What’s New About Human Motivation…

Posted by: Timm J. Esque | Posted on: January 3rd, 2012 | 0 Comments

If you haven’t seen it, Daniel Pink’s Ted talk on what science tells us about human motivation is worth a look.  He uses some relatively recent studies to poke holes in the assumption that human motivation is mainly about rational economics.  In a nutshell, as problems get complex and interdependent and interesting, it is not the promise of  larger monetary rewards that gets people going, and in fact, higher rewards can lead to decreased performance.  Pink uses lab and applied research to make his case, and his use of humor makes the 18 minute tape go fast.  His conclusions are credible and relevant, I would not however say that they are new.

Those of us in business schools in the late 1970′s and interested in human behavior at work learned similar principles based on research from the 1950′s by Frederick  Herzberg, Rensis Likert and others.  You may be aware of the distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation which comes from this research.  Herzberg concluded that money is not a motivator.   It is important and will cause problems if  it is unsatisfactory (he labeled it a “hygiene” factor), but it is not what causes people to succeed.  The new research concludes that money can be a motivator and even improve performance, but only when tasks are simple and predictable.  Any of you working with those types of tasks on your projects?

If problem solvers and innovators are not primarily driven by extrinsic rewards, we need another way of ensuring that we can get and keep the interest of the most talented people.  What causes people to commit to solve complex problems and ensure team success?  What causes people to commit in an environment of inherent uncertainty?