Top leadership researcher, consultant, and coach Susan Fowler says stop trying to motivate people! It’s frustrating for everyone involved and it just doesn’t work. You can’t motivate people—they are already motivated but generally in superficial and short-term ways. In this book, Fowler builds upon the latest scientific research on the nature of human motivation to lay out a tested model and course of action that will help leaders guide their people toward the kind of motivation that not only increases productivity and engagement but that gives them a profound sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Fowler argues that leaders still depend on traditional carrot-and-stick techniques because they haven’t understood their alternatives and don’t know what skills are necessary to apply the new science of motivation. Her Optimal Motivation process shows leaders how to move people away from dependence on external rewards and help them discover how their jobs can meet the deeper psychological needs—for autonomy, relatedness, and competence—that science tells us result in meaningful and sustainable motivation.
Optimal Motivation has been proven in organizations all over the world—Fowler’s clients include Microsoft, CVS, NASA, the Catholic Leadership Institute, H&R Block, Mattel, and dozens more. Throughout the book, she illustrates how each step of the process works using real-life examples. Susan Fowler ’s book is the groundbreaking answer for leaders who want to get motivation right!
A “Top Shelf” Book “When you focus on what you want for people, you are more likely to get what you want from people.” Although it is near the end, that quote sets the tone for Susan Fowler’s excellent book.You might think “motivation” is too narrow a topic to be of much use in your workplace. You’d be wrong. There’s so much more to motivation than an extra buck in the paycheck or a swift kick in the business suit.Susan not only explains it all starting from the…
This book both freed and empowered me I HIGHLY recommend Susan’s book! As someone who coaches and mentors for a living, this book gave me new insights and practical suggestions to find my people’s inner motivation. The thought that everyone we work with is ALREADY HIGHLY MOTIVATED could change the way we work with people. Her explanations of the 3 psychological needs people have to be energized and work at their optimal level have made me rethink some of my methods. Susan emphasizes the difference a great coach can have in creating…