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If Motivating People Doesn’t Work . . . What Does?

Motivating people doesn’t work. But that doesn’t stop many well-meaning, beleaguered, and desperate managers from influencing (bribing? manipulating?) people with rewards, pressure, tension, fear, threats, or guilt. Still, some leaders understand the limitations of external and imposed motivation—they recognize that motivation is an inside-out phenomenon. Then they take a giant leap in the wrong direction. They assume they can tap into people’s intrinsic motivation by asking, “What motivates you?” Big mistake. I urge you to refrain from asking people to identify a source of a longing they probably don’t understand.

People usually don’t realize that the “something” at the core of their dissatisfaction ...

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