Did you know that Gallup estimates 70% of employees are disengaged in the workplace? They also estimate that 50% are looking for a new job. Sheesh! That’s a lot!

Do you suspect that someone on your team is part of this 70% of disengaged employees? Or maybe you suspect you are part of that group? Today we’ll talk about the three things needed to feel motivated in the workplace.

But first we’ll talk about what motivation is, and isn’t.

What can I do as a manager to motivate my team?

Nothing. …sort of. Studies have shown that external motivation matters a lot less than intrinsic motivation. 

External Motivators

We tend to think that if you want someone to do more of something, just give them an incentive. For example, if you make 70 cold calls per day, you get a gift card.

Actually, these types of financial incentives tend to produce worseperformance, unless the task is purely mechanical, and takes no brain power (tightening bolts, for example). 

Intrinsic Motivators

The only way someone will be motivated to do something is if they are internally moved to do it. We’ll talk in a minute about what the 3 intrinsic motivators are. 

So wait, as a manager, how do I motivate my team?

Because external incentives aren’t effective motivators, your role as a manager is to create an environment for the intrinsic motivators (or, the three pillars of motivation) to thrive.

What are the 3 pillars of motivation?

In his book, “Drive: The Surprising Truth about what Motivates Us” Daniel Pink outlines the three pillars of motivation. Check out this video for his TED talk on the subject. It’s fascinating!

Autonomy

Mastery

Purpose

Wait, is that really it? There isn’t more?

Yeah, I thought that seemed too simple too. But then I started thinking about what would happen if you remove any one of those elements: 

1. Autonomy & Mastery, but no Purpose
   1. I have control over how I work, and I’m good at it, but it feels totally pointless. Are we even making a worthwhile difference?
2. Autonomy & Purpose, but no Mastery
   1. I have control over how I work, and I can see the value we add to the world (or that I add to my team), but I’m totally out of my element, or I’m totally bored.
3. Mastery & Purpose, but no Autonomy
   1. I’m good at what I do, and I understand why we’re doing it, but I’m micromanaged. I don’t have any say over how I do my work.

Isn’t that so interesting??

Anytime I have felt disengaged at a job, I ask myself which one of these three things are missing. A lot of the time, it’s something easy that can be fixed (for example, if the job was too hard, so I asked for more training). 

Your assignment

Think of someone on your team who seems unmotivated, or is underperforming. Determine which of these three pillars is off (this would be a great conversation for a one-on-one!). Experiment to see if you can help them find more autonomy, mastery, or purpose in their work, and watch them begin to flourish.

My mission

My mission is to help people find success and happiness in the workplace. We spend a third of our lives at work, so if we aren’t happy in the workplace, then that’s a significant portion of our lives that isn’t fulfilling. And my guess is (based on experience) that the unhappiness bleeds into our personal lives too.

It only takes minor tweaks to make a major difference. I’m here to teach them to you!