Maslow, His Hierarchy, Leadership, and the Workplace
You’ve been crushing it.
You just stepped off 15 lbs with the Fitbit you got for your birthday, signed a 5 year contract and got the nod that the corner office was yours at the end of it (if not sooner). As you fist pump down the hall, you reflect on the awesome and cohesive team you are a part of that values you and appreciates your work. Icing on the cake: last week you were nominated for a regional award recognizing your talents. The only thing stopping the bounds of your creativity are the hours in the day.
Then… you have a new baby… with colic… and you enter deep into the dark depths of Baby-Nam with no end in sight. You become so sleep deprived that you find yourself caring about little else but fulfilling that need for sleep. Beautiful, unattainable, and all-consuming sleep.
And everything else suffers.
Why?
If you’re like me, the last time you were formally exposed to Dr. Abraham Maslow you were a freshman in college. For me, what I thought to be all that intangible fluffy stuff fell out between the brutal classes that semester and trying to figure out how to time my laundry and still catch the bus to work. That is, until I found myself in my mid-30’s trying to understand the engines of motivation as they relate to leadership. The more I learn, observe, and experience, the more I am convinced we can find the lessons of Maslow and his hierarchy of human needs coursing dutifully in the background of every leadership challenge and success from direct leadership interactions to strategic engagements.
Maslow’s theory simply says that people are motivated to achieve certain needs; and when that need is met, then they will seek to fulfill the next one. The key, in my mind, to understanding the impact of this is that without the most basic of needs being met, no one can achieve the next. And these needs were placed in a hierarchy: first physiological, then safety, social, esteem, and finally self-actualization. So, to answer the sleep question, Maslow would probably say that a deficiency in the basic physiological need of sleep (especially the longer it lasts) would make the rest of those more advanced needs impossible, yes impossible, to maintain. And all is but lost until that basic need could be satisfied and you could again fulfill successive need in the hierarchy towards self-actualization.
For those fortunate enough to have the honor leadership roles, there is a duty to serve humanity, a responsibility to recognize that decisions impact lives, and the charge to not be self serving but to build something great together. It turns out everything including policies, demeanor, predictability, attitudes, and our communication methods can help fill the hierarchy of human needs… or devastate them. That is why, it is worth considering them in the context of Maslow as we grow, nurture, and challenge our organizations.
Feeling left out because your job title doesn’t have supervisor in it? To me, this is the exciting thing to remind people: leadership is influencing lateral, up, and out as much, if not more, than it is down some hierarchical construct. Especially in this case. Knowing what to ask your organization for, what might inspire your peers, and being mindful of the dynamics in, above, and around your team is often more powerful than those with the authority to enact the change itself. Become an insurgent leader; this is just one tool in your toolbox to do it.
I would like to pretend this is rocket science or that I finally can offer the magic key to unlock humanity. But reality is, most effective leaders consider Maslow’s hierarchy already; either intentionally or because they are just in tune with the human condition. It is neither a silver bullet nor a laundry list of organizational to-do’s, but can serve as a framework to help us remain mindful of dynamics at play. With this in mind, it is important to consider the current state of your organization. For instance, holding an awards ceremony or offering bonuses recognizing great talent is awesome, but won’t mean as much if rumors of a 15% slash in positions is on the table and crumbling the team’s safety needs. Team building exercises can be great ways to shore up the belonging needs of an organization (who doesn’t love a good trust fall) but if your workforce spends its days in a dilapidated building without sunlight and a nasty bathroom… you may be wasting resources until you weigh options to address some of their physiological needs.
“It is neither a silver bullet nor a laundry list of organizational to-do’s”
Clearly, there are limits. Organizations, peers, and colleagues cannot control relationships outside of work, the safety of neighborhoods, the saltiness of the office cynic, a lack of inherent work ethic, or someone’s colic-filled jungle of Baby-Nam. However, I contend that we should all do our share, whenever possible, to be mindful of our human needs as laid out by Maslow; and to create environments that fulfill all feasible needs through deliberate policies and thoughtful leadership. Because, rather than being a place that disrupts or keeps folks from meeting those lower tiered needs, we can help create the environments where self-actualization may be possible in their lives. And that can only make our organizations better, more productive, more inspired, and provide us all with a happier and fuller quality of life.
John Schmitt is a veteran, consummate optimist, leadership and management professional serving the aviation and aerospace industry in Huntsville, Alabama.
Originally published at www.linkedin.com
