The answer is sought after like Ponce de Leon looking for the fountain of youth. The search can go on forever but the answer will never be found because it does not exist. The reason is that all genuine motivation stems from self-interest. In this discussion, let s put all the altruistic, management Utopia fantasies aside and talk about the real world that we all live in. Deep down, your employees could care less about these things.
Humans do things in life because they desire something for themselves.
It is baffling how many managers fail to understand this concept. The bottom line is that trying to motivate somebody with your concerns is an exercise in futility. A wonderful example to illustrate this concept involves an animal, but the idea is the same when dealing with people. A good friend of mine grew up in Seattle and his family had a dog named Rocky. They had a house with a big back yard that bordered a huge forest where Rocky loved to chase squirrels.