Engage at a Higher Level by Understanding the Different Types of Motivation

Inspiration, not motivation, is what leaders provide to encourage others to be more, act more, and do more. Motivation is a personal choice, largely driven by personal feelings and beliefs. In this article, we will explore the differences between intrinsic (internal) motivation factors and extrinsic (external) motivation factors. Everyone is driven by something, but not always the same thing. To complicate it more, not everyone’s motivation is the same when in different situations. Think of your own motivators and how they change based on the season of your life, the timing of the situation, or personal beliefs on specific subjects that come up. As a leader, connecting to those becomes an important step in understanding how to influence and inspire others to move in new directions or take on additional challenges.

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because they want to do it. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

Many leaders believe that everyone should always be motivated. Everyone should be ready to go, embrace change, and jump right in. The reality is that doesn’t happen. It probably doesn’t even happen for those specific leaders on an individual basis. We all have multiple things on our plates or in our lives that we simply are not excited about at some point. Leadership is about balancing between the heart, head, and hands of others. Inspiring motivation means connecting to one of those three things that resonate most with any individual in the moment. 

Intrinsic motivation

Internal. Personal. Meaningful. Those are some keywords that define what intrinsic motivation is. It is a force that comes from within and moves you to action. I do not believe it can be coerced from people; rather, it must be appealed to. That comes from knowing, understanding, and connecting with individuals. As a leader, you will need to know what moves people to do something. What is important to them and why? Character traits and general personality markers can drive intrinsic motivation. Someone who naturally loves to learn will likely be motivated by taking on a new challenge if presented in a way that they will have the opportunity to learn new things or ways to work. People who like to problem-solve will jump at the opportunity to work on a complex project that doesn’t have a known solution yet. 

In many cases, when you appeal to someone’s intrinsic motivations, the need for monetary rewards or extra incentives is unnecessary. To them, the reward is the opportunity to do it. All of this will be predicated on all other aspects of the work environment meeting a basic standard. Even appealing to people’s most important intrinsic beliefs while not paying a fair living wage will not deliver your desired results.

Extrinsic motivation

External. Reward. Tangible. These are components of extrinsic motivators. These are more commonly discussed and understood because they are more tangible in nature. Being offered a bonus for achieving a certain outcome is an extrinsic reward. The idea of ‘carrot and stick’ is completely driven by an extrinsic thought process. “If you do this, I will give you that.” For some, this can be an effective way to get the action started. Real success goes beyond getting started – it is defined by sustainability, evolution, continuous improvement, and the like. 

For additional reading on the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, Recruiter.comfeatured the article Understanding Intrinsic and Extrinsic Employee Motivations a couple of years ago. It is a quick read that provides some additional details on each.

Intrinsic and extrinsic are the core forms of motivation and are the ones most widely accepted. Others point to two additional drivers, which I explain below, and connect them to intrinsic and extrinsic factors. I agree these are valuable offshoots. By forming strong bonds with those you are serving, you can fully understand how being family-driven or driven through competition can be used for positive and effective influence and inspiration.

Family driven

Having a family-driven motivation is arguable more of an intrinsic motivator. I see it as a standalone marker because family connections can mean diverse things to people. Some people are very driven by the need to support their family. The motivation comes internally for a more external reward — providing for others closest to them. It is also an outcome of realizing personal pride in knowing what you have done for your family through your actions.

Understanding and utilizing a family-driven motivation approach is much more challenging from an external point of view. Family-driven is internal. A fully formed relationship is required for a leader to effectively connect inspiration to one’s family-driven motives. Done poorly, and you can quickly tip into an area that demotivates or sounds coercive. (See motivation versus manipulation below.)

Competitive driven

Competition is generally an extrinsic motivator. That said, some people are purely motivated by competition among other people. They love competing more than anything else. I find this one interesting because there are many connections to intrinsic motivations in this thought process. The competitive drive comes from within for the external recognition that comes with it. I suppose the differentiator here is for those that just love the act of competing and are less concerned about the specific placement outcomes would be intrinsic in nature. Someone who is driven by being number one leans much more to the extrinsic side. These distinctions are important to understand from a leadership standpoint. How you approach this can vary based on what the individual considers the most important element.

Motivation versus manipulation

Motivation and influence are very similar in how they work. Both are leadership inspiration-driven. I could argue that the inspiration for motivation is the same or, at the very least very similar, to influencing others to act in the way that you desire. Because of that, both can walk a fine line between the positive effects of inspiring motivation and influencing with the negative of manipulation. If you are using a lot of ‘carrots’ to try to motivate people, I believe you are much closer to manipulating than you are inspiring or influencing. That is an ‘easy way out’ approach and will only provide short-term gains. If you are not connecting to one of the drivers mentioned above, the likelihood of long-term success diminishes greatly. 

It is for this reason that I believe that if you do not connect with those you lead on a level that will drive more intrinsically motivated actions, you ultimately will not reach the full potential of your team or the outcome you seek. The more activity that can come from an internally driven team, the longer, more sustained, and more impactful the outcomes will be.

The biggest mistake leaders can make is to believe that everyone is motivated by the same things in the same ways for the same reasons. Not everyone is motivated by money, and if they are, perhaps not for the same reasons. Timing can be everything when it comes to monetary rewards. Someone who wants to take a really nice vacation but cannot afford it may be highly motivated by a cash reward at that moment. That will not be sustainable and likely will not have the same effect next time. 

In the final article in this particular series, I will explore how leaders can make the appropriate connections to inspire others based on what matters most to them. Throughout this article, I have mentioned the importance of understanding the perspective of the individual. Making that connection and tailoring to the needs of those you lead will determine the levels of motivation you can inject.

What steps can you take to understand whether people are more intrinsically or extrinsically motivated in certain areas?

Join other retail leaders in continuing their development journey with Effective Retail Leader.com. SUBSCRIBE today to receive FREE leadership tips directly to your inbox and monthly newsletters that provide many tools to help further develop your leadership skills all at no cost. JOIN NOW!

No spam ever – just leadership goodness.