5.1.1 The Motivational Needs of Professionals

In 1943, Abraham Maslow introduced the concept of a range of humans needs, which act as motivations for action (Maslow 1943). This concept has been regularly presented as a hierarchy, which was not Maslow’s original intention (Table 5.1). Nevertheless, fulfilment of needs is a significant motivator.

Motivations can be intrinsic (from within) or extrinsic (from external forces) (Ryan and Deci 2000). Intrinsic motivations include the satisfaction that comes from doing the task itself and is linked to self‐leadership (Chapter 4). Extrinsic motivations may range from forced compliance to anticipated reward, economic or other (Ryan and Deci 2000).

People who are attracted to (and/or selected by) the professions come with a wide range of dispositions, tastes, needs, and personality types. The social motivators of achievement, affiliation, and power, as described by McClelland (1988), can be used to determine the drivers to work:

… there are a number of characteristics that distinguish people who are attracted to professions such as the law, medicine, public accounting, investment banking, advertising, and most types of consulting. Some of these characteristics include a high need for autonomy; a loathing of anything that feels bureaucratic; a strong desire for collegiality and inclusion, professional credibility; and a greater than average need for a sense of the big picture….The most prominent characteristic of people who are attracted to these professions is that they are significantly overrepresented by the ‘high need for achievement’ personality. (Delong et al. 2007)

The high need for achievement personality is common among veterinary professionals, particularly those that self‐select because ‘veterinary medicine is the hardest subject to get into’. This means that they are, as a group, more typically task/achievement‐driven above other attributes (Table 5.2).

5.1.2 Mindsets

Dweck (2016) suggests that we all have ‘fixed’ and ‘growth’ mindsets (Chapter 3), which can apply to different areas of our lives and there is a tendency to be more ‘fixed’ (e.g. fall back on what is known, be fearful of exploring and failing) when we are in situations of stress and difficulty. Evidence from veterinary students shows that whilst a growth mindset predominates, similar to other populations, a significant proportion have a fixed mindset, and this may be linked with higher anxiety levels (Bostock et al. 2018). A fixed mindset will reduce the ability to adapt to complexity, uncertainty, and change in the workplace, and perhaps is more likely to believe that there is only one ‘right’ way of managing a problem, as outlined in this quote from Argyris (1991):

… because many professionals are almost always successful at what they do, they rarely experience failure. And because they have rarely failed, they have never learned how to learn from failure. So whenever their single‐loop learning strategies go wrong, they become defensive, screen out criticism, and put the “blame” on anyone and everyone but themselves. In short, their ability to learn shuts down precisely at the moment they need it the most.

(Argyris 1991)

In a small study, relatively new graduates in primary care practice, could be broadly divided into two groups: the diagnosis‐focussed for whom professional satisfaction was taken from the exercise of technical skills, achieving a diagnosis and following the specified treatment plan, and the challenge‐focussed, who ‘prioritised technical competence alongside value placed on decision‐making in contextual complexity and managing a challenging environment’ (Armitage‐Chan and May 2018). The challenge‐focussed group seemed to realise identity goals and have better well‐being in that context (Armitage‐Chan and May 2018).

The tendency for behaviours to become fixed, revert, and potentially more damaging when we are in states of stress bears further examination in the next section.

5.1.3 Behavioural Drivers

Veterinary professionals will all have their unique characters, motivations, and ways of facing the world. Many of these can be seen as strengths in relation to particular challenges and circumstances. These attributes can go into overdrive and show up as ‘dark sides’, which may be expressed where there is inadequate support, leadership, motivation, or any circumstance where stress drives us into fight‐flight‐freeze mode and we are more likely to fall back on habitual behaviours that have served us well in the past. This is explored by examining behavioural drivers (Table 5.3) that have obvious links to motivational needs, such as the high need for achievement.

5.1.4 Is There a Veterinary Professional Profile?

When considering needs and drivers, it is critical to realise that these concepts are a only useful, and simple, model. An individual will have a subtle blend of needs and drivers and will behave in their own way, influenced not only by their inherent traits, development, and experience, but also their mood, recent lifestyle, the current circumstance, and environment (Figure 5.2). And even their access to, and intake of, caffeine!

Extensive examinations of personality traits, motivational needs, and behavioural drivers associated with the veterinary professions, and definitions of the veterinary (and veterinary nurse) professional identities are lacking (Armitage‐Chan et al. 2016). It is reasonable to apply some experience and understanding and assume there are similarities to other healthcare professions. Over and above the high need for achievement generally seen in all professions, the veterinary professions might be expected to be associated with ‘Be Perfect’, ‘Please Others’, and ‘Try Hard’ drivers, which might lead to perfectionism, conscientiousness, and conflict avoidance behaviours.

There appear be some differences between the veterinary and the veterinary nursing professions. When asked what were the ‘best things’ about their profession, there was a greater emphasis on ‘Challenge/stimulus’ in the veterinary profession compared to ‘Making a difference’ in the veterinary nursing profession (Figure 5.3). ‘Making a difference’ was, nevertheless, ranked highly in veterinary surgeons suggesting that, in both groups of veterinary professionals, doing good (an ‘achievement’) is a significant motivational force.

5.1.5 The Price of Failure

Given that there is a patient involved and it often is a matter of life or death, the price of failure can be high both for the patient and the ‘second victim’, the healthcare professional. This cost can be financial and/or psychological and decisions made are often irreversible. It is not surprising, therefore, that perfectionistic tendencies, a commitment to continued improvement, and a tendency to focus on the negatives, including ‘blaming’ (themselves, colleagues, seniors, clients, the system, etc.) during or following an event are common in the veterinary professions.

For veterinary professionals, the responsibility of having ‘the animal under your care’, as well concern for the emotional and financial wellbeing of the owner/client and the compromises imposed on patient care by the clients budget, is a powerful driver of behaviours and may be used to excuse unhealthy and damaging behaviours. This quote from Prerana Issar, head of People NHS England, illustrates this issue in human medicine: ‘Sometimes the primacy of the patient is causing people to sacrifice their own well‐being and the well‐being of their colleagues’ (Compassionate and inclusive leadership, The King’s Fund 2019).

Using the OCEAN inventory of personality types (openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), applied to veterinary surgeons in practice in the United Kingdom, higher than average levels of neuroticism were indicated (Dawson and Thompson 2017). This trait is associated with a tendency towards anxiety, depression, self‐doubt, and other negative feelings and was associated with increased levels of occupational stress. It might be expected to be enhanced in complex, imperfect, ‘wicked’ contexts.