Education Law

Daniel Pink: What really motivates us?

BoardBuzz has long been a fan of Daniel Pink, the innovative thinker and author of several books on the changing world of work. His writing and lectures are full of new insights ? delivered with humor and an engaging style –  and they’ve had a real impact on our views on performance and motivation in today?s society. 

In a recent speech given to the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) in London,  Pink makes the point that higher incentives often lead to poorer performance. While traditional monetary rewards are motivating factors when people are faced with simple, straightforward tasks, these rewards actually depress performance once a task requires more complicated, creative thinking.  Pink identifies three key factors that lead to better performance:  Autonomy, or self-direction; Mastery ? the urge to get better at something; and Purpose?the feeling that a person is making a contribution.

BoardBuzz loves this video of his talk, with lively animation added by RSA Animate:

 
Daniel Pink will be the General Session speaker at the 2011 NSBA Annual Conference in San Francisco on Sunday, April 10. He’ll discuss how the latest research on motivation and performance can be used to better prepare our students to meet the challenges of the new workplace.

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on September 30, 2010 (boomark / email).