Encouraging Leadership: Motivating Yourself and Others – The Self-Determination Theory

Managers, coaches, parent and teachers often struggle with how to motivate those that they mentor, and individuals can struggle to find energy, mobilise effort and persist at the tasks of life and work. Yes, people are often moved by external factors such as reward systems, grades or evaluations.  Yet just as frequently, they are motivated from within, by interests or core values.  These intrinsic motivations are not necessarily externally rewarded, but nonetheless they can sustain passions, creativity, and sustained efforts. The interplay between the extrinsic forces and intrinsic motives is bound up within the Self-Determination Theory.

Psychologists Richard Ryan and Edward Deci are founders of the Self-Determination Theory. These are:

• Autonomy – the need to do it your own way
• Relatedness – the need to feel connected with other people and
• Competence – the need to do something you’re good at

Their research has shown that the more you fulfil these three needs, the more satisfied you will be. Trial subjects who kept a diary for 2 weeks, keeping notes on their moods, felt best on days when they had fulfilled all three of these areas. If they fulfilled none (or even just one), it immediately showed up in their energy levels and sense of happiness.

As leaders, if we help our people tap into these areas a little more thoughtfully, they are more likely to feel a better sense of motivation and satisfaction at work and therefore able to contribute more positively and meaningfully. Our role is to help our people identify what they could do to increase the satisfaction in these areas, even a little.

It’s very possible to satisfy a deeper desire with something small. To achieve more autonomy, you don’t really need to quit your job and open your own business. What areas could you, as a leader, release to a team member? It would free up more of your time, build trust and give them something to get their teeth into. But you have to be willing to embrace that, as much as them. If you have a team member who is seeking more connection, are there are meetings they could attend on your behalf, or with you? Could they be charged with organising the team meeting agenda and seeking out thoughts and ideas from the other team members as to what they might find useful? The point is to feed the underlying needs, which is possible in many ways and with a variety of people.

Encouraging Action

• Identify one team member to have a conversation with about these three areas in their work
• Create mini experiments to see what makes a difference
• Be interested in your team member and what they’ve noticed.

Be encouraged; lead well.