Money is not the most efficient or powerful motivator, writes Daniel Pink, one of the top 15 business thinkers in the world, in his bestseller Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Pink uses 50 years of behavioral science research to reveal the reasons why the traditional approach to motivating performance does not work in most organizations.

There are two major types of motivation: extrinsic (the person using external resources) and intrinsic (motivations come from within). The classical paradigm of motivation, the extrinsic type - punishment versus reward - fails most of the times and can even diminish both creativity and job satisfaction, lower internal motivation and reduce productive behaviors. This type of reasoning called "carrot versus stick" only works when the work is routine, it has a clear and simple set of rules and a single solution.

Daniel Pink talks about the surprising results of two studies that reveal the deepest inner motivations and behaviors that influence us and why the saying "money does not buy satisfaction" is half true. Scientific studies have shown that people who do what they do because of enjoyment of the task itself, routinely outperform those who are motivated by external rewards. Of course, this is true when basic needs are satisfied and getting a reward is not critical.

How do we get intrinsic motivation ?

"Especially for fostering creative, conceptual work, the best way to use money as a motivator is to take the issue of money off the table so people concentrate on the work. Pay people enough so that they’re not thinking about money and they’re thinking about the work. Once you do that, it turns out there are three factors that the science shows lead to better performance, not to mention personal satisfaction: autonomy, mastery, and purpose." says Daniel Pink

 

Autonomy

 The first of the three characteristics of intrinsic motivation is autonomy and it refers to:

 1. autonomy over work (person chooses what he wants to do )

 2. autonomy over time (person choose when he wants to do )

 3. autonomy over team (person chooses who he wants to do it with)

 4. The autonomy of process (person chooses how he will do).

Our self-direction is a natural inclination. Pink points to the simple example of how children play and explore all on their own. We’re all built with inner drive. Deci, and his colleague Richard Ryan, have continued to explore the nature of what’s called self-determination theory, a theory of motivation that takes into account people’s psychological needs. They discovered in a study of workers at an investment bank that managers who offered “autonomy support” — which means helping employees make progress by giving meaningful feedback, choice over how to do things, and encouragement — resulted in higher job satisfaction and better job performance. Workplaces can support autonomy by giving people real control over various aspects of their work — whether it’s deciding what to work on or when to do it. 

Mastery

The second pillar intrinsic motivation is built on is mastery; in general, we want to become better at what we do. A sense of progress, not only in our work but also in terms of our skills, contributes to our inner motivation. For this reason it is so frustrating when we learn, for example, a new language. You feel you’re not getting anywhere and you may even give up if you don’t see progress to motivate you to continue. Employers should calibrate employees' mandatory activities to their ability to achieve them. If tasks are too difficult to be achieved, people become worried and will feel overwhelmed. If they are too easy, they will get bored. The must do tasks should be adapted to each person, but slightly above its capabilities, so that the employee benefits from space and support for the development of Mastery.

This requires employers to look more closely at how employees are performing and their feelings towards the activities they undertake, to prevent the attempts of "triangle - Mary" and "square - John" to fit through a round shape.

Purpose

Human beings seek a higher purpose in what you do, a purpose greater than themselves.

Daniel Pink argues that what determines our deepest motivation is the connection to a cause greater than ourselves, and people who find purpose in their work are accessing the highest level in the game motivation.

What can employers do? You can help employees to identify with a purpose greater than themselves; to extract them from the routine of the daily activities and connect their work with people and values.

“There is a mismatch between what science knows and what business does. And what worries me, as we stand here in the rubble of the economic collapse, is that too many organizations are making their decisions, their policies about talent and people, based on assumptions that are outdated, unexamined, and rooted more in folklore than in science. And if we really want to get out of this economic mess, if we really want high performance on those definitional tasks of the 21st century, the solution is not to do more of the wrong things, to entice people with a sweeter carrot, or threaten them with a sharper stick. We need a whole new approach.”

 

At the HR Drive Conference, organized by HR Club, Daniel Pink will share details on the 3 key ingredients for intrinsic motivation, using examples from cutting-edge companies and intriguing experiments around the world. Join the Conference on October 14^th, to learn more about DRIVING and motivating high performance on every level. More details about the Agenda and the registration on the event website: http://hrdrive.hr-club.ro/index.php/en/