Have you ever had a fantasy where you quit your job and go do something new?  Many executives secretly admit to their coaches that they’re contemplating mid-career shifts. They may not actively seek change, but they certainly start imagining it.  At one point in time, of LinkedIn’s 313 mill...

If your drive is going nowhere, you feel like you are at a crossroads, or worse you feel like you are at a dead-end, now is the time to set a new direction and re-ignite your mojo by re-evaluating your values and updating your identity. As you continue to read, consider the analogy of using c...

Do you feel like you have come to a crossroad or worse, hit a dead end in your business or career? Have you lost your MOJO? Perhaps you have lost direction and drive because of setbacks. Perhaps you are returning to work after personal crisis or critical illness. Here is a suggestion to help ...

Have you ever conducted a motivational outlook conversation.  Motivational conversations are effective in boosting employee commitment and their alignment with your vision. Ask your people to identify what motivates them to do their best work and reaching for star performance. Your goal is to hel...

Eliminate Mindless Compliance and Conformity Most managers want to motivate people to peak performance, but their approach often backfires. In their fervent desire to teach people what they know to be true (after all, it worked to get them promoted to management, right?), some managers enthusias...

In 1969, twenty years after Harlow’s experiments with primates, psychologist Edward Deci, now a professor at the University of Rochester, followed up with a series of experiments with humans. Deci’s experiments showed that students lost intrinsic interest in an activity when money was offered...

Competence: The Third Psychological Need in the Workplace In the previous blog, The Motivational Trifecta, I introduced the first two psychological needs: autonomy and relatedness – each requiring a delicate balance. The third psychological need people want satisfied is a feeling of competen...

As I read the book, Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work…and What Does: The New Science of Leading, Energizing, and Engaging by consultant Susan Fowler, I take note that I can best serve my executive clients by having those coaching conversations about tapping into their employees’ basic drives: ...

Many business leaders have lost sight of what motivates people at work. In fact, some companies have not updated their incentive practices in years, which means they are probably struggling to create and sustain high-performing teams. Companies continue to ignore the obvious: Offering incentives...

How well do the leaders in your organization express their emotions? What about you? Do you appropriately articulate your feelings? Do you use emotional expressiveness to persuade and inspire others? “Great leaders move us. They ignite our passion and inspire the best in us. When we try to exp...