Primed to Perform summary

Now that you know how people are motivated, it might seem like the more of these motives you provide for your team, the more dedicated they’ll be. However, that’s not quite how it works.

When motives aren’t directly connected to work, they reduce performance. More specifically, emotional pressure, economic pressure and inertia are indirect motivators that can have this effect.

Performance isn’t just about accomplishing tasks effectively. In this rapidly changing business world, performance is also measured in a company’s ability to adapt. This is called adaptive performance.

This describes a company’s flexibility, or its ability to break with a set plan to seize new opportunities, markets or other surprises. But how does your company become adaptive?

Are you ready to boost your company’s adaptive performance?

This is where Total Motivation or ToMo comes in. This tool measures a company’s adaptability by using the six motives we’ve reviewed in previous blinks.

Increasing your company’s ToMo can help employees perform better and become more adaptive. But to do this effectively, you need leaders who demonstrate and encourage such behavior by always pushing the direct motives of play, purpose and potential.

How can a company leader do this?

Most jobs are based on tactical performance, meaning people have specific instructions on how to perform. It’s rare for a position to be centered on inspiring adaptive performance and total motivation. This is a shame; here’s how to institute change.

To inspire an employee to deliver an adaptive performance, his job description needs to show him how he can make an impact, inspire him to have fun in his work and help him prioritize the work by himself.

There’s no single source of Total Motivation. Rather, it’s a combination of aspects that includes a company’s attitude toward its visions and values, as well as its promotion hierarchy.

A good strategy is to build a common identity within your company that changes jobs into callings.