Motivational MakeUp of Enterprising Women

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Motivational Make-Up of Enterprising Women

• Conceptual Links to self-Theories of Intelligence
• Sheila Pen
• University of Bath

2
Background Methods

• Women into Enterprise ( WiE, ESF programme in
  Swindon, UK)
• Women in business, business networking events
• In-depth interviews
• Informal chats and conversations at networking
  events
• Email correspondence
• One-to-one coaching

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Traditional Understandings of Motivation
McClelland (1985), Mayo (1927-32), Maslow (1954)
Taylor (1911), Drucker (1954). Maslow (1959)
Herzberg (1959), McGregor (1960)
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Adapted Diagram Abraham Maslows (1954)
Hierarchy of Needs
Clayton Alderfers (1972) ERG Theory

• Self-determination Theory of Motivation (Deci
  Ryan, 1985)
• Highlights the importance of intrinsic motivation
  in affecting behaviour.
• Focus is on growth/development
• Active encouragement from the environment
• Encouragement
• Feedback
• Autonomy
• Relatedness

Growth
Self- Esteem Needs
Relatedness
Existence
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Types of Motivation
Ken Shah Prof. Param J. Shah
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Two Theories of Intelligence (Dweck, 2000)

• Entity Theorist (Fixed Mindset of Intelligence)

• Incremental Theorist (Growth Mindset of
  Intelligence)

• Views traits of intelligence as fixed entity, and
  easily judged from behaviour and performance.
• Views mistakes as a threat to exposure to real
  intelligence.
• Students would enjoy opportunities to look smart
  in areas they are already comfortable with, they
  require a diet of easy success to maintain
  their perception of intelligence. Challenges are
  therefore a threat to self-esteem.
• Tendency to lead validation seeking individuals
  (for competence, likeability, and self-worth) ?
  leads to having contingent self-worth.

• Intelligence is malleable and can be cultivated
  through learning/development.
• views mistakes as part of the growth process.
• Even students with low confidence in their
  intelligence will enjoy taking on challenges and
  difficult tasks.
• What makes them feel smart is engaging,
  exerting effort to master something, stretching
  their skills and applying knowledge.
• Tendency to lead to Growth seeking individuals.

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Defining Intelligence
_ Effort _ Ability Equation

• Something innate. One can go to school to be
  educated (academically), but one doesnt have to
  go to school to be smart!
• In born ability to learn and evaluate complex
  ideas. I dont believe it can be learned from
  books.
• The ability to survive with the least effort
  while still reaping enormous gain.

• Someone who knows how to work hard and sets out
  to accomplish a certain task.
• The capacity to understand something and think
  about it, not just mimicking the facts.
  Intelligence should be about the effort that goes
  into opening onself to the world and new things.
• How much effort one puts into something and your
  willingness to learn and do all you can to
  understand it.

• Entity Theorists

• Incremental Theorists

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How the role of Self-theories of Intelligence
Impacts Motivation

• Ability to learn/develop
• Ability to overcome challenges
• Degree of risk aversion/ experimentation
• Self-perception, self esteem link vs. confidence
• Motivation

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Enterprising Women

• On holding back (Risk perception)
• On making decisions (Assertions and choices)
• On having focus and sustaining motivation
  (sustaining self-belief and ability having a
  constructive one!)

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Successful thoughts of Enterprising Women

• Their awareness of their intelligence and
  competence as ongoing work-in-development
  independent of the outcome of situations.
• Does not question self-worth or self ability,
  when self-doubt arises instead questions the
  doubt to resolve it.
• Is outward focussed and inward drawing I know of
  this opportunity and wonder how I might be able
  to get closer to it.

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A Different View of Self-esteem

• Entity Theory of intelligence

• Incremental Theory of intelligence

• Self-esteem can be an internal quantity
  discernable from behaviour and performance,
  easily fed by achieving successes.
• Praise is directed to states of intelligence

• Self-esteem with regard to intelligence is
  derived from experiencing yourself fully engaged
  in doing something that stretches your abilities
  in an area you value.
• Praise regarding effort and application applied
  focussing on the experience reinforces this
  theory.

Much of our praises and messages in speech for
people tend to relate to their qualities as fixed.
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Sustainable Motivation

• There is a regenerating quality to having an
  incremental outlook on intelligence that is more
  suited for an entrepreneurial pursuit.
• This can vastly overcome any dips in time or
  situation-based specific influences on an
  individuals level of self-esteem or confidence
  that is usually attributed to influencing
  motivation.

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Link to Enterprising Spirit

• Can do? Attitude of enterprise
• Handling high stress, uncertainty, social
  stretch, personal attachments and challenges
• Overcoming the motivational barriers of
  enterprise

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Raising New Questions

• The need to re-envisage our understanding and
  conceptualisation of motivation and the intrinsic
  elements that feeds it.
• If we are to focus on intrinsic motivation we
  need a greater understanding to our self theories
  which under ride our abilities to perform and
  achieve and therefore, influences our motivation.
• To question the impacts of our messages,
  incentives and support orientation

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Conclusion

• Under this new link to motivation, achievement is
  motivated by the desire to experience competence
  and avoid experiencing incompetence according to
  a persons theory of their own intelligence.
• Some of our earlier conditioning and
  environmental set-up in terms of (support
  structures) work may be working to reinforce an
  entity outlook of our intelligence and
  competence.
• More sustainable than having confidence is having
  an incremental outlook which will motivate a
  person to pursue growth.