The Leadership Summit: Daniel Pink

Daniel Pink – “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us”

Hypothesis: We all have three drives. 

Biological Drive

Reward/Punishment Drive (If…then rewards)

3^rd Drive: to connect, to be part of something larger than yourself, etc.

If you begin with the wrong assumptions, no matter how hard you work, the endeavor won’t go well.

False assumption #1: Human beings are machines.  If you press the right levers in the right way, people will pretty much do what you want them to do.

False assumption #2: Human beings are blobs – passive and inert.  Truth: We are engaged and active.

Three key elements of motivation:

• Autonomy
• Management
• Management is a technology designed to get compliance.
• Management fundamentally does not lead to engagement.
• Autonomy produces engagement:
• Time - when?
• Team – with whom?
• Task - what?
• Technique – how?
• Mastery
• Purpose

Performance reviews are not authentic conversations.  They are more like North American kabuki theater. :-) 

What pronouns are you using?  Are you a “we” organization or a “they” organization?

Anything good in life begins with a conversation: great romance, great business ventures, great revolutions …