Pink’s brilliant book, Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates
us, is definitely a must-read for all people concerned about productivity and
staff motivation. For one thing he stresses rightly the effects of motivation
on being in flow, and points to some useful counter-intuitive findings. A good
example is the fact that being without flow for 48 hours starts producing
“psychiatric disorder”. Further, “people are much more likely to reach that
flow state at work that in leisure”. These are astonishing findings and point
to the centrality of work. They have a political import quite apart from a
commercial one: we may want to deride those totalitarian cultures that make a
big virtue out of work and contribution, but for many people it removes doubt,
confusion, and gives them a strong sense of productive purpose. Whatever their
poverty and lack of political freedoms, they may still be happy.
The implication for us of course is that all efforts by management to
enhance meaning and motivation will make a big difference to productivity. But
where Motivational Maps starts disagreeing with Pink’s analysis is very clear.
Pink makes out that the intrinsic motivators are de facto better – a higher
evolution, a superior upgrade. The truth is that not all people want intrinsic
motivation, and an organisation or culture that attempted to implement it for
everyone would be doomed to fail.
We hear a lot about Empowerment in the UK (see Macleod review) – a concept
Pink initially derides in the book – “just consider the notion of empowerment.
It presumes that the organisation has the power and benevolently ladles some of
it into the waiting bowls of grateful employees. But that’s not autonomy” – and
later sees as aligned to intrinsic motivation. The point is that whilst I
personally and thoroughly approve of autonomy and of this motivator being fed
for me, I also know that for some people it would be disastrous: they do not
want to make their own decisions, control their own time and generally self-direct.
No, what they want is to be told what to do, very clearly, very specifically,
and very certainly.
Thus, Pink’s analysis, whilst generally true of higher level workers
whom we wish to free up to be more creative and productive, does not apply to
the lower echelons. And so is seriously incomplete in its assessment.
The Mapping Motivation Series 