As a leader, motivating your team is one of your most vital responsibilities. While compensation and rewards have a role, truly engaged teams are driven by intrinsic motivation – the inner desire to learn, grow, and make an impact. Through understanding individuals’ motivations, providing autonomy, and giving generous praise and appreciation, you can cultivate this intrinsic drive and inspire exceptional performance.
Intrinsic Motivation Fuels Passion and Purpose
Intrinsic motivation stems from within each person, based on their values, interests, and need for growth. It manifests as:
- A drive to keep developing skills and taking on challenges
- Curiosity to learn new things and gain knowledge
- A sense of purpose in making a meaningful contribution
- Passion for the work itself and interest in tasks
- Desire for more responsibility and autonomy
- Creativity and innovation to solve problems
This intrinsic motivation is far more powerful than extrinsic motivators like compensation, perks and accolades. While extrinsic rewards can temporarily boost results, they often undermine passion over time.
The Pitfalls of Overemphasizing Extrinsic Rewards
Extrinsic motivators are the external things you do to incentivize the desired behavior and outcomes. This includes:
- Monetary compensation – salary, commissions, bonuses
- Benefits – health insurance, retirement plans, perks
- Recognition – awards, promotions, media coverage
- Social reinforcement – praise, applause, admiration
Initially, these rewards encourage effort and performance. But the boost is usually short-lived. Here’s why extrinsic motivators often backfire:
- People get used to the rewards over time, so you have to constantly up the ante to get the same response. This can get expensive.
- Rewards start to become expected as entitlements, rather than something earned through great work.
- People become dependent on the reward and lose interest when it’s removed. The work itself is no longer inspiring.
- Rewards for routine expectations feel patronizing. “Pizza for showing up on time?”
- Social reinforcement can seem inauthentic, forced and condescending if not done thoughtfully.
While extrinsic motivators should not be avoided, they work best as intermittent fuel on top of a sustaining base of intrinsic drive.
Using Rewards and Reinforcement Wisely
Extrinsic motivators are not universally bad. Used judiciously, they can celebrate achievements, show appreciation, and symbolize job well done. The key is maintaining perspective and balance.
Here are some best practices for rewards and recognition:
- Tie rewards to specific accomplishments, not just general expectations. Surprise people.
- Consider non-financial rewards like days off, flexible schedules, and training opportunities.
- Make rewards meaningful to each person. Discover their individual interests.
- Celebrate intrinsic rewards like having an impact, learning something new, or completing a challenge.
- Avoid excessive gamification with points, badges and leaderboards. Don’t make work feel trivial.
- Focus social recognition on progress and effort, not just achievement. Appreciate the journey.
- Ensure recognition comes across as sincere, not automatic. Personalize it.
- Remember rewards should supplement positive culture, not replace it.
Ultimately, overemphasizing rewards reflects poorly on leadership. It implies you don’t expect great work without bribes and need to manipulate behaviors through simplistic carrots and sticks. People want to do good work for its own sake, not just for trinkets. Facilitate that intrinsic motivation.
Cultivating Intrinsic Motivation for Sustainable Passion
Here are some best practices for tapping into intrinsic motivation:
- Help people find purpose in their roles. Ensure they understand how their work fits into big-picture goals and makes a difference.
- Facilitate mastery by allowing time for learning, providing training opportunities, and offering projects that build new skills. Mastery fuels confidence.
- Let people work autonomously when possible. Don’t micromanage. Empower teams to determine how to achieve outcomes.
- Incorporate opportunities for creativity and problem solving. Don’t stick to rigid processes.
- Develop competency models that encourage growth. Outline progression pathways.
- Be flexible on hours and location when feasible. Offer discretion based on achieving outcomes.
- Ask for suggestions to improve processes and try them. Don’t dismiss ideas out of hand.
- Praise efforts, not just results. Recognize initiative, experimentation and learning.
- Thank people for collaborating and supporting each other, not just individual achievements.
By meeting needs for autonomy, mastery and purpose, you tap into the intrinsic motivations that create workplace passion.
Understanding The Team’s Working Styles and Motivations
Of course, different people have different working styles and motivational triggers. Start by understanding the general archetypes:
Working Genius Types Defined by Patrick Lencioni:
- Wonder – Sees possibilities and the big picture
- Invention – Creates new ideas and solutions
- Discernment – Evaluates ideas for flaws
- Galvanizing – Builds excitement and united action
- Enablement – Supports and assists implementation
- Tenacity – Provides needed follow-through
Then use simple exercises like the Moving Motivators from Management 3.0 to uncover individual motivations:
- Curiosity - Loves learning, exploring possibilities
- Honor - Driven by reflecting values in their work
- Acceptance - Motivated by team approval and praise
- Mastery - Passionate about developing competence
- Power - Fueled by being able to influence outcomes
- Freedom – Loves autonomy and independence
- Relatedness – Energized by positive workplace relationships
- Order – Motivated by structure and clarity
- Goal – Inspired by aligning work with life purpose
- Status – Driven by prestige and demonstrating success
When you understand what drives each person, you can set goals, design roles, provide feedback, and recognize achievements in a way that motivates them intrinsically. Help them see how they can satisfy their deeper needs through their work.
