On Motivating People

The following excerpt, from the Harvard Business Review article What Leaders Really Do (abstract) by John P. Kotter, reminds us that truly motivating people involves more than just offering money in exchange for achievement, but rather tapping into some of our most fundamental human needs.

Motivation and inspiration energize people, not by pushing them in the right direction as control mechanisms do but by satisfying basic human needs for achievement, self-esteem, a feeling of control over one's life, and the ability to live up to one's ideals.  Such feelings touch us deeply and elicit a powerful response.

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Comments

[Frank Giancola]

That's a good thought to remind us compensation folks of. We get tend to see our job largely in materialistic terms, when there is clearly much more that we should be considering to motivate and engage employees.