Autonomy, mastery, purpose: three forces that motivate us all

Library → Models and frameworks → Daniel Pink’s autonomy/purpose/drive motivation model

Understanding how to effectively motivate others is a complex task that rests at the core of successful management.

Let’s get motivated.

While external forces such as financial compensation, praise, or the avoidance of negative consequences can generate short-term action, these are simply not enough to inspire committed, creative work in the long term.

In fact, some studies show that, other than for the simplest tasks, extrinsic motivators like these can actually impede the creativity and cognitive effort needed for peak performance.

Instead, to ensure productive, engaged, and satisfied teams, managers and HR professionals need to leverage intrinsic motivators.

Today, we’ll turn to Daniel Pink’s book Drive to examine three key generators of intrinsic motivation - Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose – each anchored by key psychological and motivational theories.

Whether your role demands inspiring leadership, or you’re simply in the doldrums yourself, this framework can help you look for ways to identify your de-motivators and find exciting solutions.

Three intrinsic motivators

To engage deeply with work, Dan Pink explains that we need three key elements:

• Autonomy – the chance to do things our own way, follow our instincts and feel like we matter

• Mastery – a sense of growing confidence and competence, informed by rapid feedback that lets us understand whether what we’re doing is ‘working’

• Purpose – the feeling that our work is having a genuine impact, and contributing meaningfully to something bigger, and part of a greater good, whether that’s for our colleagues, clients, or society at large

When all three come together, the depth of our motivation can inspire us to overcome all sorts of challenges, helping us navigate times of change and respond to setbacks with determination and resilience.

What motivates us: video

1) Autonomy as a motivator

Just like Sinatra, most of us want to feel like we did it ‘My Way.’

Autonomy — the sense of control and freedom in one's work — is a significant contributor to motivation.

Protecting our own identity or ‘sense of self’ is a fundamental psychological drive, so when we can weave this into our work, we strive to protect the work, too. As a manager, respecting individual talents and encouraging unique contributions can enhance employee engagement.

Conversely, micro-management and inflexible work processes are likely to erode feelings of autonomy and act as demotivators. Team members start to to feel like ‘cogs in a machine’, and the work does not feel like ‘theirs.’ In order to feel intrinsically motivated, we need to fully and creatively perform the task ‘as ourselves’, rather than robotically complying with instructions.

Statements a high-autonomy employee would strongly agree with:

1. "I have the freedom to make decisions about how I accomplish my tasks."

2. "I am encouraged to bring my unique perspective and ideas to my role."

3. "I feel that my individual working style is respected and valued."

4. "I am able to influence decisions that directly affect my work."

5. "I have sufficient control over the way I carry out my tasks."

Tips on increasing a sense of autonomy:

1. Delegate decision-making: Empower employees by giving them autonomy in decision-making where appropriate, fostering a sense of ownership.

2. Flexibility: Offer flexibility in how tasks are performed, allowing employees to work in ways that best suit their skills and preferences.

3. Open communication: Encourage open communication and value employee suggestions, making them feel heard and respected.

4. Respect individuality: Recognize and respect individual differences, allowing employees to bring their unique perspectives and approaches to their work.

5. Support job crafting: Allow employees to tailor their jobs to fit their interests and strengths better, enhancing their sense of control and satisfaction.

2) Mastery as a motivator

We’re all on a journey from potwash to Masterchef.

Mastery — the perception of competence and constant improvement — is also crucial in fostering motivation.

This aligns with the competence aspect of SDT and Bandura's concept of Self-Efficacy, reflecting a belief in one's ability to succeed.

A lack of ‘mastery’ motivation can stem from three causes:

Excessive challenge: repeated failure, without improvement, can lead to stress, overwhelm and hopelessness.

Insufficient challenge: hitting the ceiling of task performance, without any further challenges, can create a feeling of complacency, disengagement and boredom.

Lack of feedback: motivation also ebbs when someone can’t tell if they are doing a good job or not - they lack a sense of reward from success, or the learning opportunity of a miss. It’s like trying to hit an invisible target.

Statements that mastery-motivated people might agree with are:

1. "My role offers opportunities to learn new skills and develop my abilities."

2. "I receive regular feedback that helps me improve my performance."

3. "My job challenges me to grow and step out of my comfort zone."

4. "I am recognized or rewarded when I master a new skill or improve my performance."

5. "I feel confident about my ability to perform my job well."

Tips on increasing a sense of mastery:

• Create psychological safety: When staff can honestly share when they’re struggling, without fear of reprisal, you can quickly respond by providing closer support. Similarly, employees will feel empowered to push themselves outside of their comfort zone if they feel safe to do so. Foster a culture that values learning and growth, encouraging employees to view challenges as opportunities for improvement.

• Use data for rapid feedback: Look for ways to quantify performance, output, and impact using dashboards that everyone can understand. Focus on celebrating ‘lead measures’ (the initial factors that staff can directly control, and change quickly in response to effort) over ‘lagging measures’ (the hoped-for change in results that only emerge much later, and may have a complex set of causes.) Try to reduce gaps and delays in reporting to make the results as ‘instant’ as possible – it would be difficult for a football player to improve at taking penalties, if they were blindfolded and ‘number of goals scored’ only revealed in an end-of-quarter report.

• Set clear expectations: Set clear, challenging and achievable goals for team members that encourage them to improve their skills. Find new ways to create interesting challenges for people reaching the top of their game.

• Feedback and recognition: Provide regular, constructive, qualitative feedback and recognise employees when they master new skills or improve their performance.

• Provide training opportunities: Invest in employee development programs, workshops, and training opportunities to help them expand their skills.

Purpose as a motivator

A belief that our work is meaningful is crucial to sustained performance.

Purpose – a sense of meaningfulness and impact of one's work – is a potent motivational force.

This echoes the concept of 'Meaningful Work,' as described in the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), where individuals seek to be a part of something bigger and impactful.

Conversely, the feeling that our work is somehow pointless (or perhaps even having a negative effect!) is a major de-motivator.

Purpose need not always be grand (in the sense of noble societal impact) but can also emerge from a sense of contributing meaningfully to a larger project, supporting peers that are depending on us, or providing a great service to customers.

Statements a purpose-oriented person would strongly agree with are:

1. "I believe my work significantly contributes to the overall success of the organization."

2. "The work I do aligns well with my personal values and beliefs."

3. "I feel a strong sense of purpose and meaningfulness in my role."

4. "The tasks I perform in my job create a positive impact on others or society."

5. "The mission and values of the organization resonate with me."

Tips on increasing a sense of purpose:

1. Communicate vision: Clearly communicate the organization's mission, vision, and strategic goals to ensure all team members understand the bigger picture.

2. Demonstrate impact: Regularly show team members how their work contributes to these goals and impacts customers, stakeholders, or society at large.

3. Align roles with values: Make efforts to align the roles and tasks of employees with their personal values and passions wherever possible.

4. Recognise contributions: Recognise and appreciate employees' contributions in ways that highlight the value and impact of their work.

5. Promote corporate social responsibility: Encourage and facilitate involvement in CSR initiatives to boost the sense of greater social benefit.

Learn more about motivation

Increase motivation at your organisation using techniques like these, with our bitesize management training course in Motivating Others.

For a deeper dive into the surprising science of motivation, check out a copy of Drive by Daniel Pink.