Lost because you know the way

I recently wrote a blog about Autonomy that describes the importance of giving your team latitude in how they complete their jobs.  By granting that latitude you make it possible for them to find faster, more efficient, and more effective ways of accomplishing their work. The business world is not stagnant and requires constant adaptation […]

Autonomy

I know the best way to do my job. Next up on our tour of intrinsic motivators – Autonomy. In the simplest terms autonomy is the ability to do what you want, the way you want to do it. Various dictionaries define it using the term “self-governing”. Autonomy is a powerful intrinsic motivator because human […]

Accountability

You can count on me. Initially it may not seem that Accountability would be considered a motivator. The word “Accountability” is usually used negatively in the business world when describing someone who is not doing what they are supposed to do. It almost has an Old Testament kind of heaviness, “Thou shalt be held ACCOUNTABLE!” […]

Meaningfulness

My Work Matters. How do we motivate our teams to do the best work they can by using an intrinsic motivator?  I’m going to start with what seems the hardest, but really is just a matter of communication — Meaningfulness (wow, what a fluffy word!). A person who believes that their work is meaningful is […]

Utilizing Intrinsic Motivators

Remember, motivation is just a fancy word for wanting, so whether it’s an intrinsic or extrinsic reward, you can’t make somebody want something. However, there are ways that you can move the intrinsic motivations (feed the fire) that already exist within a person. First, since we’ve established we can’t create these motivations, can we really […]