DRIVE

I highly recommend the book ‘Drive’ by Daniel Pink for all leaders and change agents in the workforce today. While Pink subtitles the book ‘The surprising Truths About What Motivates Us,’ I would argue that those truths weren’t too surprising for most leaders who were keenly in tune with those they lead. And these truths about motivation and engagement most certainly lay at the roots of the Great Resignation we are seeing in our workforce right now.

Drive discusses how much of what we thought we knew about motivation is wrong. First and foremost, he cites research that has now proven that the ‘carrot and stick' approach is deeply flawed. “The science shows that the secret to high performance isn’t our biological drive or our reward-and-punishment drive, but our third drive—our deep-seated desire to direct our own lives, to extend and expand our abilities, and to live a life of purpose.” If we want our team members to be INTRINSICALLY motivated, we must meet the key psychological needs that allow us all to feel deeply engaged in our work. And, in fact, the book teaches us that when we use the carrot and/or stick approach to motivation, it actually diminishes this ‘third drive.’

?The Seven Deadly Flaws of Carrots and Sticks

1. They can extinguish intrinsic motivation
2. They can diminish performance
3. They can crush creativity
4. They can crowd out good behavior
5. They can encourage cheating, shortcuts, and unethical behavior.
6. They can become addictive
7. They can foster short-term thinking

We have three innate psychological needs—competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

Competence: “Am I able to contribute at a high level?” “Am I growing in my abilities?”

Autonomy: “Do I have the freedom and authority I need to chart my own path to success?”

Relatedness: “Am I a valued part of the team?” “Do I fit in and connect with those around me?”

Once we have a job, we feel safe, and we feel like our basic needs are met, these three psychological needs represent most of what will motivate us in our jobs. So, correspondingly, organizations that boast deeply engaging and motivating environments for their employees will have ample focus and opportunities for people in these three motivational areas:

1.????Autonomy—the desire to direct our own lives;

2.????Mastery—the urge to get better and better at something that matters; and

3.????Purpose—the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.

I also call these three motivational factors the ‘how, what and why’ of a healthy team. We should create environments where everyone on the team knows their ‘what’ (mastery) ‘how’ (autonomy) and ‘why’ (purpose). We all wanted that for ourselves, after all! Purpose, or the yearning to contribute to something bigger than ourselves, meets the psychological needs for connection, relatedness, self-esteem, and self-actualization. And any employee whose needs go unmet in any of these three areas is likely to lose their emotional bond to their job and experience diminished engagement. ?

Frankly, this shouldn’t be too surprising for leaders who have had a lot of success at bringing out the best in those they serve and support. But it’s much easier to talk about than to admit because each employee has a different intensity of need in these three areas, and different psychological demands that manifest in dramatically different ways.

Additionally, many of the client companies I work with are experiencing behaviors in their leaders that actually undermine these psychological needs, usually unknowingly. They might do so by not allowing employees to be actively involved in their own goal-setting, not offering meaningful skill-building opportunities, or segregating people into small groups so that they don’t feel connected to the broader organization or other teams.

Over and over again, I see well-intentioned leaders and organizations make important decisions impacting their workforce from a place of habit and assumptions. We assume we know enough about what motivates people (carrots and sticks) and we try to streamline work and efficiency, at the expense of valuing the unique and intricate psychological needs of our employees.

When it comes to intrinsic motivation, my challenge to all leaders is to start asking your employees tons of questions to identify their unique needs and motivators in the areas of mastery, autonomy, and purpose, and begin to take serious steps to address those needs, re-ignite their flames, and foster the true fulfillment of everyone on their teams.

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