivates people as well as effectively give praise and deliver feedback for their work. In his book, McClelland identifies three main needs that motivate people; a need to achieve, a need for affiliation, a need for power. These motivators are learned and can help to define the characteristics of those who fall into each category.
Achievement:
Those who have a need for achievement usually possess the following characteristics:
- Has a strong need/ desire to set and accomplish goals
- Is willing to take risks to accomplish their goals
- Enjoys regular feedback on their work and progress
- Often like to work on their own
Affiliation:
Those who have a need for affiliation usually possess the following characteristics:
- Wants to be part of a group
- Desires the approval of the group and will often go with the whatever the consensus is
- Collaboration over competition
- Avoids high risks
Power:
Those who have a need for power usually possess the the following characteristics:
- Tries to control/ influence others
- Desires winning
- Enjoys dominating others
- Craves recognition for accomplishments
Application of McClelland’s Theory
Identify Motivators:
The first step to applying the motivation theory is to identify which motivator applies to yourself and your team members. You can do this by assessing them yourself based on observations of them in the tax office. Have they been known to take charge in a group setting? They likely fall into the “power” category. Maybe if they consistently ask for feedback or performance reviews, they would then fall into the achievement category. The other method is to have your team self-assess. Explain to them the three categories and their corresponding characteristics and have them select the one which best fits their personality.
Structure Around the Motivators:
Now that you’ve identified the motivator for each team member of your tax office it’s time to apply your knowledge. You should attempt to structure your leadership style in a way that maximizes the productivity and motivation of each team member in your tax office.
Achievement:
For those motivated by achievement it’s important to challenge them. By giving them harder but not impossible assignments you can maximize their potential and their output. It is also important to provide them with feedback for the work they do, fairly highlighting areas they excelled in and areas they could improve on.
Affiliation:
Your tax professionals motivated by affiliation will thrive in a team setting. They are also often uncomfortable with risky projects and would be satisfied doing the more mundane but less risky tasks in the tax office.
Power:
In the instance you have members of your team motivated by power it’s important for you to understand their career goals and try to help them further those goals. Those motivated by power thrive in leadership positions or with healthy competition in the workplace.
Bringing it all together:
Keeping your team productive and motivated during the busy tax season is a lot of work. You are already busy preparing the filing taxes that managing your team and office seems impossible, that doesn’t have to be the case. With SFPWorks your tax business can hit the ground running this tax season. With our premium professional tax software at your fingertips your tax business will have the tools you need to be more productive and motivated than ever! Find out more when you click here.
