Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic

Extrinsic (i.e. carrot & stick) motivation. To motivate employees, many organizations predominantly use the classic carrot and stick methodology. They use money or the equivalent to reward people for the right behaviors, and punishment to deter the wrong behaviors.

Intrinsic motivation. To motivate people, some organizations also try to tap into intrinsic motivations – such as the need for approval and the desire for rewarding, creative work. Intrinsic motivations come in many forms, e.g., people naturally seek to explore and to learn. Smart organizations know that tapping into intrinsic motivations can be very cost-effective. We can teach you to help your people build healthier intrinsic motivations.

Misuse of extrinsic rewards can impede the benefits of intrinsic motivation. Unfortunately, overly relying on or misusing extrinsic “if-then” rewards can decrease a person’s intrinsic motivations. There’s a slew of research showing that “if-then” rewards can decrease creativity, encourage short-cuts, and foster short-term thinking.

When extrinsic rewards offers greatest value. Extrinsic rewards work best when a task is routine and doesn’t require much creativity. To avoid problems when using them to motivate creative, complex tasks, try to do the following: (1) provide a baseline of fair monetary rewards; (2) make the workplace congenial; (3) provide ample autonomy for the person to complete the task; (4) provide valuable feedback; and (5) help the person build skills and knowledge.