Motivational Foundations

Just saw an interesting presentation about motivation, science & business: Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation.

Probably the coolest takeaway are the three core foundations of successful motivation:

1. Mastery
2. Autonomy
3. Purpose

Mastery would be the drive to improve and become the best at what one does. Autonomy would be the feeling of empowerment and control over what one does. Purpose would be the feeling of being a part of something bigger.

I've seen all of these things work well in the past but the genius is putting them all together to drive motivation across the whole team. Dan Pink says that incentives don't work as expected and I believe him. From my experience the most motivated teams have everyone feeling engaged, improving their skills, and helping the company kick some ass.

Thanks Dan for clarifying what I've observed in a way that I can now take it an purposefully work at implementing it.

Geez, TED is a cool site.