We all want good performance

It is important to distinguish between a performance climate and what leads to good performance.

In a performance climate, success is based on comparison with others. It is all about being the best and about winning. The most talented will be rewarded and recognised, and will repeatedly be held up as good examples (Nerstad, 2012). Such a focus can be engaging at first, but in the long run has been shown to create more losers than winners. Constant pressure to be the best and deliver will, over time, create rivalry where employees compete with each other. To gain individual advantages, employees hide their competence from one another, which hampers learning across the organisation. Typical of such a climate is that the best and most competent are motivated, while employees with less competence experience the opposite.

According to Covington and Omelich (1979), the perception of one's own abilities and skills is one of the most important motivational factors for performance. A person who never experiences being good at something will not be able to perform at their best either. Instead of creating winners and losers, the focus should be on creating only “winners”.  

• Read: Life stages and motivation – don't lump everyone together!

In a mastery climate, success is based on one's own effort, self-development, learning and mastery of tasks.

Employees are evaluated on their own progress, not against others. Here, the focus is on bringing out the best in each other, which in turn can increase the joy of the activity, where the activity itself is rewarding. We all have different abilities and competence, and goals and performance requirements must be adapted accordingly.  

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Leadership behaviour can account for up to 70% of the influence on the climate in an organisation. How you as a manager set goals, meet challenges and foster collaboration therefore has a major impact on employees' motivation. We are all inclined to be performance-oriented and/or mastery-oriented, and it is the manager who is the main carrier of the climate that is fostered.  

Employees are motivated by managers who care about each individual's development, effort and mastery, not by those who encourage internal competition and rivalry.

How can you as a manager help create a mastery-oriented climate?

Invite employees to take part in decisions, especially decisions that are important to each person's role or work situation. It is important to recognise employees' contributions and give concrete feedback. A characteristic of a mastery climate is that collaboration is encouraged because it is believed to contribute to greater learning and development for each individual. Focus on promoting intrinsic motivation by emphasising the development of competence, autonomy and belonging.  

Read: What is good feedback?

Have you ever had a manager who went the extra mile to help you? Chances are you are loyal to that person. This behaviour is also contagious and will spread to the rest of the organisation and between employees. If a manager demonstrates such compassion towards employees, and a desire for everyone to succeed in their roles, employees will feel a high degree of loyalty. It is also important to give employees enough time to develop their potential. Set aside time to develop the talent in each individual employee.  

• Read: Is everyone seen and recognised in the workplace?

A mastery climate is positively related to employees' trust in their immediate manager and in their employer. Trust that the manager wishes you well and has your best interests at heart will increase the employee's engagement and performance. Instead of fearing negative consequences, employees will feel it is safe to raise issues or ideas. If it is safe to raise problems, it is also easier to solve them. Research on psychological safety, where leaders are inclusive, humble and encourage people to ask for help, shows that it leads to better learning and performance of tasks. It promotes creativity, which is extremely important for innovation and progress, and for keeping the organisation from becoming outdated. Perseverance in the face of setbacks or failure will also be greater, and it will feel safer to take on new challenges.

• Read: Make room for self-developed competence!

When you know that the manager wants to operate according to these values, it sets the tone for the whole organisation. It becomes a “give and take” culture, which creates a greater sense of belonging, engagement and unity. Relationships with each other will strengthen knowledge sharing and creativity, and act as a buffer against negative experiences such as stress. The nice side effect of the mastery-oriented leadership style is greater job satisfaction and better performance.

Author: Malin Elisabet Lilletvedt, Organisational Adviser at Motivati.