I sometimes hear managers complain that their people are not intrinsically motivated. “We need people who love what they do, not the people we have, who are only here for the money!” Saying something like that as a manager is a bit ironic because…

You are in charge here. If your people are not intrinsically motivated, it’s your fault.

Most corporate environments are not very good for allowing intrinsic motivation to happen. Some even kill intrinsic motivation very quickly. And it’s often not one big annoyance that kills intrinsic motivation, it’s lots of little things that add up.

Many little annoyances that give your people the feeling that “I cannot decide anything here” or “Nobody wants to hear my opinion” or “No matter what I do, things don’t change here”. Then it’s only a matter of time until your people adopt a “work-to-rule” attitude…

As a manager, if you want intrinsic motivation, it is your job to create an environment and a culture where intrinsic motivation can happen. One where your people can decide for themselves and experiment and fail and learn and be creative. One where your people feel respected.

What happens at your workplace that kills the intrinsic motivation of the team members? What do you or your managers do to create an environment where people can be intrinsically motivated? Please tell me!