Increase intrinsic motivation: How employees go the extra mile
Motivation is the drive or willingness to engage in a particular behavior or perform certain activities. This drive is particularly strong when it comes from inside. This is when we talk about intrinsic motivation. A particularly strong sense of motivation leads people to rise above themselves and achieve extraordinary things, or in other words, go the extra mile.
As an event host and keynote speaker, I deal with motivation on a daily basis to help people overcome obstacles and step out of their comfort zone. In this post, I’ll show you what intrinsic motivation is, present some examples, and elaborate which incentives can help to foster intrinsic motivation.
What does intrinsic motivation mean?
If you don’t need external incentives to do something, then you are intrinsically motivated. When you are intrinsically motivated, you can spend hours, days or weeks on the same topic and it gives you satisfaction in the form of joy, pride or fulfillment. We often talk about having a passion for something.
Factors influencing intrinsic motivation
By definition, intrinsic motivation is always based on an inner need. The internal motivator arises from a desire or a conviction. Curiosity, passion or personal inclinations for a topic, as well as an awareness of a deeper meaning behind an activity, are different expressions of this inner driving force.
According to the self determination theory, the needs that can be satisfied by and thus support intrinsic motivation are:
- Self-efficacy: the perception and experience of one’s own competence
- Social significance: the strengthening of bonds with other people
- Autonomy: the feeling of being independent and free
Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation
In contrast to intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, by definition, is based on being promoted by external rewards. The most important drivers here are recognition and incentives or, in a negative sense, avoiding punishment.
If you are purely extrinsically motivated, the task is not important to you. You do the work because you expect to benefit from it.
These benefits and motives can be, for example:
- Financial incentives: salary increases, bonuses, commissions
- Career steps: promotion
- Social recognition: higher status, admiration from others
- Avoiding punishment and fear: fines, dismissal, loss of prestige
In the case of promoting extrinsic motivation, the employer has many more options available to motivate the workforce to perform better. These extrinsic motivators are primarily money and other rewards.
Why is intrinsic motivation important?
Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation are not mutually exclusive. Most people feel both types. However, intrinsic motivation is far more sustainable. Intrinsic motivation has decisive advantages:
- The willingness to perform and to achieve is higher. In a state of intrinsic motivation, people show more commitment and want to achieve more than just an adequate result. The extra mile is walked much more often.
- The will to solve a problem is greater. People with intrinsic motivation see difficulties as challenges to be overcome.
- Intrinsic motivation is more sustainable. Extrinsic rewards do not motivate as persistently as internal driving forces. When the effect of external incentives diminishes, they have to be increased. Intrinsic motivation remains at a high level for much longer.
- Learning and creativity are fostered by intrinsic motivation. Curiosity strengthens the will to learn, and interest and enjoyment are a prerequisite for new ideas.
- Intrinsically motivated employees are happier in the workplace. They don’t have the feeling of being forced or pushed to perform. Those who work for their own fulfillment are also less prone to burnout.
Examples of intrinsic motivation
As a keynote speaker and moderator, I like to use analogies from the world of sports. In my keynote speech “The Marathon Principle: Peak Performance When It Counts”, the extra mile that employees go when they are intrinsically motivated is, so to speak, hidden in the title. Therefore, at this point, I will give a few striking examples from the world of sports that can easily be applied to companies and the workplace.
Eliud Kipchoge: a sub-2-hour marathon as teamwork
In October 2019, Kenyan running star Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run a full marathon in under 2 hours. I had the honor to moderate this event at the finish line on the Prater Hauptallee in Vienna and also had a deeper insight into the project preparations. For example, the meticulous preparation included repaving the road, taking measures to prevent leaves from falling on the track, and continuously analyzing the weather forecasts to be able to determine the best time slot at short notice.
To ensure the pace was right, more than 40 well-known runners were recruited, who alone won more than 50 Olympic, World and European medals in total. In order to find the best possible formation for the pacemakers, tests were carried out in a wind tunnel. These are just a few examples of how nothing was left to chance in pursuit of the big goal. It wasn’t just Eliud Kipchoge who achieved the goal he set himself; it was a huge team that was completely committed to the goal. They literally went the extra mile to achieve something that humanity had never seen before.
Tom Brady and Michael Jordan: How inspiring leaders generate intrinsic motivation
When Michael Jordan joined the Chicago Bulls, the basketball team was an absolute losing team. Although Michael Jordan was only 21 at the time, he already had the charisma of an irrepressible leader. He had set himself the goal of making the playoffs every year – a goal that the Chicago Bulls had been as far from achieving the year before as a skateboard is from Formula 1. He pulled along those who also wanted to win, and the others left the team. While Michael Jordan has the reputation of not being the most pleasant teammate, he embodies one thing: he never demanded anything of others that he was not willing to do himself.
