What an amazing book. It was a beautiful read and a motivator in itself to live the life I want to live.
The content of this book helped me coach myself while trying to make a life changing decision. I was recently offered a position where the work would be reasonable and the pay, the benefits and the pension would be amazing! I was left with a life changing decision to make; do I work for a steady pay or do I continue on my path as a coach and be my own decider of income?
I chose to continue to be a coach. It was not an easy decision, but coaching motivates me and brings me happiness at a much higher level than the offered position ever could. Obviously, money is not the best motivator.
The author of this book, Daniel H. Pink, explains that what motivates us, especially in the 21st Century, stems from intrinsic factors like our values and working for a greater purpose than ourselves. So not so much the rewards and punishement system we have been taught to use al our lives - that system still works with routine work but it is not working for work that requires deep thought, creativity or interactions with others like sales. Pink describes the three variables of intrinsic motivation as autonomy, mastery and purpose.
Are you living these variables at work or in your personal life? I am fortunate enough to live each of these variables as a coach.
I am autonomous: I decide how I want my business to be run, I decide when and how I put in my hours and I decide how best to use time and tools in each coaching session.
I am working towards mastery: I am thrilled to be constantly learning, I enjoy the learning process and I thrive on the prospect of constantly bettering myself.
I have purpose: my work allows me to make a difference in someone's life and in my community. For that reason, I am driven to live this life and be the best I can possibly be.
The teachings in this book demonstrate that people are "okay" just as they are, they are not broken and therefore they don't need to be fixed. As a matter of fact, left to their own demise people will make the best decision and therefore there is no need to micromanage them. Unfortunately, today's type of management may just be hindering and negatively affecting organizations and people's productivity, creativity and motivation.
Pink says that our basic nature is to be active and engaged, curious and self-directed. Self-direction is what we as coaches offer clients when we ask them to visualize a desired outcome. Visualization is a catalyst for reaching your desired outcome, it provides the motivation needed to continue on the chosen path and achieve mastery. In a coaching session just like in an organization it is in everyone's bst interest to figure out what is important to each individual employee or client right from the start, since different individuals have different desires and hence will be motivated by different things.
I found Pink's book particularly inspiring. At the end of the book he offers specific startegies for individuals and organizations to implement his theories into their environement. It is without a doubt an adjustment for many people , especially for those who have worked with a rewards and punishment system for so many years. But it is a necessary adjustment that will force its way into our lives and our organizations whether we like it or not. And as a coach, I want to help facilitate these changes - that, I have realized, is my purpose.
Gaby Da Silva
Quality of life is a big motivator for me. Money of course helps, but managing my time in a way that makes me more available to my children, and let's me have the autonomy Pink speaks of is priceless. Being able to make a living doing what I am passionate about is the ideal I have set for myself. It's the old opportunity cost theory of economics, if we never take the chance, we'll never know the greatness of what might have been. There will always be something sacrificed in any decision taken, but I believe when preparation meets opportunity income will follow.
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