Motivate Your Team to Do Their Best Work in 2023
Have you struggled to motivate your team to do their best work? Have you found that your "carrots and sticks" approach is leading to little or no change in behavior? Consider the new year as an opportunity to change your approach.
Drawing on four decades of scientific research, Dan Pink makes a compelling case for intrinsic motivation in his book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.
When it comes to 21st century tasks—where we desire our employees to be creative, critical thinkers—our intense focus on “if, then” rewards (i.e., if you do this, then you will be rewarded) and consequences may actually hinder our employees’ ability to perform well. These types of rewards narrow our focus, which causes us to miss seeing what's on the periphery in order to craft original solutions.
Instead, Pink suggests, we should focus our efforts on intrinsic rewards like autonomy, mastery and purpose:
Autonomy – the desire to direct our own lives
Mastery – the urge to make progress and get better at something that matters
Purpose – the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves
A few questions to consider and assess how well you're doing today at intrinsically motivating your team:
How much autonomy do you give your team over their tasks, time, team and technique?
Are you delegating work that will adequately challenge your employees, providing maximum satisfaction and contribution?
Are you clearly articulating the purpose of your work and how it contributes to the greater organizational good?
Interested in learning more?
Contact Elsey Consulting Group to equip your leaders with the tools, training and confidence needed to unleash your organization’s potential.
