The Carrot and The Stick

I recently saw a commercial on television in which a fellow was being recognized for something he had done within his company. All his fellow employees were gathered as were his supervisors and bosses. Even the company CEO was there for the recognition. After a lot of flowery and I am sure well chosen words of praise the employee was given a "certificate." His response. Was to say, "A certificate! A Certificate!! A CERTIFICATE!!!"  He then proceeded to kick over the trash can, knocked down a lamp, break a flower vase and generally pitch a fit all the while repeating the words, "a Certificate." Clearly he was not motivated in a positive way by the certificate.

When I was in college I was a Christianity and Philosophy major. However, I thought then and still think now that a few courses from the school of business are important. In one of those classes I learned what I have come today to know as the Law of Motivation 2.0 or more commonly known as the "law of carrots and sticks."  (For a full discussion of this I recommend Daniel Pink's book Drive.)

Basically this law of motivation says that people do their best work if they are appropriately rewarded . . . hence the carrot. The negative side of this rule holds that people will not do their worst work if we are penalized . . . hence the stick. Consequently our employers and even we ourselves have tried to motivate us to perform and achieve desired goals by either rewarding our good stuff and penalizing our bad stuff.  Generally the reward has been in the form of some sort of monetary compensation, i.e., the promise of a raise or bonus etc. and the penalization the withholding of the same.

However, as I have surveyed my own life I have discovered that the "carrot and stick" approach has never really worked for me. To be sure, during my working days, I had to pay attention to the carrot. Like everyone else I had to pay the bills. However, having said that I can truthfully say that money has never been a major motivator in my life. 

I do appreciate all the salaries, raises, bonuses etc I have received over the years. Everyone, including myself, wants to be fairly compensated for their time and work. Truth is, none of us would continue on a job where our compensation did not meet our basic life needs. If the compensation level is too low we become dissatisfied and our performance levels drop.

For me it was always something more than the carrot that motivated me. Often it was the challenge of the task. I needed a task commiserate with my interests; that challenged my abilities; that facilitated my desire to grow personally and professionally; and that provided a sense of achievement and satisfaction.

It is absolutely true that I was always happier and did my best work when I did not have to worry about "paying the bills."  However it is equally true that I was happiest, more productive and more creative when I was given the freedom to focus on creatively taking on a task.  In fact, some of my very best work has been produced free. You see, my reward for any task well performed is the sense of self-satisfaction I receive. They money is nice but the satisfaction of a job well done is better.

What I discovered is that I am little motivated by external stimulus. For me, motivation comes from within. Over the years I've had this discussion with Human Resource people and to a man they just can't get past the notion that we must be externally incentivize (the carrot and he stick) if we are to achieve. I, on the other hand, contend that to get the very best we can do we must be internally incentivize. 

So, for me at least, here is the deal. Pay me a living wage and then stress the autonomy I will have in my tasks; the challenge to master new skills along the way; and the opportunity to do something that has purpose and really matters.  If there has to be a reward make it unexpected and not a contingency reward. Allow me to focus on the task not the carrot. Truth be told the reward if offered could even be of a non-tangible nature such as an sincere  "attaboy." 

Would I turn down a fiduciary reward? Probably not. Would such a reward induce me to work harder or better on the next task? Probably not. Would I feel indebted to hose giving the reward? Again, probably not. I would be appreciative. You see for me, the reward has always been in the "job well done."

What gets your juices going?