Last month at TEDGlobal 2009, Dan Pink, who is Al Gore’s former speech writer and now ‘career analyst’, made a pretty interesting presentation on the science of motivation by showing that traditional rewards aren’t always as effective as we think.
(Recorded at TEDGlobal 2009, July 2009 in Oxford, UK. Duration: 18:36)
- Money cannot buy performance
Rewards or incentives by their very nature narrow our focus, dull our thinking and creativity…and therefore restrict our capabilities and performance. Incentives actually create totally the opposite of what they are supposed to do! Higher incentives = worse performance.
I like Dan’s point here especially in the light of what has happened with the financial crisis…it seems like it is time to review biased assumptions on which the most basic business & HR management principles are based.
- What the real incentives are: autonomy, mastery and… purpose!
Motivation is rather based on more intrinsic factors: the desire to do things because they matter, because they are part of something important and because we like them. It is very simple and revolves around three elements:
Autonomy: The urge to direct our own lives
Mastery: The desire to get better and better at what we do and something that matters
and…Purpose: Doing what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves!
The latter is what interests us the most here. Few employees come to work each morning excited solely by the prospect of making money and increasing shareholder value. They want to be a part of something meaningful, something that contributes positively to society. Effective CSR or Sustainability initiatives can provide a larger context/ a greater purpose for employees to view their jobs and the mission of their organizations!
Beyond increasing employee loyalty, retention and attraction, CSR also enhances employee morale, motivation…and therefore performance!
CSR initiatives are something all employees can take pride in, and don’t forget that your employees can then be your best AMBASSADORS, especially to friends and family when they demonstrate that their organization is a trusted corporate citizen from the inside-out.
This is especially true for newest entrants to the workplace, i.e. the Millenials / Generation Y who increasingly a) want to live for more than work and b) like to feel that they are living for more than just themselves
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