08 Nov Start building self-motivating, intrinsic processes into your business
Start building self-motivating, intrinsic processes into your business
Even with all the advances made since, many businesses still rely on the extrinsic motivation system developed during the Industrial Revolution and continue to use the carrot and stick (rewards and punishment) method as a way to motivate people and teams.
And yet we all know the stories of people or teams who do extraordinary things, all without the need for a carrot or a stick. People climb mountains, run marathons, raise amazing amounts of money for charity – a desire and determination that comes from within, an intrinsic motivation, a deep-seated emotional motivator that eclipses extrinsic factors.
When you connect this powerful intrinsic motivation to your business and the work done by you and your team, you will achieve greater team engagement, commitment, enthusiasm, initiative, creativity and enjoyment for the work they do. The result will be greater business success, profits and growth.
In considering how to create a highly motivated, enthusiastic team, Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, points to 3 key self-motivating, intrinsic drivers:
- Autonomy – the urge to direct our own lives: your people want a say in what they do and how they do it and when you give them this autonomy, they are more driven to help your business succeed
- Mastery – the desire to get better and better at something that really matters: build knowledge, skill, tools and processes in your team; this is rewarding in and of itself and builds intrinsic motivation
- Purpose – the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves: doing something with worthwhile meaning will connect deeply with your people’s intrinsic motivation