Gaining Better Engagement

I recently read Dan Pink’s book ‘Drive’ about what truly motivates and drives us. It was an interesting read as Pink argues that there is currently a charm between how businesses and organisations motivate their staff (or not!) and what the scientific research says about motivation. Essentially Pink identifies three core drivers which are: Autonomy – our desire to be self-directed and to have a great deal of control over our work. Mastery – our desire to get better at what we do and want to do things that are challenging but within our capability. Purpose – our desire to have meaning in what we do, to serve something or someone greater than ourselves. He argues that the traditional management style of ‘carrot and stick’ outdated at best and at worst diminishes performances and extinguishes motivation. Interestingly he points to research that shows that ‘if then’ type rewards, (i.e. if you do this then you get that) can encourage greed and unethical behaviour. This made me think about the bonus culture that existed in many of our banks who promoted PPI. The miss-selling of these products has led to a number of banks paying out billions in compensation. What Pink has concluded rings true with two of my own personal experiences. For a number of years I worked for a children’s publisher where I experienced a high level of engagement. We were part of a larger group but essentially left alone to do what we thought was best for the business. The purpose of the business was very clear, we were the ‘children’s expert’, encouraging children from all around the globe to read, learn and develop. The majority of staff recognised this and I contrast this with a ceramic materials manufacturer who I also worked for. Again we were part of a large group but this time had little real autonomy. The group was only interested in managing cost and profit ability of the business and sadly this permeated the whole organisation. The business’ only purpose appeared to be, to make money, which was not something that inspired or engaged staff. My personal experiences ring true with pink’s in terms of the environments I found most stimulating to work in were the ones where there was clear meaning to what I was doing. I had a great deal of autonomy and learned a lot too!