How smart leaders can turn a soft concept into a clear advantage
Most of us intuitively know that motivation in the workplace is important. When our teams are motivated, we sense that everything works more effectively. Conversely, when we sense motivation is low, we start to see systems and processes becoming prone to failure. In our recent research (The Business of Motivation, 2024), we identified six important business outcomes that improved significantly as a result of higher motivation: greater employee happiness, less employee stress, lower levels of churn, higher commitment and contribution, and a stronger belief in one’s team. These research findings are important, as they both validate and quantify our beliefs when it comes to motivation in the workplace.
But what do we do when we find—in this process of quantifying motivation—that motivation within our organization is low? In our research, we found that 1 in 5 employees reported low motivation across the board, leading us to label them as “Motivation Castaways”, and only half of those we spoke to across the US and the UK (N=2600), demonstrated what we argue is a healthy and sustainable level of motivation within the business.
Understanding motivation
Our research identifies five different forms of motivation in the workplace—from enjoyment of the role and finding meaning in our work, to building self-esteem, gaining social recognition and the financial rewards for undertaking the work. These five forms of motivation fall under two broad categories: intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation describes the motivation that comes from “within us” to complete a task (enjoyment and meaning). Extrinsic motivation comes from our desire for the indirect benefits associated with completing that task (self-esteem, social recognition, and financial reward).
To effectively build motivation across our organizations, we need to know how to specifically build both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. We’d like to share some pointers on how to do this.
To increase intrinsic motivation, we can look at the concept of self-determination. Self-determination theory, developed by psychologist Alfred Bandura, argues that our intrinsic motivation to do anything is determined by how that action protects or increases our sense of autonomy (control over our own decisions and actions), mastery (our skills and expertise), and relatedness (our connection and importance to others).
The role of leadership in motivation
Therefore, to build intrinsic motivation in the workplace, we need to focus on bolstering these three elements. We can develop initiatives to increase our teams’ sense of mastery by having their managers recognize specific displays of expertise and effective decision-making (this can become a key part of any ongoing one-to-one meetings).
We can introduce schemes that drive inter- and intra-team interactions and collaborations to increase the sense of relatedness. To respect and grow the sense of autonomy, we can introduce programs that encourage employees to “get things done” on their own terms. This doesn’t need to be just about getting the day job done—3M’s famous “15% rule” carves out 15% of employees’ for them to go and explore whatever they have an interest in, in whatever way they feel fit. This is operationalizing autonomy to a spectacular level and results in both highly motivated teams and superior business results for 3M, thanks to the innovation it drives. We recognize that most businesses cannot make such a commitment, but the 3M 15% rule example should serve as a powerful stimulus to think about how to bolster autonomy in your specific context.
Strategies for building motivation
Increasing extrinsic motivation is arguably an easier task for leaders, as extrinsic levers are “outside” of the employee and more typically in control of the organization. For example, if we want our employees to feel greater levels of pride (and higher self-esteem), we can develop a more compelling employee value proposition (EVP). EVPs signal to employees what it means to work for the company and can be a strong source of pride. Recruiting and onboarding processes should reflect the EVP, making these processes also powerful builders of extrinsic motivation. Leading business schools are experts in building extrinsic motivation in this way; their selection criteria and admission processes are arduous. However, the result is that cohort members feel an intense sense of pride in being selected for specific programs, which manifests in high motivation levels when undertaking those courses. Again, we’re not advocating to make the hiring process in your organization as demanding as a top-flight business school, but the example can be a powerful stimulus for thinking about how to redesign or refine key aspects of the employee experience to strengthen extrinsic motivation.
While this distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation makes it clearer to think about specific steps we can take to grow motivation in our teams, the reality is that the two are often intertwined and mutually reinforcing. For example, we can increase financial motivation not by paying employees more, but by having remuneration tied specifically to certain actions or outcomes. This can reinforce an increased sense of mastery, which in turn, can boost intrinsic motivation by enhancing both enjoyment and a sense of meaning.
Improving (and maintaining) motivation in the workplace is a vital responsibility for leadership—even more so as AI and other forms of technology aim to automate large swaths of our working lives. With so much uncertainty and volatility within the workplace today, leaders need to become experts in human behavior and behavior change. This may sound like a complex task. But it’s important to remember that a complex task doesn’t need to become a complicated task. By following theory and data, leaders can systematically identify, grow, and reap the benefits of a more sophisticated and strategic approach to motivation at work. Put another way, just at the moment that most leaders are looking at technological levers within the workplace, the most forward-thinking leaders should also be looking at these powerful psychological levers.
