{"id":1301,"date":"2012-01-08T00:11:34","date_gmt":"2012-01-08T00:11:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.renando.com\/blog\/?p=1301"},"modified":"2015-02-15T19:01:56","modified_gmt":"2015-02-15T19:01:56","slug":"a-drive-with-daniel-pink-through-autonomy-mastery-and-purpose-why-do-we-continue-to-get-motivations-so-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/2012\/01\/a-drive-with-daniel-pink-through-autonomy-mastery-and-purpose-why-do-we-continue-to-get-motivations-so-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"A Drive with Daniel Pink through autonomy, mastery and purpose: Why do we continue to get motivations so wrong?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There appears to be a \u00a0gap between what science knows and what business does. \u00a0 Intrinsic motivation produces higher long-term profits, but organisations continue to implement soul-destroying carrot and stick practices. \u00a0And yet will it take a carrot or stick to motivate business leaders to change?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-5420\" alt=\"Drive_Daniel_Pink\" src=\"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Drive_Daniel_Pink-1024x557.jpg\" width=\"710\" height=\"386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Drive_Daniel_Pink-1024x557.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Drive_Daniel_Pink-710x386.jpg 710w, https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/Drive_Daniel_Pink.jpg 1242w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" \/><br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Drive through the bullet points<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/u6XAPnuFjJc\" height=\"225\" width=\"400\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<a title=\"Amazon: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates\/dp\/1594488843\" target=\"_blank\"> Drive by Daniel Pink<\/a> is like a 200-page social science university assignment, only readable.\u00a0 Pink borrows outcomes from research articles and contemporary management books to present a concise case on motivation.\u00a0 Drive plots a path through findings from dozens of authors including <a title=\"Wikipedia: Harry Harlow\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Harry_Harlow\" target=\"_blank\">Harlow <\/a>in 1940, <a title=\"Wikipedia: Theory X and Theory Y\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Theory_X_and_theory_Y\" target=\"_blank\">McGreggor<\/a> in 1960, <a title=\"Wikipedia: Self-determination theory\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Self-determination_theory\" target=\"_blank\">Deci<\/a> in 1969, <a title=\"Wikipedia: Type A personality\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Type_A_personality\" target=\"_blank\">Friedman and Rosenman<\/a> in 1974\u00a0and more recently <a title=\"Authentic Happiness\" href=\"http:\/\/www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu\/Default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Seligman<\/a>\u00a0and <a title=\"Flow on Amazon\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Mihaly-Csikszentmihalyi\/dp\/0061339202\/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1\" target=\"_blank\">Csikszentmihalyi<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the research, modern organisations continue to operate under what Pink calls \u201cMotivation 2.0\u201d, a system that has evolved beyond simple self-preservation and into a model of carrots and sticks.\u00a0 A challenge with this approach is that it is not suited for how we organise, think and perform tasks in the <a title=\"The reality of chaos theory \u2013 will you ignore, control or embrace?\" href=\"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/index.php\/2010\/07\/reality-of-chaos-theory-ignore-control-embrace\/\" target=\"_blank\">increasing complexity of today\u2019s business<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0Instead of routine algorithmic (linear) processes, workers today are presented with heuristic challenges requiring experimentation and lateral thinking.<\/p>\n<p>Research demonstrates that an extrinsic reward and punishment is not appropriate for these uncertain environments. \u00a0If we continue to offer carrots and sticks with an end goal of increased profit, we get:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Less of what we want&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>They can <a title=\"Overjustification Effect\" href=\"http:\/\/www.experiment-resources.com\/overjustification-effect.html\" target=\"_blank\">extinguish intrinsic motivation<\/a><\/li>\n<li>They can <a title=\"Dan Ariely: Predictably Irrational\" href=\"http:\/\/danariely.com\/the-books\/\" target=\"_blank\">diminish performance<\/a><\/li>\n<li>They can <a title=\"Intrinsic motivation and artistic success\" href=\"http:\/\/books.google.com.au\/books\/about\/Intrinsic_motivation_and_artistic_succes.html?id=jxRBIAAACAAJ&amp;redir_esc=y\" target=\"_blank\">crush creativity<\/a><\/li>\n<li>They can <a title=\"CROWDING OUT IN BLOOD DONATION: WAS TITMUSS RIGHT?\" href=\"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1162\/JEEA.2008.6.4.845\/abstract\" target=\"_blank\">crowd out good behaviour<\/a><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>&#8230;and more of what we don\u2019t want<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>They can <a title=\"Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting\" href=\"http:\/\/hbswk.hbs.edu\/item\/6114.html\" target=\"_blank\">encourage cheating, shortcuts, and unethical behaviour<\/a><\/li>\n<li>They can <a title=\"Leadership Daily: Motivating Staff\" href=\"http:\/\/leadershipdaily.blogspot.com\/2011\/05\/motivating-staff.html\" target=\"_blank\">become addictive<\/a><\/li>\n<li>They can <a title=\"Earnings Guidance and Managerial Myopia\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kellogg.northwestern.edu\/accounting\/papers\/k.r%2520subramanyam.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">foster short-term thinking<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Pink refers to those operating under the current model as the undesirable \u201cType X\u201d approach which is fuelled by extrinsic desires. \u00a0This is in comparison to the internally motivated Type I approach.\u00a0 These two types are differentiated as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Type I behaviour is made, not born<br \/>\n<\/strong>Type X can become Type I.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Type I almost always outperforms Type X in the long run<br \/>\n<\/strong>Extrinsic rewards can produce fast results but is difficult to sustain and does not assist in mastery.