Star quarterback Tom Brady also had a reputation for putting everything he did in the service of athletic success. Starting with his unwavering preparation for every game, his diet to ensure peak performance even at an advanced age, and his willingness to take a pay cut so that the club would have more money to pay other star players. When he joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 as a six-time Super Bowl winner, there were multiple situations in which his coach dictated a drill in training and his teammates looked at Tom Brady questioningly until he said, “Do what he says.”
It was the skills and the personalities of both Jordan and Brady that led the others to identify with the goal and do everything they could to become champions. This approach meant that everyone was asked to make their contribution. Brady and Jordan made their teammates better and attracted other good players with their vision. They were largely responsible for the development of the entire team and pushed the teams to ever greater achievements.
Anna Kiesenhofer: Believing in an outsider’s chance
Anna Kiesenhofer won the Olympic gold medal in the women’s road cycling race in Tokyo in 2021. This was one of the greatest upsets in Olympic history and a relevant symbol of going the extra mile. Even insiders did not know much about the amateur, who at the time was teaching mathematics at the University of Lausanne full-time. While the major cycling nations had arrived with full teams of four professional cyclists, Anna Kiesenhofer was alone to form the Austrian one-woman team.
She put her heart and soul into creating her own training plan, nutrition plan and race strategy. Even, or perhaps because she was not on anyone’s radar, she said to herself, “If I’m going to the Olympics, I want to leave my mark.” So she seized the initiative shortly after the start and was part of a group of five escapees that became smaller and smaller as the race progressed. With 41 kilometers still to go, she took heart and attacked to leave her last two competitors behind. While everyone else was caught up, she was the only one to hold out and, as a result of an incredible effort of willpower, crossed the finish line as the winner.
Even if this approach might not work in 99 out of 100 cases, on this day she had the ultimate solution and made her dreams come true – driven by intrinsic motivation and an unshakable belief that limits only exist to be overcome.
The treasure hunt: the three principles of intrinsic motivation
On July 20, 1985, treasure hunter Mel Fisher and his “Golden Crew” found a treasure off the coast of Key West after a 16-year search. He uncovered the shipwreck of the Spanish galley “Nuestra Señora de Atocha”, which had sunk in a hurricane in 1622. On board: untold gold and silver objects worth 450 million US dollars.
What drives someone to cross the Caribbean for 16 (!!!) years? Intrinsic motivation can also be compared to a treasure hunt. In this case, the treasure is not a profane external reward, but stands for the inner incentive and the personal dreams. The necessary dogmas to uncover a treasure – or to achieve great things – are:
- The treasure exists. The belief in the existence of the treasure must not be questioned.
- The treasure is worth recovering. Motivators to recover the treasure must be a reason to get people moving.
- You can recover the treasure. You have the inner conviction that you are able to bring the treasure to light.
These three concepts also apply to our examples above. Whether Eliud Kipchoge, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady or Anna Kiesenhofer – all of them knew that the treasure existed: be it a sporting milestone, a championship title or an Olympic gold medal.
Each of the four people had the same answer to the second question: It is worth investing the effort and recovering the treasure.
Last but not least, all four had an overwhelming belief in themselves and their team to face the challenges and that they would be able to achieve this success.
The three dogmas of intrinsic motivation are: 1: The treasure exists. 2: The treasure is worth recovering. 3: You can recover the treasure. Share on X
Develop intrinsic motivation: tips on how to do it
To develop intrinsic motivation in your company and in the workplace, there are a few tips that I would like to share with you.
Identification with goals and visions
Make sure that employees identify with the goals and visions of your company. Explain the goals, take the employees with you and convince them. Only those who are convinced by the sense of something will voluntarily commit to it. I discuss this in more detail in my article on fostering team spirit.
The meaning behind going the extra mile
The benefit of an activity, of going the extra mile, must be clear. Those who recognize the value and the sense of the activity and the expected result will not be paralyzed, but will approach the task with verve.
Voluntariness
No compulsion. Voluntariness is closely linked to identification with goals and recognition of the sense of tasks. Voluntary work is work without pressure which is a key concept of intrinsic motivation. Voluntariness can be encouraged through measures such as flexible working hours, flexible working locations or support for “passion projects”. All these aspects in the job promote self-determination and thus intrinsic motivation.
Trust and freedom for intrinsically motivated employees
Other freedoms also promote intrinsic motivation. When employees feel trusted, and when they are allowed to make their own decisions and take their own actions, it increases their self-esteem. Intrinsic motivation increases, thus fostering enhanced performance.
Teamwork: The environment must fit
People are social beings. There is hardly a task in a company that is accomplished alone. The team is a decisive factor when it comes to intrinsic motivation, see Tom Brady and Michael Jordan. Managers should always strive to create the right environment and foster team spirit. Team building events can also motivate the workforce.
How do you ensure intrinsic motivation?
How do you increase intrinsic motivation in the workplace in your company? As a keynote speaker, I have already helped many companies inspire their employees to go the extra mile. If you also need help with this important topic, please feel free to send me an email to [email protected] or use the contact form.
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