Organizational Spirituality: Taking the Corporate High Road

Module 2:
Motivation & Optimal Channeling
of Consciousness

Copyright © TransTalent
 Introduction

In a down economy, when the excessive pecuniary rewards seen in the recent past are
either less feasible or simply unacceptable (depending on the context), an
understanding of intrinsic motivation might be helpful to managers and human
resources experts trying to craft a workplace structure conducive to enabling
employees to find meaning in their work beyond monetary rewards.

In Module 1 we said in order for an organization to create a ‘higher organizational

culture,’ they need to promote a framework of values that fosters the ability of
individuals to optimally channel their conscious efforts. To do that involves
addressing issues related to intrinsic motivation.

This module presents material from three of of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s books on Flow
with the work of Robert Emmons on gratitude. These authors do not label
themselves as organizational spirituality writers, yet their work is consistent with the
major themes and ideas one finds in the literature.
 Objectives

By the end of this module you should be able to

• Differentiate between extrinsic and intrinsic rewards
• Be able to define:
– Conscious effort
– Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow
– Organizational justice
• Describe the characteristics that enhance flow in the workplace
• Discuss the role of gratitude in management
• Explain how heartfelt gratitude can actually be a physical phenomenon
 Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivators

Extrinsic motivators:
Rewards that come from outside the worker, such as pay and benefits

Intrinsic motivators:
Rewards that come from within the worker such as finding meaning/meaningfulness
and challenge.

(Ivancevich et. al., 2008, p. 141.)

 Conscious Effort

(Review from Module 1)

Conscious effort reflects ….

• the degree to which one can select and direct what is in his/her current field of
awareness;

• the degree to which one is free from blockages, distractions and competing interests
which prevent desired focus.
 Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow

In the following beautifully written quote, Czikszentmihalyi describes a state, Flow, in

which conscious effort is optimally channeled. He calls it the ‘condition of optimal
experience,’ and indicates that it is characterized by:

“…a sense that one’s skills are adequate to cope with the challenges at hand, in a goal-
directed, rule-bound action system that provides clear clues as to how well one is
performing. Concentration is so intense that there is no attention left over to think
about anything irrelevant, or to worry about problems. Self-consciousness
disappears, and the sense of time becomes distorted. An activity that produces such
experiences is so gratifying that people are willing to do it for its own sake, with little
concern for what they will get out of it, even when it is difficult or dangerous.”
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1990, p. 71.)
 Characteristics of ‘flow’ activities in the workplace
Although it would be unrealistic to aim for being in a state of flow all the time, it is
instructive to look at characteristics of the workplace that Czikszentmihalyi (1990)
suggests might be helpful. They involve employees having:

• Clear goals/objectives
• Optimal job complexity
• Sense of empowerment/control
• Environment conducive to focus (without distractions)
• Feedback
 Goal Focused

Employees need to know:

– why their job exists
– why it is meaningful to the organization
– how it fits in with the organization’s mission
– the value of the different components of their job

It’s easier for employees to find a way to be intrinsically motivated when the work is
meaningful. (Csikszentmihalyi, 2003, p. 101)
 Optimal Complexity

• The job should make optimal use of the employees current capacity
– As an example, an employee might be very brilliant and hardworking, and it might be
overextending an employee’s capacity to assign work requiring intense overtime if the
employee has a temporary distraction/situation , such as serious personal illness, a new
baby, dying parent, etc. (Csikszentmihalyi, 2003, p. 131-132).

• The workload should be neither too boring nor too stressful

– Csikszentmihalyi (1990, 2002) indicates that some individuals are able to make seemingly
mundane tasks engaging. This suggests that in the pursuit of optimal complexity, it is not
just an employer’s responsibility to provide an ‘entertaining’ job, but that it is a partnership
between employer & employee.
 Sense of Empowerment/Control

This has to do with the extent to which employees , “feel that they have a choice over
how to perform their job, and they are trusted to come up with the best approach that
a given situation requires.” (Csikszentmihalyi, p. 136.)

Empowerment means absence of micromanagement. Micromanagement kills motivation

and does not contribute to flow.
 Ability to Concentrate/Focus

There are many obvious issues that can impair concentration/ability to focus. One that is
often misunderstood is multitasking.

• Csikszentmihalyi (2003, p. 77) suggests that based on cognitive research,

multitasking is NOT actually feasible.