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Type I behaviour does not disdain money or recognition<br \/>\n<\/strong>Compensation must at least hit a baseline, after which it takes the issue of money off the table to focus on the work itself.\u00a0 For Type X&#8217;s, money is the table.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Type I behaviour is a renewable resource<br \/>\n<\/strong>Think of Type X as coal and Type I as the sun.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Type I behaviour promotes greater physical and mental well being<br \/>\n<\/strong>Proven to result in higher self-esteem, better interpersonal relationships, greater general well-being.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So how do we become motivated? Pink outlines three critical pieces:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Autonomy<br \/>\n<\/strong>Controlling management approaches assume people are passive and inert and require prodding.\u00a0 Autonomy approaches assume people are active, looking for interesting work and curious and self-engaging.\u00a0 Autonomous motivation has proven to promote greater conceptual understanding, result in better grades, enhance persistence at school and in sporting activities, generate higher productivity, less burnout, and greater levels of psychological well-being.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mastery<\/strong><br \/>\nMastery is the desire to get better at something that matters. First, <strong>mastery is a mindset<\/strong>, in that we either believe we can get better or we don\u2019t. Second, <strong>mastery is a pain<\/strong>, in that it involves not only working harder but working longer at the same thing. Finally, <strong>mastery is an <a title=\"Wikipedia: Asymptote\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Asymptote\" target=\"_blank\">asymptote<\/a><\/strong>, or a straight line that you may come close to but never reach.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Purpose<br \/>\n<\/strong>Purpose provides a context for autonomy and mastery.\u00a0 Addresses the situation that even when we get what we want, it is not what we need.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2>A drive to be different to do different<\/h2>\n<p>As I read Drive, I felt frustrations similar to those expressed in <a title=\"My frustration with Firms of Endearment: Shame, meaning, and action\" href=\"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/index.php\/2011\/12\/my-frustration-with-firms-of-endearment-shame-meaning-and-action\/\" target=\"_blank\">my post on Firms of Endearment<\/a>.\u00a0 I read the research that is clearly not accepted by the commercial environments in which we operate. As Pink states, \u201c<strong>profit-driven approaches relegate purpose to a nice accessory if you want it, so long as it does not get in the way of the important stuff<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>In the commercial world, asking why we do what we do can result in answers of \u201c<em>because it is cool technology<\/em>\u201d, \u201c<em>because we will get more money<\/em>\u201d, or \u201c<em>to support the business objectives<\/em>\u201d.\u00a0 These outcomes are then achieved by carrots and sticks that are proportionate in magnitude to the risk of the endeavour. \u00a0Questions about meaning beyond these points can be met with silence, sneers, or puzzled looks.<\/p>\n<p>And yet the research shows this should not be the case. \u00a0Success stories abound that provide autonomy through outcome rather than output based approaches, mastery through focusing on individual strengths and custom role definition, and purpose through engagement with tasks\u00a0relevant\u00a0to the individual.<\/p>\n<p>As I continue to find in studies and management experience: to do different, we must be different, and changing convention requires the leaders to <a title=\"Change with meaning: Levinas on the il-y-a, The Other, hypostasis, and a new representation\" href=\"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/index.php\/2011\/12\/change-with-meaning-levinas-on-the-il-y-a-the-other-hypostasis-and-a-new-representation\/\" target=\"_blank\">reflect on who they are<\/a>.\u00a0 The question to business leaders is whether we are going to <strong>do<\/strong> changes to improve autonomy, mastery and purpose; or will we\u00a0<strong>be<\/strong> the type of leader who makes the changes.<\/p>\n<p>What is the path to change the situation? Will the free hand of the market act as a carrot and stick to reward organisations who &#8220;get it&#8221;? At what point does the commercial machine as a whole begin to actively talk about principles such as intrinsic motivation and\u00a0meaning\u00a0behind our actions?<\/p>\n<p>Bottom line:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The current model of carrots and sticks is not appropriate for our environment; and<\/li>\n<li>Intentionally introducing autonomy, mastery and purpose into our organisations will provide better results.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As leaders and change agents, we have a small window of opportunity to have people talk about the type of leader we are rather than the things that we do. \u00a0To be such a leader should in itself be the purpose behind our intrinsic motivation.\u00a0 If it is, then research proves nothing can stop us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There appears to be a \u00a0gap between what science knows and what business does. \u00a0 Intrinsic motivation produces higher long-term profits, but organisations continue to&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/2012\/01\/a-drive-with-daniel-pink-through-autonomy-mastery-and-purpose-why-do-we-continue-to-get-motivations-so-wrong\/\" class=\"bwp-excerpt-more-link\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[184,185],"tags":[61,201,87,99,125],"ecosystem_role":[],"class_list":["post-1301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-organisations","category-about-you","tag-goal-setting","tag-leadership","tag-management-books","tag-personal-development","tag-strengths","bwp-masonry-item","bwp-col-3"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1301"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5372,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1301\/revisions\/5372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1301"},{"taxonomy":"ecosystem_role","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sidewaysthoughts.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ecosystem_role?post=1301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}