I recently watched Dan Pink’s talk about what motivates us. It’s not only an insightful talk, but the video is fun to watch as well:

The video points out a very real management belief – that money is either the most important or the only way to motivate employees. I have worked for managers who believe this, and I saw this principle taught at the MBA-level.

In my experience, money is only one of many factors that motivate people. I know people who rate salary, bonuses, and stock options as the number 1 factor in their decision to take a job, but for others, it’s not even a top-5 factor consideration. Other things like autonomy, recognition, challenging work, a sense of greater purpose, job advancement options, proximity to family, etc. go a long way to motivate people too. Everyone is different and taking a “money motivates all” approach misses the point.

That’s good news when you work in teams. That means there you can influence direction, even if you aren’t in control of the purse strings. So what have you been doing to motivate your team members lately?

-Deborah Fike

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