Motivation - What you need to know (and why)
La version française de cet article se trouve ici.
In the latest in a series of articles on career stagnation, this week I focus on the key ingredient for career advancement: motivation. Without it, it can be a challenge to stay in your current role, and nearly impossible to progress.
There are two types of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. Motivation is extrinsic when it encourages you through the possibility either of obtaining an external reward or avoiding some sort of unpleasant outcome.
When you accomplish a task or rise to a challenge in the hopes of either receiving something or avoiding a loss — whether it is something material (like money) or immaterial (like the respect of one’s colleagues) — you are extrinsically motivated.
Extrinsic motivation is a relatively weak source of encouragement, and the boost it gives you is relatively short-lived. That explains why numerous surveys reveal that salary increases alone are less and less likely to convince workers to remain with their current employers.
Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, stems from activities you do because of their inherent pleasure. Unlike extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation is powerful and long-lasting. Its sources can be more difficult to identify, because they differ from person to person. For example, some people derive satisfaction from teamwork and the bonds they build with colleagues. Others are motivated by creating wealth or growing companies that boost quality of life. For others still, work is satisfying when it is intellectually stimulating.
What differentiates intrinsic motivation from extrinsic motivation is that it comes from within. It is completely independent of what others think, or of market value.
Therefore, if you are facing career stagnation, one good starting point is to take stock of your principal sources of motivation in your current role. Is the share of intrinsic motivation sufficiently large? If not, that could be what is holding you back from advancing in your career. From there, it might take just a few small steps to figure out how to build more tasks into your role that you find intrinsically motivating.
Do you feel like you’ve hit a bit of a plateau in your career? Why not drop me a line so that we can discuss what it might be like to work together? If you would like to find out more about me first, you can do so here.