What really motivates us

My Development teams at Concur are currently all working on complex, high profile projects. Things are challenging and stressful.

In times like that it is important to remember what really drives motivation of a highly skilled workforce. As probably everybody knows by now: it is not money. Money is important and we need to pay people fairly, but it is not what ultimately motivates them long term. As I said, not a new thought, but in times like these, it is easy to forget.

What really motivates us can be distilled in three words:

• autonomy: have the autonomy to do solve problems the way you think is best. We hire smart people, why not let them take the decisions they need to take in order to do a good job?
• mastery: enable your people to become really really good at something.
• purpose: answer the question why we are doing what we are doing.

Read all about it in „Drive“ by Daniel H. Pink. Or just watch this video: