How can you use intrinsic motivation to create a positive work environment?

There are a number of things that leaders can do to create a positive work environment that fosters intrinsic motivation. These include: - Providing autonomy - Offering opportunities for growth and development - Providing feedback and recognition - Creating a sense of community - Celebrating successes - Understanding the needs of your employees is super essential.

The three needs of Self-Determination Theory (Autonomy, Relatedness, and Competence) are important, but not an exhaustive list of intrinsic motivators. There is much debate in the research, but I would add Vitality, Engagement, Positive Expectancy, and Meaning to these. Each leader and team member has a unique blend of these needs. Leaders who fuel the intrinsic motivation of their team members find ways to allow them to meet those needs through their work. Empathy, consideration, and autonomy support help to do that. So does crafting jobs to suit each member's psychological strengths, since strengths align with motivation and personality.

Intrinsic motivation must be allowed to express itself organically; it must be fostered and embraced as part of the culture. An example of this is fostering daily or weekly self-reflection periods, which in yoga we call "svadyhaha," or self-study. A simple 3-5 minute breathing or visualization exercise followed by 10-20 minutes of journaling and another 20-30 minute sharing, reflecting, discussing can change the entire energy dynamic. Intrinsic motivation can only be "used" when it is understood and internalized by the individual. The cool thing about allowing it to spring forth is that it is a wellspring that fills first the individual and then the other "cups" in the room as well, as a naturally occurring processes.

As human beings, we feel incentivized, to complete a task simply because we find it interesting or enjoyable-this incentive or Intrinsic Motivation is a key driver or productivity and performance in organizations and leaders should take special carein identifying the employee's instructions motivation needs. Companies traditionally are focused on increasing external motivation, but with Gen Z taking centre stage, intrinsic motivation matters the most when it comes to managing employee performance. An employee who is intrinsically motivated will not only think about losing their job or getting a bonus, but also think about performing out of sense of satisfaction, enjoyment or belonging that they gain from their work.

Providing feedback is an important part of creating a positive work environment that fosters intrinsic motivation. -Be specific: Tell people what they did well and what they need to improve on. Don't be vague or general. -Be timely: Give feedback as soon as possible after the event or behavior occurred. The longer you wait, the less effective the feedback will be. -Be constructive: Focus on the behavior, not the person. Use "I" statements to avoid sounding accusatory. -Be positive: Even when you're giving negative feedback, try to focus on the positive. -Be consistent: Give feedback on a regular basis. This will help people understand that it's important to you and that you're invested in their success.

Make sure that feedback is two-way. Undoubtedly there are considerations that your team members want to share with you. This fosters trust, improves their working conditions, reduces guessing, and helps you improve.

The effectiveness of feedback hinges on your ability to have established trust beforehand. You cannot deliver constructive feedback if your team member doesn’t trust you: trust remains a prerequisite. I recently came across someone in an organization that had been branded “defensive” and described as someone “who doesn’t take feedback”. Turned out the person had been subjected to bullying by their manager, the same one who had labeled them. Of course this person would not take feedback from someone who they did not trust! Trust had not been established: feedback was perceived as criticism, and therefore, went unheeded. True leadership starts with trust, creating a base for communication, collaboration and growth.

Tie in the values to how the work itself and the performance of the individual is evaluated, recognized and rewarded. For example when evaluating the individual's performance, while considering the outcome, also consider the how the work was delivered. Was it done in a way that embraced and showcased the values or not? Be transparent with this and communicate how these aspects are accounted for.

-Identify Core Values: Clearly define the organization's core values and ensure they are communicated effectively to all employees. -Empower Ownership: Encourage employees to participate in value discussions and decision-making processes. -Recognize Value Alignment: Acknowledge and reward employees who demonstrate actions that embody the organization's values. -Embrace Diversity of Values: Respect and appreciate the diverse values of employees, fostering an inclusive and welcoming environment. -Promote Value-Driven Actions: Integrate core values into daily operations, decision-making, and employee interactions.

