Instrinsic and Extrinsic motivators- or how to screw up a good employee
I recently had two nearly identical chats with a couple of engineers I'd worked with in the past, and remember a similar chat with a colleague a year or so ago.... Him : "I had a conversation with my manager about my bonus the other day. It was a bad talk." Me: "Why?" Him: "As long as I have enough for food and rent I don't really care as much about how much I make. I just want to work on something I like - But h e kept trying to tell me that the bonus was important. I felt awkward. " Substitute "bonus" for "salary" or "promotion" and I've come to realize how often this conversation takes place. I like the break-up above between "Extrinsic" and "Intrinsic" needs. Why this happens: As a manager or a management team, the direct "extrinsic" reward is the most natural thing to focus on to reward an employee - getting a bonus/promotion/increase takes effort on your part and feels like...