Monthly Archives: February 2017

Today, I was faced with a familiar but difficult question at a meeting: what is your goal by the end of this year? I promptly responded with the goal of reaching 100,000 subscribers on my Youtube channel having just finished editing a video prior to this meeting. Many reacted with surprise, noting that although a difficult goal to accomplish, it would be feasible as I had already amassed a fan base of 25,000 subscribers. Analyzing the numbers now having said it, the goal almost looked impossible. How could I quadruple my fan base in just eleven months? Consequently, I asked myself: are the goals that we sometimes set not effective?

Goals are definitely what keep us motivated, they can be what enable ourselves to constantly improve ourselves. But to what extent does this actually apply? Our textbook presents goal-setting to be effective if one’s goals are specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-bound (1). By structuring goals to abide by this criteria, in theory, should one’s goals influence and motivate.

Further analyzing my own goal of increasing my subscriber count on Youtube, I saw that it fit these criteria. It had a specific number to achieve, it was easily measured by subscribers, it was absolutely attainable as evidenced by my current success, it showed obvious results, and was bounded to be achieved by the end of the year. Therefore it made sense that this goal, while ambitious, was definitely something that still motivated me.

In team-oriented settings and workplaces, these criteria also make perfect sense. If any one of these criteria would be missing in setting goals for a team, a team member may feel hopeless or aimless in their pursuits. This has been reflected in my experiences, having been part of a team with no greater goals in mind other than to continue what had been done in the past. Needless to say, this goal failed to motivate others, as it had not necessarily supported the group’s initial vision of bettering its content from the last year, violating the criteria of being results-oriented.

As such, goals should be approached with and set out with care. I believe that organizations should carefully plan out and set these powerful motivating tools in order to utilize the full potential of their workers, while individuals must take the same precautions to realize their dreams.

1. Langton, Robbins, Judge, Organizational Behaviour, 7th edition, p. 128.

From workplaces, sports teams, and groups assembled for school projects, I have worked in teams throughout my whole life. While most of these teams have worked seamlessly, striving for our common goals, there are a few that are just not pleasant to work with. At one point in time, most experience a team with a “dead weight member”; someone who did not pull their weight whether it be through irresponsibility or just not pulling their weight. However, how exactly is one supposed to deal with this situation?

Comm 292 touches on subjects such as team dynamics, and what attributes to a fluidly working team. Referring to the 5-stage model of group development, my experience points to dead weight members likely being pointed out by the “performing” stage, when team cohesiveness matters the most, when it is likely to be too late to fix the issue. Fortune Magazine with the assistance of Kerry Patterson, co-founder of training and development firm VitalSmarts explores this topic in an article, stating that “people wait until they are fed up, and then they blow
their stack” (1), reflective of my experiences in groups dealing with a similar situation.

In dealing with a member like this Patterson explains that the best thing to do is to speak with the “errant teammate in private” and instead to “be curious, find how he sees the situation”. Under my assumption, this is to happen early on in the group stage, as my experience had seen non-contributing members being identified by the storming stage of group development. Reflectively, many groups during the in-class activity pertaining to conflict management brought this up. This can be related to the “climate of trust” needed for an effective team. Our textbook mentions that this climate is achieved by “feel[ing] that the team is capable of getting the task done” (2). If the problem is identified and worked at early on, then this climate has a better chance of being a reality, leading to a possibly effective team.

The best thing to do when dealing with a dead weight member is to identify them early on, and approach them instead of a superior regarding them. Sometimes there may be other circumstances that cause them to act that way, and by doing this you are increasing your chances at an effective team.

1. Fisher, Anne. “Got a teammate who’s slacking off? Here’s what to do.” Fortune. 21 Mar. 2013. Web. 4 Feb. 2017. <Fisher, Anne. “Got a teammate who’s slacking off? Here’s what to do.” Fortune. 21 Mar. 2013. Web. 4 Feb. 2017.>
2. Langton, Robbins, Judge, Organizational Behaviour, 7th edition, p. 128.

Watching the North American League of Legends Championship Series (NALCS) on a Saturday afternoon, I was captivated by the shout casters’ conversation concerning personal motivation and the longevity of professional esports careers. It was an interesting dispute, as they seemed to attribute motivation to just only affect players’ willingness to continue a career, not their achievements.

Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok at the 2016 League of Legends World Championships

Out of the six League of Legends World Championships, South Korea’s SK Telecom (abbreviated as SKT) has taken the first place trophy in rather dominating fashion for three of them. However, what may be most surprising is that for each of their championship wins, the starting roster has shuffled many times. Despite this, there always remains a constant, that being the presence of what many consider the greatest League of Legends player of all time, Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok.

Knowing these facts, the aforementioned conversation sparked my interest in the aspects of motivation that we have studied. This is due to Faker on several occasions touting his personal motivation as an agent for his overwhelming success. Having noted this, the aforementioned conversation got myself thinking: which type of motivator introduced in Comm 292 would be most effective in changing performance?

Referring to an interview by Faker following a semi-final victory during the 2015 World Championships, he states that “the prize money is … definitely a source of motivation, but really what I want is to win another World Championship title” (1). This shows that while the grand prize of $1 million USD remains an incredibly great extrinsic motivator for the world champion, that through intrinsic factors does he strive to perform at his best. As such, is it that intrinsic motivators are more effective in increasing performance?

While the textbook does not agree that in all cases intrinsic motivators keep people more driven and performance-orientated, it does state that “intrinsic and extrinsic motivation mat reflect the situation … rather than individual personalities” (2). In the case of Faker being on track to win his second world championship, this description of the motivators makes absolute sense. By this time, Faker had already acquired an amount of money unfathomable to almost all 19 year olds, his team winning the million dollar prize in 2013. Therefore in this situation, money, being an extrinsic factor, was clearly not as appealing as creating a legacy, and establishing what would become the most dominant organization in League of Legends History.

From this connection, it was clear to me that the effectiveness of motivators are highly dependent on the situation, and should be implemented as per case basis. Furthermore, these motivators can be highly effective, encouraging some to become the best in their field.

1. “Why Faker is the world’s best League of Legends player – an interview with “god”.” PCGamesN. N.p., 26 Oct. 2015. Web. 02 Feb. 2017. <https://www.pcgamesn.com/league-of-legends/why-faker-is-the-worlds-best-league-of-legends-player-an-interview-with-god>.
2. Langton, Robbins, Judge, Organizational Behaviour, 7th edition, p. 128.