202411302328 Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation comes from within a person while extrinsic motivation comes from outside of them. These types of motivation can be positive or negative. Intrinsically, I could desire to do something because I want to or feel like I need to do something based on a negative feeling about not doing it. Extrinsically, I could reward you for doing something or threaten you with adverse outcomes if you do not.

Intrinsic motivation is popularly viewed as "superior", but there is not much rigorous science to back up that claim. The popular reasons for that stance are along these lines:

• You're less likely to be dissuaded or stop before achieving something. Similarly, you'll be more likely to stick with continuous changes like diet and exercise.
• You will feel more fulfilled when you achieve something than if someone forced you to do it.
• You will not need reminders, encouragement, or consequences to do something.

These are all pretty subjective qualities and while they seem to make sense, I'm not sure that we can say these things are factual.

Regardless of the science behind it, aligning someone's intrinsic motivations to team goals can be a powerful leadership technique.