Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
by Daniel H. Pink · Canongate
Popular synthesis of self-determination research arguing that autonomy, mastery, and purpose drive performance on complex work better than pay-for-performance schemes. Gives readers a vocabulary for critiquing incentive design, though the underlying studies deserve checking against the primary literature.
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More resources on Team Motivation
hbr.org
Harvard Business Review (hbr.org) offers research-based articles, case studies, and practical guidance on leadership, strategy, and organizational performance for managers and executives.
Gallup - Employee Engagement
Gallup's guide to employee engagement, built on its Q12 survey research, explaining engaged versus actively disengaged workers and the manager's outsized role. Readers can apply the Q12 elements and coaching conversations to diagnose and raise engagement on their teams.
Why good leaders make you feel safe | Simon Sinek
Simon Sinek's 2014 TED talk arguing that effective leaders build a circle of safety, sacrificing for their teams so people trust one another and cooperate. Explains how that sense of security drives loyalty and discretionary effort inside organizations.
The Puzzle of Motivation - Dan Pink
TED talk in which Dan Pink contrasts behavioral science research on incentives with common business practice, arguing that contingent rewards can impair performance on creative tasks. Viewers understand why autonomy, mastery and purpose often motivate knowledge workers better than bonuses.
How great leaders inspire action
Simon Sinek's 2009 TEDx talk introducing the golden circle: why purpose precedes method and product in persuasion. As a model of presentation craft, it shows a single idea carried by repetition, drawing, and restraint.
The Culture Code
Daniel Coyle's study of high-performing groups, from Navy SEAL teams to Pixar and the San Antonio Spurs, organized around three skills: building safety, sharing vulnerability and establishing purpose. Readers learn concrete behaviors leaders use to create belonging and cooperation on teams.