Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us

Using MIT studies on employee motivation, business consultant and author Daniel Pink reveals what truly
motivates employees based on extensive studies of employee performance. Pink observes in his book Drive
that for jobs that are boring, simple, or mechanical (low level work), employees are motivated primarily by
salary and the fear of being fired. To get someone to perform well at a bad job you need to reward them with
money or punish them with the threat of job loss.

However, the surprising result of the MIT studies was that for higher level job functions that require creative
problem solving and complex skills, carrot and stick approaches are less effective. If a higher level
employee is sufficiently well paid, money or fear of job loss is less important for enhancing performance.
Pink’s book explains that high motivation requires more autonomy, mastery, and purpose:

Autonomy: Employees are happier when they have more independence to decide how they will work. The
more self-directed they are and the less focused on compliance they are allowed to be, the more motivated
they become. Of course the content of one’s tasks can’t always be chosen as the industry, company, or boss
choose the content; but the more creative freedom one has to deal with one’s given priorities the more one
will enjoy one’s work and be motivated. Autonomy is closely linked to enjoyment in high level jobs because
it allows people to use their creative problem solving skills.

Mastery: Employees are happier when they are getting better at important skills and making progress. There
is little motivation if after 20 years of work, one has 20 duplicates of the same year. Each year one must
grow and progress in one’s skills. Growth and progress is an intrinsic motivator and a person with 20 years’
experience should be a master of his field. Constant growth and learning are necessary for high motivation.
Companies should encourage continuing education, seminars, and personal growth for its workforce. The
feeling of progressing in one’s career skills is as important a factor as an increase in salary and bonuses for
high level executives.

Purpose: Employees are happier when doing something that they feel has meaning and is important.
Businesses that only focus on profits without valuing purpose will end up with poor customer service and
unhappy employees. Companies need to sell their employees on a higher purpose than simply making
profits. For example, an investment bank may explain to its employees that their roles in credit financing are
helping improve the economy by making capital available to businesses to expand their operations thereby
creating more jobs. Employees perform better when reminded of how important their functions are to the
company and to society itself because they gain a more meaningful perspective on their work.

In conclusion, Pink argues that bonuses and promotions can only go so far in eliciting better performance at
higher level jobs because people have more intrinsic motivators than just survival and status. These
motivators are higher up on Maslow’s pyramid of needs and go beyond the survival and status needs that
financial remuneration and promotions fulfill. These additional needs are the need for freedom, the need for
growth, and the need for meaning and contribution. These needs should also be fulfilled by one’s profession
in order to enhance one’s performance and drive.
 Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us

1) Would the MIT study come to the same conclusion in Brazil?

2) Have you been given sufficient autonomy, opportunities for growth, and meaning? If yes, how?
If no, what needs to improve and how can it improve?

3) A. How can you give your team more autonomy?

B. Opportunities for growth?
C. Purpose and meaning?