Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work…and What Does, Second Edition

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“Leaders who want to amp up employee morale should take a look.”—Publishers Weekly

The second edition of this bestseller reveals how motivation science is essential for solving the most vexing leadership issues—from hybrid work and retention to employee engagement.

Leaders face a motivation dilemma. Traditional command-and-control management styles and carrot-and-stick motivation techniques have been proven ineffective.

Motivation researcher and leadership consultant Susan Fowler expands on her groundbreaking Spectrum of Motivation model in this updated post-pandemic edition. New chapters tackle motivation science’s role in managing remote and hybrid work; expose overused tactics, such as gamification and tokens; and tell the fascinating backstory behind the great resignation and quiet quitting.

Fowler’s approach to leadership is fresh, pragmatic, and inspiring. But it’s also empirically sound. Her framework builds on Self-Determination Theory, equipping leaders with skills to encourage choice, deepen connection, and build competence. Leaders who mastered this method have experienced breakthroughs with higher retention, lower turnover, greater acceptance of DEIJ initiatives, and a more vital, creative, and resilient workforce.

Through her experiences working with organizations and leaders around the world, Fowler reminds us that motivation is at the heart of everything people do and everything they don’t do but wish they did. When managers integrate motivation science into their everyday leadership practice, an evolutionary truth emerges: people can be highly productive and flourish simultaneously.Contents
Foreword by Garry Ridge 
Introduction: Stop Beating Your People with Carrots 
1. The Motivation Dilemma 
2. What Motivates People: The Real Story 
3. Shifting Out of Overdrive 
4. If Motivating People Doesn’t Work . . . What Does? 
5. Rethinking Leadership Now That Everything Else Has Changed 
6. Leader, Heal Thyself 
7. Are Your Beliefs Eroding People’s Optimal Motivation? 
8. The Promise of Optimal Motivation
Afterword by Ken Blanchard 

“Fowler (Master Your Motivation), a professor in executive leadership at the University of San Diego, considers ways to motivate others in this informative outing. Countering ‘carrot-and-stick’ incentivizing techniques, Fowler argues that overreliance on external rewards such as bonuses undermines the ‘energy… [and] sense of positive well-being’ that people need to achieve goals. These methods fail, she argues, because they take an oversimplified view of motivation. In her ‘Spectrum of Motivation’ model, Fowler outlines optimal and suboptimal types, from external motivation (for example, an employee who’s driven by a desire to show off status in a meeting—the equivalent of ‘motivational junk food’) to integrated motivation (an employee who links their performance to an internal value, which is psychologically sustainable). To instill a sense of internal motivation in workers, Fowler suggests business leaders foster environments that encourage autonomy and feelings of professional competence, which can promote sustained effort. While this may prove challenging in hybrid business environments, the author suggests leaders allow work from home flexibility within reasonable limits and make a point of keeping open lines of communication with team members. Fowler bases her advice in thorough research, and her insights into the motivational challenges of 21st-century workplaces are especially salient. Leaders who want to amp up employee morale should take a look.” (May)
—Publishers Weekly

“We know motivating people doesn’t work, but we’ve figured out what does. I’ve witnessed firsthand how Susan’s work, captured in this book, teaches you how to create a space where your tribe members will flourish.”
—Garry Ridge, Chairman Emeritus, WD-40 Company

“You make a difference as a leader. What kind of difference will you make? If you put the ideas from this book into action, you will have a better chance of being a servant leader rather than a self-serving one.”
—Ken Blanchard, Amazon Hall of Fame author

“No one wants to be bored or disengaged. Fowler provides a groundbreaking approach for reframing traditional motivation into cutting-edge leadership.”
—Marshall Goldsmith, author of the New York Times and global bestseller The Earned Life

“Think of this book as Daniel Pink’s Drive for trainers.”
—TD Magazine

“Richly rewarding book…a romp across the ins and outs of motivation.”
—People Management

“I encourage leaders to read this book—but with a warning. They may get more than they expect. I learned as much about my own motivation as I did about the motivation of those I lead.”
—M. Paula Daoust, PhD, Director, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas

“Susan’s book is provocative and pragmatic at the same time. She has successfully tapped into a longing I have had as a leader; how can I help people do what I think they naturally want to do—grow, develop, and fulfill their potential? Susan’s propositions are surefire and easy to put to action”
—Dr. Santrupt B Misra, CEO, Carbon Black Business and Director, Group H.R., Aditya Birla Group

Susan Fowler is the founder and CEO of Mojo Moments, a company dedicated to building psychological capacity in leaders at all levels. The Mojo Moments channel partner network spans the globe to deliver empirically sound and innovative learning experiences. Fowler has more than forty years of experience in leadership and motivation as a researcher, consultant, and keynote speaker in over forty countries worldwide. She is the creator and lead developer of The Ken Blanchard Company’s Self Leadership curriculum. She teaches executive leadership at the University of San Diego, and she is the author or coauthor of eight books, including the bestseller translated into fourteen languages Why Motivating People Doesn’t Work . . . and What Does, Master Your Motivation, and with Ken Blanchard, the bestselling Self Leadership and The One Minute Manager.US

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