Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation is necessary for any individual to succeed. In 100% of every case where someone has succeeded at anything, they have had intrinsic motivation. Do you?

First, I’ll describe the two types of motivations, and how they occur in my life and yours every day.

Intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from within. It is the so-called “self-motivation.” You may experience it when…

1. You feel like what you’ve done so far in learning a task, has succeeded because of the effort you have put into it.
2. You feel like the goal is obtainable, but not too easy.
3. You have a real interest in the topic you’re learning, and are not just doing it to get grades or a paycheck.

Extrinsic motivation comes from outside sources. It is more of a rewards-based motivation. You may experience it when…

1. You do a job only because you are getting paid for it or are getting graded on it.
2. You feel a “what’s in it for me” type of feeling or attitude toward a task or learning experience.
3. You are under threat of punishment if you do not do a job or do it well.

It is very important to note that almost all businesses subscribe to the model of extrinsic motivation, and if you’ve worked anywhere, you’ve come across it. When extrinsic motivation is applied to workers, they begin to work only because they have to and not because they want to. Been there? Experienced that before?

Good managers and leaders in companies can identify workers who have intrinsic motivation and those who do not. And, they can provide guidance without control to those who have it, and by doing that they feed the motivation of the individual and get better work from him or her. For those who do not have intrinsic motivation, they can “turn them around” by allowing the worker to choose tasks and side-projects, and play a bigger role in determining his or her destiny.

And, if extrinsic motivation is needed, the type of extrinsic motivation that supports the intrinsic drive of an individual should be used. What is this type? It is when there is criticism that confirms someone’s proficiency, or “constructive criticism.” Any extrinsic motivation that includes a controlling aspect will not work and will go against the intrinsically-motivated individual.

Sadly though, the standard route that managers usually take is one of controlling the intrinsically motivated person and forcing more work on those who are not intrinsically motivated. These actions result in worsening of the situation for both types of workers.

• The intrinsically motivated person appears to a boss as a risk because they are outperforming the others and working in ways that the boss doesn’t understand. The solution in the boss’s mind is to control that. By doing that though, it takes away the motivation of the individual. In this case it should be more of a “not broke, don’t fix” situation.
• The unmotivated person appears to be unmotivated, lazy, or otherwise in need of correcting. The solution in the boss’s mind is to challenge the person more by giving more of the same kind of work. By doing that though, he feeds the problem and worsens the situation because the worker will now move directly to the overloaded state where he or she sees it as futile to try to complete the work.

So what is the answer? The answer is stated best in the book “Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from EverybodyElse” by Geoff Colvin. There is a fine line between what type of motivation works and what doesn’t and there is some complexity involved. Because I think you should read Mr. Colvin’s book, I’m not going to spoil it here by telling you much more about it. “Deliberate practice” is also discussed in his book and is its main focal point – why some succeed to a great degree and others to lesser extents.

In the book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi the author discusses the concept of “Flow” that comes from the intrinsically-motivated person.

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are at the core of many issues and they are worth understanding in more detail!