• Dave Crenshaw (2008) goes so far as to say it’s damaging to productivity.

• According to the Stanford Report, multitaskers who believe they are getting more
accomplished (than through sequential tasking) are deluding themselves. (Gorlick,
2009)

• “Talking on a cell phone while driving is as risky as driving with a .08 blood alcohol
level, generally the standard for drunken driving.” (Richtel, 2009)
 Feedback

Feedback involves communication between employees and managers on such issues

as expectations/standards and the extent to which they are met. (Csikszentmihalyi,
2003).

One component of feedback that may often be overlooked is gratitude.

– Gratitude is one of those positive qualities of the human spirit that was introduced
in Module 1.
 Gratitude

Three Components of Gratitude outlined by Emmons (2007, p. 5) are:

• Recognition
• Acknowledgement
• Appreciation (communicating the recognition & acknowledgement)

Gratitude Requires
• Contemplation
• Reflection, and
• (in some cases) Practice

In happiness research, it has been found that certain intentional activities have been found to affect
happiness. Gratitude is one of those activities, and it CAN actually be cultivated.

(Emmons, 2007)
 Gratitude Engages…
…the heart ♥ & the mind (Emmons, 2007, p. 6-7).

Citing HeartMath research…

• On heartfelt gratefulness— The heart and the brain both have rhythms that can be
measured. That of the heart is stronger. It was found that the heart generates an
electromagnetic field that can influence (entrain) another person’s brain rhythms,
which suggests that expressions of heartfelt gratitude may be actually experienced on
a physical level. (Emmons, 2007, p. 88.)
 Workplace Applications of Gratitude

• Gratitude can be a part of a manger’s feedback to employees.

• Creating conditions that facilitate workplace motivation is a partnership between the
organization and the employee. Gratitude can be a part of that partnership in two
capacities:
– Managers can express gratitude to employees in the feedback process
– Employees who cultivate gratitude may find that the habit enhances their
interpersonal relationships as well as their general pleasure in being at work.
 Gratitude Can Help…

• Coping with stress

• Finding the path of resilience
• Fostering recovery
• Fostering feelings of connectedness
– In module 1 is was suggested that a framework of values that promotes a work community
with a sense of interconnectedness has the potential to generate a ‘higher organizational
culture.’
• Pursuing happiness

(Emmons, 2007).
 Gratitude + Flow

= Glow

Who wouldn’t look forward to a GLOWING workplace every day?!

 Organizational Justice

…is the degree to which employees perceive the workplace as fair. This includes
rewards, promotions, bonuses, and the granting of exceptions to rules.

Having an extrinsic reward system that is perceived as unfair or unjust can negatively
affect morale/motivation. It should be noted that in crafting an environment that
facilitates intrinsic motivation, the fairness of the extrinsic reward system should not
be forgotten.
 Module 2 Summary

• The key to intrinsic motivation is to facilitate an environment enables employees to

direct their psychic energy.
• Crafting this environment is a partnership between employees & employers
• Csikszentmihalyi’s research on flow identifies characteristics that are conducive to
optimal engagement. These characteristics include having
– focused goals,
– optimal complexity (for the particular employee),
– empowerment of the employee,
– an environment conducive to concentration, and the provision of feedback.
• Gratitude is one form of feedback that may be overlooked.
• Research suggests heartfelt gratitude may be a real physical phenomena with
positive effects.
• In crafting an environment conducive to intrinsic motivation, managers should not
forget to ensure that extrinsic rewards reflect a sense of organizational justice.
 Module 2 Discussion Question
People are paid to do their work. Suppose a manager is being pressured to express
gratitude to his employees, but he does not want to. To what extent is this
pressure a violation of his spiritual autonomy?
 References

Crenshaw, D. (2008). The Myth of Multitasking. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Flow. New York: Harper Collins.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2003). Good Business. New York: Penguin Group.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper & Row.
Emmons, R. (2007). Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier. New York: Houghton
Mifflin Company.
Gorlick, A. (2009, August 24). Media multitaskers pay mental price, Stanford study shows. Stanford Report.
Institute of HeartMath(2009). www.Heartmath.org
Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson. (2008). Organizational Behavior & Management. New York: McGraw Hill Irwin.

Richtel, M. (2009, August 28). Utah gets tough with texting drivers. The New York Times. Retrieved September 25,
2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/technology/29distracted.html