-Define clear goals and expectations: Set clear objectives and expectations, providing employees with a framework within which they can exercise autonomy. -Delegate tasks and responsibilities: Trust employees with the authority to make decisions and complete tasks without constant micromanagement. -Provide flexibility in work arrangements: Offer flexible work schedules, remote work options, hybrid work models to accommodate individual preferences and needs. -Encourage creative problem-solving: Empower employees to approach challenges, find solutions using their own creativity and expertise. -Foster a culture of open communication: Encourage open communication, feedback loops, discussions to address concerns and promote shared understanding.

Granting autonomy to your employees has an underlying meaning behind all of the obvious benefits: trust in your employees. If you give them autonomy, it means you believe in their skills. When you show that you trust your employees, they will want to do a good job in order to fulfill your expectations. One thing you should be careful not to do is put too much pressure on your employees. They should know you are standing behind them, ready to help them out.

A team member recently shared the great news of having surpassed their targets. After allowing me to congratulate them, they added: “the only reason I have achieved this is because you let me get my work done!”. I understood this to mean that I had empowered them with the autonomy they needed to do their best work — the opposite of micromanagement!

Trust your team. Do this in actions, not just words. Share your thoughts and guidance but encourage and support the decision of the project or initiative driver.

One most important aspect of creating an atmosphere with provides intrinsic motivation is Autonomy. At work place an employee would love to control how and when he work, especially when hybrid working is a norm now, and withnsuch flexible schedules, autonomy has become all the more important. Autonomy also drives competence, which in turn will increase our sense of self-esteem. The manager should empower thebteam to see the intention behind specific goals, so that they can gain a sense of autonomy and purpose.

-Encourage teamwork and collaboration: Create opportunities for teamwork and collaboration, fostering a sense of shared purpose and interdependence. -Promote social interactions and team-building activities: -Provide opportunities for mentorship and knowledge sharing: Establish mentorship programs and knowledge-sharing initiatives to foster connections and promote learning from one another. -Recognize and celebrate collective achievements: Acknowledge and celebrate team successes, highlighting the positive impact of their collaborative efforts. -Encourage open communication and feedback: Create an environment of open communication and feedback, allowing employees to share ideas, concerns, and support one another.

In my experience relatedness is another word for a culture of trust. Anyone wanting to have a feeling of belonging and shared responsibilities must by definition be in an environment where trust is the common denominator for everyone in the organization. In fact it is not so much that relatedness can be a separate goal as much as it is a natural byproduct of an environment where communication, collaboration and improved end results are expected by everyone because the trust between each other is at that level. Another vital example of where well defined and focused leadership is a must.

Leveraging intrinsic motivation to create a positive work environment involves tapping into employees' internal drives and desires. fostering mastery encouraging autonomy cultivating a positive culture recognizing and appreciating efforts aligning goals with values are key strategies Providing meaningful work aligns with their values By prioritising intrinsic motivation, organisations can cultivate a workplace where employees feel engaged, fulfilled, and motivated to perform at their best.

This idea that we are willing to go that extra mile or intrinsic motivation comes from loving our work. It comes from a feeling of satin and fulfillment. And in order to light that spark of engagement- we need some basic building blocks. Loving our work, finding happiness and fulfillment comes from having strong relationships and friendships at work, it comes from being able to do work that showcases our strengths and the things that we are good at and doing that kind of work everyday and that feeling of satisfaction also comes from feeling like we are making progress and moving towards being goals. If we can work those 3 things into our daily lives- intrinsic motivation is certain to follow!

Instrinsic motivation is deeply connected to each person’s self-awareness and consciousness, which in turn influence one’s values. Values feed purpose. With this interdependence in mind, I would suggest that work on self awareness and consciousness of each team member - and creating opportunities to share and co-create together as a team - can strongly influence self motivation and, in the long run, positively influence the quality of work and the team dynamic.

An intrinsically motivated person is moved to act for thr fum or challenge entailed rather than the typical reward attached to it. Famed psychologists Ryan & Deci developed the concept of intrinsic motivation in their work on SDT - Self Determination Theory, have overturned the behaviorist idea that the best way to get people to perform tasks was to give them external incentives. They found that people were far more motivated by their own thoughts and feelings about the task. In some cases their research found that extrinsic motivation actually decreases our interest in the task. Leaders should refer this research findings to create their own intrinsic motivation framework. Intrinsic motivation creates a positive feedback loop.