3 Methods to Tap Into Your Employees' Intrinsic Motivation

When you learn to tap internal drive of individuals you unleash a secret, often hidden ingredient: discretionary effort. There’s a big clue though to this magical fairy dust-like element in its label: discretionary.

Meaning, the moment HR or a business feels compelled to coerce, subtly suggest or bluntly ask for that extra percentile, or a willingness to do a tad more than is required, the ingredient itself is negated, it’s no longer discretionary.

The mechanics of personal effort in this regard are like the laws and mechanics of quantum physics: the moment you observe, demand to know, or micromanage, the magic is gone.

There are subtle, smart ways though we can recognise and inspire the ignition that sets each individual soul on fire. Stoking it positively, healthily, and subtly helps continued drive towards both individual and business goals.

Identifying intrinsic motivation.

We know the concept of external motivation: incentive or reward programs are an example. In addition to the obvious ones: base salary and remuneration packages people are willing to trade their time and effort for.

We also know, as parents do, external motivation or rewards wane or become less powerful over time. One lollipop as a bribe for peace now becomes two candy bars next time around. People generally won’t remain fulfilled with the same salary, title, position, and/or bonuses indefinitely without other forces at play.

Enter internal motivation. The starting point is recognising and knowing the individual’s why.

Internal motivation is also a little like travel. If you ask people where they’d like to visit next, or what their trip will entail, answers may be endless. However, you may begin to bucket them into categories such as continents or even themes such as: nature, adventure, museums, shopping, idle leisure, and nightlife.

Chances are, when you quicken the heart rate by tapping that individual internal drive, discretionary effort will be set on fire.

The model by Eduard Spranger, ‘types of men’, remains a sound starting point for clues as to the primary driving forces of an individual.

Knowledge and learning
ROI, return and utility
Aesthetic and experience
Social and community
Individual and political
Traditional and system of living

Generally people will have a couple of priority areas. You hear them in descriptions, especially if you learn to ask or structure internal surveys with smart, thoughtful questions underpinned by genuine interest. The clues are in their answers. All you have to do is listen with intent.

Align external rewards with internal fire

Sales environments make for quick and easy case studies and lessons. Whilst salespeople may well appreciate the money, don’t assume it’s always the case or their primary driving force. Learn to adapt incentives and rewards.

Instead of money, consider rewarding them with a program of their choosing (knowledge), an experience of their choosing (aesthetic), a donation to charity (social), trade access for resources or responsibilities (individual), or ensure sound ethics (system of living).

Continue to adapt and align periodically as interinsic motivation isn’t necessarily static. They may shift based on situation, circumstance, or stages of life. It’s no surprise some studies by the likes of Nielsen or engage for good find employees are more interested in the social responsibility of the businesses they’ll work for than salary alone.

Three types of goals

Two decades ago I built a framework for coaching that has proven successful long term. Typically business leaders have a tendency to focus on ‘performance’ goals alone when coaching or developing their people. This focus is quite narrow.
When you ask people what truly drives them a year from now or five, it’s rare that the answer is ‘to reduce errors by 4.6%’ or ‘increase sales by 27%’!

When you ask people what truly drives them a year from now or five, it’s rare that the answer is ‘to reduce errors by 4.6%’ or ‘increase sales by 27%’!

These all have merit as performance goals, yet two others drive the totality of each individual. Learning goals means continually improving skills. This, by the way, is frequently symbiotic with performance goals, although not necessarily so. Furthermore, fulfillment goals, often the biggest motivators, are about personal achievement in all areas of life

When you learn to help people navigate and achieve all three types of goals there’s a good chance you are also tapping into some of that internal drive and they are better in all they do, including performance.

We could run separate features on deeper dive coaching or these extended goals but in the context of this artlce, here are three practical steps to tap internal fire: Learn to ask better questions, be contemporary with your constructs for reward and recognition and perhaps leverage solid dynamic surveys (considering specialist organisations like Qualtrics as a Qualtrics alternative, which are pretty good if I say so) to keep your finger on the pulse.

Chances are, when you quicken the heart rate by tapping that individual internal drive, discretionary effort will be set on fire.