By Maya Baltazar Herrera

Goal motivation and satisfaction

The theory of self-concordance, or autonomous goal-setting, can trace its roots to early studies on self-determination. Self-determination theory segments work value orientation into intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Intrinsic work value orientation means that one pursues his or her profession for self-expression and self-actualization. On the other hand, an extrinsic work value orientation means that one works for security, material acquisition and financial success. Much value is placed on external affirmation, prestige, status, high income, all of which supposedly help a person garner greater admiration and a sense of self-worth.

Employees that held intrinsic work value orientation reported more positive job outcomes in terms of job satisfaction, work education and job vitality. These had spillover effects on life satisfaction. Individuals with an extrinsic work value orientation experienced greater conflict between their family and work life (Vansteenkiste, Neyrinck, et al., 2007). Extrinsically motivated individuals also showed greater signs of unhappiness—tiredness and depleted feelings after work, emptiness, and were more likely to leave the company. The study also found that regardless of income levels, intrinsically motivated individuals reported higher job and life satisfaction. These findings are in line with self-determination theory’s prediction that the pursuit of money and material success distracts individuals from fulfilling their psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness and competence, which are supposedly better fulfilled by an intrinsic work value orientation.

Research shows that self-concordance is positively related to well-being. In fact, attaining self-concordant goals leads to the largest degree of enhanced well-being (Sheldon & Elliott, 1999). Because goals are integral to both internal and external evaluations in that they provide standards of assessment, it would be natural to believe that achieving goals, autonomous or otherwise, yields positive emotions such as worthiness or a sense of accomplishment. People who achieve their goals feel good about exercising their “competencies to move toward desired outcomes” because of the validation that they indeed possess these necessary competencies. However, research also notes that these positive emotions do not arise all the time or contribute to the betterment of an individual, because these goals can be irrelevant to that person’s needs. This happens when a person’s goals are not self-concordant, i.e., they are not aligned with the individual’s interests or values (Sheldon & Eliott, 1999). People that set self-concordant goals are more likely to pursue them and make successful progress with them, precisely because of the fact that these activities matter to them (Koestner, Lekes, Powers & Chicoine, 2002).

Furthermore, studies suggest that people feel happier when they feel that they are making significant efforts toward the achievement of their goals (Koestner, Lekes, Powers, & Chicoine, 2002). If individuals choose goals that are important to them and work toward attaining them, they can be thrust into a process of continual self-improvement, higher morale and better ability to cope with low life points. Research supports this idea, and suggests that a virtuous cycle of self-concordance and life satisfaction (an analog of well-being) can be achieved (Sheldon & Houser-Marko, 2001). There is also research that shows that self-concordant goal pursuit is positively associated with goal attainment especially when combined with implementation intentions (Koestner, Lekes, Powers & Chicoine, 2002).

Research also shows that self-concordant goal pursuit leads to improved job and life satisfaction (Judge et al., 2005; Vansteenkiste et al., 2007) and that positive self-evaluation, the importance of which was discussed earlier, is positively correlated with self-concordant goal pursuit (Judge, Bono, et al., 2005).

Moreover, it is important to note that goal constructs (broad but clearly defined internalized frameworks of ideas regarding what a person’s goals are or ought to be) are particularly advantageous because they are stable enough to be sustained over a period of time, but flexible enough that they can be easily adapted to changes in context or circumstance. (Sheldon & Houser-Marko, 2001). This is especially significant as these could then become a useful tool both for self-management as well as supervision. By contrast, most of the big five personality traits, such as extraversion, tend to become well established early in life and remain essentially stable and resistant to change over the rest of the individual’s lifetime.

In fact, instruments have been developed to take advantage of the usefulness of goal constructs. One such instrument is the Personality Audit instrument developed by Kets de Vries et al. The instrument allows individuals to assess themselves based on seven personality dimensions that are crucial in human motivation and behavior. The results of the PA shed light on “what makes them tick, and of how others perceive what drives them”—in other words, their goal constructs. Thus, the PA would be useful for executive coaching sessions, individually or by group. The feedback gained from this assessment tool can be used in forwarding leadership and development goals for individuals and organizations (2006). (continued next week)

Readers can e-mail Maya at integrations_manila@yahoo.com. Or visit her site at http://www.mayaherrera.com.