Motivation is the reason or set of reasons behind why a person is compelled to act a certain way or engage in certain activities.
Motivation is a broad and fuzzy topic. To try to make sense of it, let's break it down:
- extrinsic vs intrinsic
- positive vs negative
Extrinsic vs Intrinsic Motivators
Extrinsic motivators are external to the employee. They are the incentives and pressures, carrots and sticks, that managers and organizations provide to try to influence employees' motivational state. Extrinsic motivators can be tangible (money and perks) or they may be intangible (meaningful work, appreciation).
Whether or not these motivators actually motivate the employee depends on the employee's internal drivers. Intrinsic motivators are internal to the employee. They are the feelings such as a sense of satisfaction or achievement the employee gets as a result of doing the work. They may also be the feeling the employee gets as a result of the extrinsic motivators the organization provides. Intrinsic motivators vary from person to person and may change as a person's circumstances change.
Positive vs Negative Motivators
Positive motivators are the carrots, the incentives, the intrinsic good feelings that lead a person to want to do a job, and to be engaged and willing to put in more effort to do it well. Negative motivators are pressures (disciplinary measures) and bad feelings (fear, guilt) the employee works harder to avoid.
Most managers know that negative motivators are sometimes necessary and can be effective in the short tern, but come at a high price: when used repeatedly, they kill trust, create a toxic environment, and erode positive intrinsic motivation. Although we know this in theory, some of us forget it in practice, and rely a bit too much on the negative levers for influencing employee behavior.
Here are some examples of each type of motivation:
Positive Extrinsic Motivators
- Money: Salary, bonus, benefits
- Manager recognition
- Peer recognition
- Expressed appreciation
- Celebration of success
- Advancement – authority, promotion
- Training and development
- Opportunities to learn
- Opportunities to showcase knowledge, skill
- Interesting, meaningful work
- Fun
- Challenge
- Listening, allowing employees to air concerns
- Soliciting and using employees' ideas
- Showing concern for employees' well-being
- Trusting employees
- Symbols of status and achievement
- Symbols of affiliation with the group or organization
- Visibility, exposure
- Flexible schedule
- Time off
- Workplace perks
- Clear goals
- Clear communication
- Structure
- Coaching
- Reinforcing feedback (and sometimes correcting feedback, when done well)
- Prizes, food
Negative Extrinsic Motivators
- Accusations
- Criticism
- Reprimands
- Threats
- Write up
- Disciplinary actions
- Performance Improvement Plan
- Coercion
- Exclusion
- Manipulation
- Sanctions
- Demotion
- Termination
Positive Intrinsic Motivators
- Autonomy: Self-direction, empowerment to decide how to do one’s own work
- Mastery: Possessing comprehensive, expert- level knowledge or skill
- Purpose: A lofty goal or mission that is bigger than ourselves and serves human values
- Pro-social: Helping, pleasing or doing good for others
- Creative self-expression
- Sense of completion, accomplishment
- Feeling of winning
- Feeling of making progress toward goals
- Pride
- Living one's childhood dream
- Challenge
- Power
- Being liked
- Being looked up to
- Being needed
- Being trusted
- Being appreciated
- Feeling of belonging to a group
- Personal bonds with individuals in the group
- Interest, fun
- Feeling that my contribution matters
- Feeling of being treated fairly
Negative Intrinsic Motivators
- Fear
- Shame
- Guilt
- Rejection
- Loss of status
- Feeling of sliding backward, negative progress
- Anger
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