Rethinking motivation
For leaders, motivating a diverse workforce can be a formidable challenge. This is because people are motivated by different things and not all sources of motivation are equal, either in terms of power or sustainability. In my work with organizations, I rely on an intuitive yet effective framework that defines three levels of motivation:
1. Reactive motivation is externally sourced, activated by such stimuli as directives and accountabilities from higher-ups, nudges, incentives, encouragement, and even coercion.
2. Ego motivation is internally sourced, fueled by the drive to self-express, accomplish, succeed, and be recognized and rewarded for our efforts.
3. Purposeful motivation is the real game changer and is sourced from the desire to contribute to something larger than oneself, make a meaningful difference, learn and grow in the process, and engage others with the journey.
Research consistently shows that valuable outcomes like creativity, engagement, performance, and resilience increase significantly as a person moves from Reactive to Ego to Purposeful motivation.
“I get it and I agree”, a leader might say, “I’d love to have more purposeful motivation in my organization, but most of my people are somewhere in the Reactive-Ego zone and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
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This is a common blind spot among leaders, the belief that motivations are fixed. While the majority of the workforce may indeed be driven by Reactive or Ego motivation—a consequence of our behaviorist-based societal systems—Purposeful motivation is a capacity or inner muscle that can be nurtured and developed in everyone.
A crucial role of leadership is to cultivate purposeful motivation in every member of an organization. Moreover, leaders should aim to develop everyone's capacity to regenerate their purposeful motivation in different contexts and on demand.
How can leaders nurture purposeful motivation? Three elements are key:
Taken together, these three dimensions make up a comprehensive, muti-valent approach and framework for developing a culture of purposeful motivation in organizations. By aligning their strategizing, leadership, and people development processes with these principles, companies can unlock significant and sustained breakthroughs in creativity, engagement, and overall business performance.
fCMO Full Stack Coach-sultant +Emotional IQ Channel Producer
10 个月Ahhh I love when Businesses talk psychology. It seems That many do not Think about it comma let alone talk about it, even in B2B is still human (h2h). Cognitive Behavioral motivation theory of Intrinsic & Extrinsic rewards, Maslows higherarchy of needs, Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development & the psychological phases of change - they all matter in Employee Motivation Business & even customer psychographic profiling for Sales. Reactive, Ego are so self centered. Purposeful leada to a better company culture!
Grow people to grow the business (Microsoft, T-Mobile, Roche, Airbnb)
1 年Fran?ois Nouri I'm responding to your nudge to share specific suggestions -- e.g. in this case, three elements of developing Purposeful motivation that I've found most critical. While I think this can be helpful, my concern with suggesting specific steps is that they would be interpreted through the lens of "old" thinking and worldview. This might lead the reader to either discard it as something that they think they are already doing, or apply it as a generic and one-size-fits-all "best practice" that doesn't change how people think -- their mindset -- and therefore has no useful effect on the business. I'm still committed to doing it going forward, so thank you for the nudge.
Community Health & Well-Being | Medical Education| Cross-Functional Collaborator I Regenerative Development| Global Health
1 年To cultivate purposeful motivation (with a regenerative perspective), it is essential to cultivate capabilities within a supportive community and culture that facilitates the development of new capabilities and consciousness. Capability, culture, and consciousness rely on each other and work together. Yet, this regenerative theory of change is fundamentally different from the behaviorist approaches commonly seen in public health. I have researched individuals with substance use issues who believed their motivation to change came only from “hitting rock bottom”. Public health interventions often fail to cultivate and sustain for long periods of time the readiness for treatment of those in crisis.
I help leaders build high-performing, human-centric organizations. Consultant, Speaker, Executive Coach | Leadership, Future of Work |
1 年Love the breakdown of the different types of motivational drivers.