Author Gary Chapman identified 5 main ways people feel valued and appreciated at work. He calls these the 5 Languages of Appreciation:
Words of Affirmation - Compliment achievements, abilities, character
Quality Time - Listen attentively in one-on-ones
Acts of Service - Help out by removing barriers
Tangible Gifts - Small treats like gift cards
Appropriate Touch - A high five or pat on the back
The key is using multiple languages tailored to individual team members. Discover what resonates with each person.
By expanding your appreciation vocabulary, you meet people’s motivational needs in the right way.
The Critical Importance of Positivity and Praise
While compensation, perks and advancement have a limited motivational effect, interpersonal positivity and praise can have a profound impact.
Creating a supportive, approving environment meets core emotional needs:
- Feeling valued as a person, beyond what you produce
- Gaining confidence by having abilities recognized
- Experiencing belonging and acceptance through shared successes
- Believing your contributions matter and are appreciated
Skimping on praise and appreciation is one of the biggest mistakes leaders make. According to experts, it takes 3 to 5 positive interactions to overcome the motivational damage of a single negative interaction.
Some best practices on positive reinforcement:
- Be extremely generous with genuine, specific praise. Outnumber negative feedback by 10:1 or 20:1. Look for opportunities to recognize progress.
- Tailor praise to what matters to each person, based on their working style and motivators. Leverage the languages of appreciation.
- Thank people for collaborating, listening, and supporting each other. Make it about team, not just individual achievement.
- Express pride in the team’s problem solving, creativity, resilience and determination. Recognize the journey, not just the result.
- Let people know you appreciate their passion, work ethic, flexibility, integrity and commitment. Value them as people.
- Praise efforts to learn and improve, not just achievement. Recognize personal growth and mastery.
Celebrate intrinsic rewards like accomplishing something challenging, delivering value to customers, and gaining new skills. Recognize purpose, autonomy and progress.
When you provide enough recognition and appreciation, you demonstrate the ultimate intrinsic reward - your respect and admiration. This cultivates lifelong passion.
Coaching for Motivational Leadership
If you want to build on your motivational leadership skills, executive coaching can help immensely. Coaches work with leaders to:
- Better understand employees’ working styles, intrinsic motivations and engagement barriers
- Set the right balance between extrinsic motivators and intrinsic reward
- Facilitate needs for autonomy, mastery and purpose
- Improve positivity and dramatically expand praise and recognition
- Measure and monitor team engagement and morale
- Implement ongoing strategies and systems for motivation and appreciation
Developing yourself develops your team. Invest in becoming an inspiring motivational leader. Feel free to reach out anytime to explore how coaching can help you and your organization thrive.
Q: What is the importance of praising employees in the workplace?
A: Praising employees in the workplace is essential for boosting their morale, motivation, and productivity. It helps acknowledge their hard work and achievements, leading to higher job satisfaction and employee engagement.
Q: How does praise contribute to employee motivation?
A: Praise is a powerful tool for motivating employees. When employees receive recognition or praise for doing good work, they feel valued and appreciated. This recognition boosts their confidence and encourages them to continue performing at their best.
Q: How can praising employees make a difference in the work environment?
A: Praising employees can significantly improve the work environment. When employees are regularly praised and acknowledged, they feel more motivated and engaged. This positive atmosphere can enhance teamwork, collaboration, and overall job satisfaction.
Q: What are some effective ways to praise employees?
A: There are several effective ways to praise employees. One way is to publicly praise them during team meetings or company-wide announcements. Another way is to personally compliment them for their specific achievements or efforts. Additionally, acknowledging their hard work through written notes or emails can also make a positive impact.
Q: Does praise really have the power to make a difference?
A: Absolutely! Praise has been proven to have a significant impact on employee motivation and productivity. According to Gallup, employees who receive regular praise are more likely to be engaged in their work, which leads to higher performance and better outcomes.
Q: How can I make praise more effective?
A: To make praise more effective, be specific and genuine. Instead of just saying "Good job," highlight the employee's specific achievements or efforts. Also, make sure your praise is sincere and heartfelt, as insincere praise can be easily recognized by employees.
Q: What if employees don't feel motivated by praise alone?
A: While praise is a powerful motivator, it may not work for everyone. In such cases, it's important to understand the individual needs and preferences of your employees. Some employees may benefit from additional forms of recognition, such as rewards or opportunities for growth and development.
Q: Can praising employees go a long way in improving productivity?
A: Yes, praising employees can have a significant impact on productivity. When employees feel valued and appreciated, they are more likely to put in extra effort and take pride in their work. This increased motivation can lead to improved productivity and better overall results.
Q: How often should I praise my employees?
A: Praise should be given regularly and consistently. While it's important to recognize major achievements, it's equally important to acknowledge the everyday efforts and small victories. By incorporating praise into your regular interactions with employees, you can create a culture of appreciation and motivation.
Q: How can I make praise a part of my team's culture?
A: To make praise a part of your team's culture, lead by example. Start by actively giving praise to your employees for their hard work and achievements. Encourage your team members to give praise to one another and create opportunities for public recognition. By making praise a regular practice, you can foster a positive and motivating work environment.