I watch The Office religiously. I adore the show for its humor and for the fact that it shines a light on the absurdity of most workplaces. Since his seminal article “Free Agent Nation” first appeared in Fast Company in 1997, I’ve also been a fan of Daniel Pink. At that time, he articulated beautifully something that many people were already beginning to feel in relation to their work: that most of us were tired of working incredibly hard for companies that lacked leadership and didn't share our basic values.
He posited that those who declared themselves “free agents” usually brought in a lot more money than they had earned during their years in corporate America. They also felt more invigorated and secure than they ever did in “traditional” jobs. A free agent believes that work is personal – and that one can achieve a beautiful synchronicity between who you are and what you do.
From petty office politics to bosses pitting employees against one another, to colleagues who don't pull their weight, most workplaces are a study in dysfunction. But we have been conditioned to think that the best way to motivate ourselves (and others) is through external rewards like money and title – what Daniel Pink calls the “carrot-and-the-stick approach”.
In his new book Drive:The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Pink says the key to high performance and satisfaction is intrinsic, internal motivation: the desire to follow your own interests and understand the benefits in them for you. And Daniel Pink has discovered thirty years of scientific data that confirm these outmoded ideas about work and motivation, showing us an exciting way forward.
To gain a better understanding, watch his presentation at TEDGlobal:
Here is an extract of my recent conversation with Daniel (DP):
Subscribe to this blog's feed
