List of Intrinsic Motivators

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List of Intrinsic Motivators

Intrinsic motivation (the wish to carry out an activity for the sake of the activity itself, and not in the hope of obtaining some form of external reward) addresses innate human desires, and promotes creativity and innovation in an organization, which can lead to sustainable prosperity of the business.

By taking care of innate human desires, managers can provide their employees (or team members) with the following intrinsic motivators:

1. Make them feel competent (give them work that’s challenging but still within their grasp);
2. Let them feel accepted (compliment on their achievements);
3. Address their curiosity (provide something new for them to investigate);
4. Satisfy their honor (allow teams to make their own rules);
5. Infuse the business with idealism (provide a higher purpose beyond profit);
6. Foster their independence (give them proper level of autonomy);
7. Maintain some level of order (provide minimum company rules and policies);
8. Make sure they have some power or influence over what is happening;
9. Help social contacts to emerge(nurture relatedness among employees);
10. Let them feel their status in the company (let them know they are valued and not at the bottom of the organizational hierarchy).

It’s important to point out that in order to make intrinsic motivators work, we have to at first eliminate de-motivators by ensuring the presence of hygiene factors such as job security, decent salary and fringe benefits, safe working conditions, etc., which will make people NOT UNhappy. You can’t motivate a person just by telling him how competent he is or how his work is making the world a better place if he is hungry or if he could accidentally lose a limb anytime at work.
As consistent with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg's 2 Factor Theory, we need to target the most basic physiological and safety needs before moving on to tackle the upper level desires that lead to a person’s sustainable happiness—the need for love, esteem, and self-actualization.

Source: Appelo, J. (2011). Management 3.0. Boston, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Professional.

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		3 Graham Williams Management Consultant, South Africa
	List of Intrinsic Motivators Love this topic! Thank you for introducing it. Some new thinking (including by Ken Wilbur) points to an understanding of SELF-actualization beyond self. An actualization that fits with the growth stages and states of wake-up, grow up, clean up and show up (to serve and care for others). So beyond self we find an intrinsic motivation to be compassionate towards and serve the growth of other people, and care for the planet. (This may be covered by a higher purpose). A huge intrinsic need and motivation, also alluded to by your list, is a genuine sense of belonging. I work with 5 Ps - those of Purpose, Personhood, Presence, People, Planet and can see overlap with the 10 you've listed.

		3 Hong Sun Management Consultant, Canada
	Nice Addition Mr. Williams, you made a good addition to the list that doesn't highlight enough the "higher purpose" part of motivation. To me, it is part of agile leadership that can be and should be developed in everyone and covers servant leadership (beyond self-interest) and system thinking (caring for the well-being of the whole business ecosystem including global environment).

		2 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	12 Intrinsic Motivators I think Graham actually added 2 intrinsic motivators to the list: 11. Self-Actualization (in 4 stages) 12. A sense of belonging (being part of the company "family").

		2 Cecilia Calderon Kohler Accountant, Chile
	Motivadores Intrínsecos I think that innate leaders carry in their DNA the need to give to others the motivations that are intrinsic to them. Pienso que los lideres innatos traen en su ADN la necesidad de entregar a los demás motivaciones que son intrínsicas en él.

		1 charity makwara Student (University)
	Little Motivation in Africa Nowadays or from my personal experience motivation has become a textbook idea rather than a practical one mainly due to poor structures and systems, ignorance and basic human nature. In Africa the rate of unemployment grows exponentially every year therefore managers and business owners knowing this they will not care less about how you feel. It will take time for an employee to feel a sense of belonging until then we are in modern day slavery.

		0 Graham Williams Management Consultant, South Africa
	Motivation in Africa @charity That is a sad reality in some places Charity. I can hear your righteous anger and share that with you. Perhaps in such circumstances the best we can do is demonstrate by our actions and hope for a positive ripple effect. Go safe, well, and content during these trying times.

		0 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	Little Intrinsic Motivation in Africa @charity makwara: I was unconscious of this situation of "modern day slavery" in Africa and resulting lack of intrinsic motivation and sense of belonging of employees. Thank you for bringing this up.

		0 charity makwara Student (University)
	Lack of Motivation is Quite Universal @Jaap de Jonge: Oh well the struggle is real but I think research might prove that it is more of a universal case nowadays you know dog-eat-dog. And I believe this has influenced the urge for many people to consider entrepreneurship wanting to be their own boss... I have often told to people even to my former boss that sometimes a "boss" is someone who has had "financial luck" but that doesn't guarantee them basic business understanding. Therefore they should be open to learning. Hope it makes sense.