Consider your own experiences as an employee, and think of a time when you were highly motivated to perform well (e.g., a task, major project, or stage of career advancement). What factors do you see as contributing to this motivation? It is likely that an engaging task, a great boss or coworkers, or the potential for reward or advancement helped the experience you imagined stand out as particularly motivating.

Now, consider a time when you felt particularly demotivated. Did you feel your efforts were futile or that they would not be adequately recognized? Were the expectations placed on you unreasonable or unsupported by management?

How do you view the OD consultant’s role in improving employee motivation within an organization? As an OD consultant, you will likely bring change to an organization, and you should consider how these changes may potentially affect the motivation and performance of the employees.

To prepare:

• Review this week’s Learning Resources and consider the effect that motivation has on performance.
• Consider what the OD consultant’s role is in improving employee motivation.

By Day 3

Reflect on and post a response to the following questions: 

• Describe how your own levels of motivation affect your performance on a task or on your job/career.
• Identify some ways that you can assess your own levels of motivation. 
• Identify what motivates you and what demotivates you.
• Explain how this self-knowledge applies to your role as an OD consultant.
• Identify the OD consultant’s role in improving employee motivation.