The Surprising Truth About Motivation (And Why It Matters in Accountability Conversations)
If you’ve ever tried to motivate someone with a carrot or a stick, you’re not alone we’ve all been there. But what if the very way we think about motivation is outdated?
One of my favourite thinkers on this topic is Dan Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. If you haven’t read it, it’s a powerful reminder that motivation isn’t always what we think it is. In fact, Pink’s insights flipped my own understanding of motivation on its head and they’ve shaped the way I approach conversations about performance and accountability ever since.
Pink’s central idea? While extrinsic rewards like bonuses or punishments might work for simple, mechanical tasks, they tend to dull creativity and reduce performance when it comes to the kind of complex, cognitive work many of us do every day. Instead, what truly drives us is intrinsic motivation - and according to Pink’s research, it boils down to three things:
🔹 Autonomy – the desire to direct our own lives
🔹 Mastery – the urge to get better at something that matters
🔹 Purpose – the yearning to do what we do in service of something larger
These aren’t soft concepts. They’re deeply human. And if we’re not careful, our traditional management playbook can accidentally shut them down.
So how does this relate to accountability?
Too often, accountability conversations are framed only in terms of consequences what will happen if the person doesn’t deliver. But if we ignore the motivational drivers behind the behaviour, we miss a crucial part of the story. We can unintentionally trigger defensiveness, fear, or disengagement all of which can lead to compliance at best, but rarely commitment.
Instead, what if we approached accountability with curiosity about what really motivates the person sitting in front of us?
What does success mean to them?
How does this task or outcome connect to their sense of mastery or purpose?
Where do they feel they have (or lack) autonomy?
What’s getting in the way, and what would unlock their motivation?
This shift doesn't mean we ignore consequences. It means we see them in context. When we understand what intrinsically motivates someone, we’re in a better position to hold the mirror up, have the hard conversation, and support them in taking responsibility in a way that actually sticks.
Pink’s work reminds us that people aren’t coin-operated. They’re meaning-driven. If we want to foster accountability, let’s start with understanding what makes people care and go from there.
