What motivates you? Here is the surprising truth
#BigIdeas from the book 'Drive'
Imagine this - you have a kid (or a teenage sister/brother) who refuses to focus on studies or even any meaningful activities and instead prefers to lie idle and is on his/her phone all the time?
Frustrating right? 😅
As a parent/elder, what do you think you can do to motivate him/her?
Here is the truth harsh reality.
Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.
Time for BigIdeas from the book: Drive by Daniel Pink.
Btw, go ahead and download the BigIdeas app (Android, iOS) for elegant bite-sized experience!
In this book, Daniel examines the science of motivation and argues that the traditional carrot-and-stick approach to motivating people is not as effective as it's often assumed. Instead, people are motivated by three innate needs: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
Autonomy is the desire to direct our own lives;
Mastery is the urge to get better at something that matters; and
Purpose is the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.
When these needs are met, people are more likely to be engaged and productive at work.
3 Types of Motivation
Motivation 1.0 - The survival instinct: In this situation, the primary things that keep us alive (food, water, shelter) control our actions.
Motivation 2.0 - The stick and the carrot: This system assumes workers will have no desire to work unless they are offered an extrinsic reward ( this can mean a punishment too).
Motivation 3.0 - Intrinsic reward: The internal satisfaction we feel from accomplishing something is far more rewarding than stick and carrot motivation.
External Rewards
Rewards usually offer a short-term boost. But the effect wears off, and the negative consequences remain: they reduce a person’s longer-term motivation to continue the project.
When money is used as an external reward for some activity, the subjects lose intrinsic interest for the activity.
Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivators (a raise, a promotion, a bonus) do work they are usually doing so in the short-term only. If the motivator is taken away, the behavior stops.
Intrinsic motivation. It is the desire to do something for the sake of internal fulfillment. It’s the joy we get from accomplishing something useful, the satisfaction of a job well done, a sense of purpose, pride, and belonging.
Carrots and Sticks: The 7 deadly Flaws
They can extinguish intrinsic motivation.
They can diminish performance.
They can crush creativity.
They can crowd out good behavior.
They can encourage cheating, shortcuts, and unethical behavior.
They can become addictive.
They can foster short-term thinking.
The 3 Components of Intrinsic Motivation
Autonomy: this is the desire to direct our own lives.
Mastery: this is the impulse to get better and better at something that matters
Purpose: this is the longing to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves.
The Two Types Of People: Type X And Type I
Type X (Extrinsic): They are driven by external factors such as fame, status, money, etc. They can often be highly successful but are also troubled by an insatiable appetite for more.
Type I (Intrinsic): Their motivation comes from within – to accomplish something meaningful. Success is measured by the task itself and not by a reward.
Type I behavior emerges when people have autonomy over the four T’s: their task, their time, their technique, and their team
Type I’s will usually outperform a Type X in the long run.
What type are you?
Autonomy
It means having a choice in what you do and being-self driven.
People are naturally wired to be-self driven. When they have the freedom to pick what they work on (tasks), when they work on it (time), how they attain it (technique), and who they work with (team), they perform much better due to the sense of autonomy.
Mastery
The assumption of Mastery is that people wish to get better at what they do as long as they care about it.
Engagement in the task one is pursuing is key to mastery.
To be engaged, you need to reach the state of flow, where goals are clear and feedback is immediate.
For flow, the challenge of a task must be just slightly above your level of competence.
Set “learning goals” instead of “performance goals."
Purpose: Being Part Of Something Bigger
Purpose leverages the human desire to be part of something bigger.We reach purpose while:
Doing something that matters
Doing it well
Doing it in the service of a cause larger than ourselves.
Happy Drive-ing!
-ashish.
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