The Carrot vs. the Stick: How to Motivate Every Team Member Toward Success, Including Yourself
I first discovered I had a natural strength for leadership when working at Amazon, leading an operations team within hardware. My office became a revolving door of employees, some from my team and others from different departments, looking for mentorship and guidance. The more time I spent coaching professionals and learning their stories, the more I learned why they were drawn to my leadership style.
They revealed feeling more empowered and limitless when a leader endorsed their talents, championed their visions, and challenged them to compete with themselves and not their coworkers. They shared their preference for being inspired by internal motivation rather than being motivated by fear.
Their openness proved a point I’ve long believed: a team fighting for promotions may breed competition amongst peers, resulting in quick wins for the company and the individual; but a team fueled by inner motivation will inspire innovation and personal growth, resulting in long-term success for the business and the team as a whole.
Success isn’t Rocket Science
Too often, I think leaders want to have a debate on motivation and theories related to carrots and sticks. If you’re unfamiliar, “carrot and stick motivation” is a motivational approach that involves offering a “carrot,” (a reward) for good behavior and a “stick,” (a negative consequence) for poor behavior. Experts often conclude that it motivates staff by creating actionable goals and desirable rewards for employees who can alter their behavior and performance. And managers either adopt a reward system to motivate “good” behavior or develop demerit-focused systems to punish poor performance. But I don’t think it needs to be treated like a science experiment. We’re dealing with people, not rabbits.
Sure, I’ve read the same leadership classics like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and attended all the same conferences my upper management peers did. Still, I believe my innate ability to motivate a team had more to do with my experience in the “school of hard knocks” than anything else.
Growing up, I lived in a small town in Delaware with my grandmother, mother, and siblings. We had very few options for stability and safety and fewer options to build a better life. While my upbringing was peppered with many “aha moments” and setbacks, I eventually found my one-way ticket to a more promising future: academics.
I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I realized leveraging my intellect would help me succeed in life, but I distinctly recall the mindset it gave me at a young age. I felt liberated, empowered, and incredibly determined once I decided the safest bet was to bet on myself.
Being fueled by internal motivation helped me develop a greater focus for my strengths, gifted me a sense of inner accountability, and allowed me to always keep my goals, values, and gut in-check. I wasn’t easily swayed or distracted, perhaps to a fault at times. Instead, I competed with myself and knew I couldn’t afford to take my eye off the prize.
Related: The Future of Tech and Silicon Valley Isn’t Super Gadgets: It’s Amplifying Black and Brown Voices
What Does it Mean to be Intrinsically Motivated?
When we think about the difference between being internally motivated and externally motivated, we often think of the why behind the action. According to Psych Central, “Internal motivation is seen when a person undertakes an activity for its own sake without external rewards, such as a hobby. Internal motivation can result from our feelings, thoughts, values, and goals.”
When I look at the work that fuels me now, I’m pulled to work that allows me to amplify voices of color, specifically in tech. When I have the opportunity to take on a new project at Twitter, it has less to do with climbing a ladder; and has everything to do with bringing the necessary change to society. I’m fighting each day for the kid from Delaware who didn’t have many choices, and for the future generation to have every choice.
If an employee or professional isn’t intrinsically motivated, it doesn’t mean failure is inevitable. It purely means surface-level tactics will need to be implemented to see any result, good or positive. What’s wrong with that? If a team member is only motivated by money or a shiny, new title to put on LinkedIn, how are you going to ensure good work is being produced in the event budgets are cut, they hit their compensation band, or the person whose position they’re gunning for isn’t leaving the company any time soon? You could move onto praise, and that could work for some time, but their resilience will hit a dead end. Maybe you move on to “stick,” or fear-induced motivation. But who wants to babysit an adult to do their job when you have other priorities?
When a person is internally motivated, there are no gimmicks, no leaderboards, no cheap mind tricks to get the work done. Instead, a person is empowered to explore new ideas and solutions, be excited to put in the extra work, go the extra mile, and is loyal to their mission — and those who share it. The most successful people, the people who leave a legacy, are the ones who are intrinsically motivated.
How to Coach Your Team to be Intrinsically Motivated
Part of why my leadership style is a magnet for inspired talent is because I invest time and thought into their career aspirations. I find out what they feel is their purpose-driven mission and help them see how the work they’re doing (or the work they ought to be doing) is tied to their larger plan. By no means should you play armchair psychologist. I’m sure the HR department would agree with that. However, to help your team be more intrinsically motivated, you must know what actually motivates them. As I said, it’s not rocket science.
If you’re a manager, a good starting point would be to host regular meetings with each team member on an individual level. In addition to tracking the status of projects and goals, discover their “why.”
Why are they in this field?
What do they hope to accomplish with their work?
What is their larger career plan?
How do they wish to develop professionally?
Do they see themselves as a leader or doer?
Do they understand how their work ties back to the company mission? Why or why not?
And when you listen, actively listen. Put the company’s thoughts on hold and really take in the message they’re looking to get across. When you pay attention, you can learn things about your team member that wasn’t obvious. For example, you could learn an entry-level marketing team member has a finance background and an affinity for numbers and critical thinking. You swap some of their creative tasks for work that is more strategic and research-focused while explaining why their creative tasks relate to the business’s financial aspect. Quickly, their half-baked work or lackluster enthusiasm evolves into a respect for the tasks they don’t care for and a deeper connection with the projects they naturally gravitate toward.
How to Make Yourself More Intrinsically Motivated
Lead by example. It’s important for leaders to move toward being intrinsically motivated themselves. Instead of chasing the competition, your office nemesis, or something tangible — bring it back to basics.
Even those who have disdain for their job can find inner motivation. I love being in tech and truly enjoy most aspects of my work, but I am also a father and husband. For the seasons when work is extraordinarily grueling, or I’m not as inspired by work, I am motivated by what I want to provide my children, and their children. The thought of providing stability for my wife, who cares for our children full-time, gets me through hard days. On all levels — familial, societal, and personal — I know my “why.” I know my purpose, and I always know, I am the sure bet.
