This paper focuses on discussing the aspect of intrinsic motivation. In this regard, it examines and evaluates different intrinsic motivation factors namely healthy relationships, competence, meaningful purpose, progress, and choice. Besides, the paper presents a discussion regarding the need for leaders in the nursing profession to have a better understanding of the profession with the objective of engaging members of their staff appropriately. In that respect, more emphasis is placed on understanding the fulfillment experienced by a nurse at the workplace owing to the presence of a meaningful purpose and progress as well as building healthy relationships with members of the staff. Additionally, the discussion touches on the manner in which a lack of a meaningful purpose, lack of competence, and lack of progress can lead to an unfulfilled nurse leader. The paper then discusses how a nurse would implement organizational or departmental changes in creating an environment that engages staff through one or more intrinsic motivators.
Intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation is used in describing the kind of behavior that is usually driven and sustained through internally existing rewards. In this regard, the motivation to display a given behavior emanates from within a person owing to the idea of natural satisfaction ( Harackiewicz & Sansone, 2013).
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Intrinsic motivation factors
Healthy Relationships
As one of the factors influencing intrinsic forms of motivation, healthy relationships are critical in ensuring that the lives of individuals are considerably enriched with qualities such as honesty trust and mutual respect. These kinds of relationships are also crucial in providing a reliable support system for nurses as they discharge their duties and responsibilities which are often influenced by the concept of intrinsic motivation ( Gilson, 2015). The absence of healthy relationships among nurses and their colleagues or leadership often leads to instances of suspicion and discomfort thus making it challenging for them to experience intrinsic motivation while performing their roles and responsibilities.
Meaningful Purpose
Meaningful purpose plays a vital role in influencing individuals to be motivated from the inside. Meaningful purpose influences intrinsic motivation in the sense that it helps an individual to be inspired from the inside through gaining a sense of objective and direction in his or her life. A nurse would be internally motivated to perform her duties diligently upon having a deeper and broader understanding of his or her meaningful purpose in his or her profession as a healthcare worker ( Bodur & İnfal, 2015). Being directionless and aimless is awful since it largely hinders one from exercising his or her roles and responsibilities based on intrinsic motivation.
Competence
According to Harackiewicz and Sansone (2013), competence may be perceived as a concept that represents the level to which an individual believes in the diligent performance of an activity or a responsibility. Competence is often presumed to have considerable influence on intrinsic motivation owing to the nature of feedback received in the course of performing a task or after its completion. To that extent, performance feedback may be hypothesized in a manner that influences the aspect of competence thereby influencing the level of intrinsic motivation for a practicing nurse. Previous studies have indicated that perceived competence can play a crucial role in the process of acquiring intrinsic motivation.
Choice
The analysis by Goldberg and Eastwood (2016) indicates that choice can be used in the promotion of intrinsic motivation among nurses working in a healthcare setup. Besides, choice plays a critical role in empowering individuals to make decisions and selections that are personally influenced and derived from the inside thus agreeing with their interests and preferences. Researchers have established that choice usually acts as a powerful intrinsic motivator for one to operate or function in a particular way. For instance, a nurse working in a healthcare facility may be intrinsically motivated to perform his or responsibilities in a certain way based on the choices that he or she managed to make.
Progress
Progress is used in describing development that follows a more improved or advanced state. To that extent, progress made by an individual often plays a vital role in positively contributing to the development and sustainability of intrinsic motivation. Bodur and İnfal (2015) explain that the state of healthcare in the United States is characterized by nurses who tend to respond positively and experience self-motivation whenever they are aware that they are progressing in the right direction towards the achievement of the goals and objectives.
Need for the Nurse Leader to Understand their Motivations
It is crucial for a nurse in a position of leadership to enhance engagement with his or her staff members by having a broader and deeper understanding of his or her motivations. Most healthcare facilities in the United States tend to place more emphasis on the need to have active engagements between the leadership and members of staff as a way of promoting the delivery of healthcare services more efficiently. Gilson (2015) maintains that appropriate management of nurses and their respective roles and responsibilities calls for their leaders to have a better understanding of the entire concept of intrinsic motivation and its areas of application.
Focus on Being Fulfilled in the Workplace
Having a meaningful purpose is one of the factors that influence the aspect of fulfillment for a nurse at a workplace. Besides, a nurse becomes appropriately equipped and capable of deriving meaning and objective from work, specific roles, and responsibilities as well as through interaction with their colleagues ( Goldberg & Eastwood, 2016). To that extent, the existence of a healthy relationship among the nursing staff in a healthcare facility has a considerable influence in determining the level of fulfillment that a nurse would have while at work. Achievement of progress is essential in ensuring that nurses are motivated in the duties as healthcare providers.
Factors Leading to a Nurse Leader to be Unfulfilled
Mainly, lack of meaningful purpose makes it quite difficult for a nurse leader to be fulfilled in his or her nursing and leadership roles in one way of the other. Lack of meaningful purpose in a nurse leader implied that his or her staff members are more likely to lack direction and fail to have significant achievements. Similarly lack of competence considerable reduces the capacity of a nursing leader to undertake leadership functions effectively thus lowering motivation among the staff ( Bodur & İnfal, 2015). Lack of progress tends to demotivate a nurse leader and his or her followers thereby having adverse effects on the efficiency of their services.
Implementation of an Organization- or Department-wide Changes
The implementation of changes in a department or an organization by a nurse leader would be crucial in ensuring the creation of an environment that engages members of staff through intrinsic motivators ( Małota, 2017). In this respect, it would be necessary for other nurses and the staff working in the healthcare facility to focus on building healthy relationships with one another. Besides, it would be beneficial for the nurses to work on developing a stronger sense of meaningful purpose to assist in the devolvement and improvements of levels of competence in the nursing profession. According to Małota (2017), servant leadership is mainly driven by a philosophy that seeks to offers service to others. To that extent, a servant leader would be expected to hold the staff accountable and empower them to impact the profession by engaging in decision-making and implementation of various strategies.
Conclusion
In summing up, healthy relationships, competence, meaningful purpose, progress, and choice have a critical role to play in influencing intrinsic motivation in a nurse leader and staff members. A nurse leader is well-equipped and capable of deriving a sense of purpose from his or her roles and responsibilities as well as through interaction with the staff. Lack of meaningful purpose, lack of competence, and lack of progress reduce the capacity of a nursing leader to undertake leadership functions effectively and efficiently, therefore, lowering motivation among the staff.
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