Motivation in the 21st (?) Century

Management scholars have been studying motivation in the workplace for decades. Many of you will recognize the familiar pyramid pictured here as "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs," which Maslow formally presented in 1943. To motivate workers, managers have established all manners of external incentives, such as bonuses, stock options, commissions, and other rewards, in the name of improving productivity. What scientists have consistently found, however, is that these external incentives actually hurt performance. In a stimulating presentation from TED Talks, Daniel Pink cites numerous studies that support this and argues that our motivational approach should be based on autonomy, mastery, and purpose rather than on carrots and sticks. The audience - and surely Maslow - agree. The difficult question for managers is how best to implement "what science knows" into "what managers do."