“Drive: The Surprising Trust About What Motivates Us” by Daniel Pink

“Drive: The Surprising Trust About What Motivates Us” by Daniel Pink

This summer I had an opportunity to read a great book entitled, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink. Pink’s book explores and debunks several myths about what drives human behavior, and hebuilds a strong case for why we as leaders and managers need to better understand what motivates people and not just rely on economic motivators.

For example one commonly held belief is that ifwe provide larger extrinsic incentives, then people will perform better. This belief turns out to be true for simple, mechanical tasks. However, itis not true when motivating people aroundcomplex tasks that demand more conceptual reasoning. His researchindicates thatperformance andoutcomes are largely driven byproviding people with autonomy, enabling them to be experts, and creating a sense of purpose. In other words, when thinking about motivating others we as leaders should ask ourselves 1)have we created an environment where people have autonomy; 2) are we enabling peopleto develop and master their skills; and 3)have we communicated a strong sense of purpose –or why we are doing what we’re doing.Pink’s findingsare simple, and powerful.