I have found this to be true in my own experience. The way to really engage teams and get them motivated to do great things is to empower them, build trust with them, and help them recognize they are awesome and doing awesome things.

I got a bonus in my paycheck this year. Meh. It doesn’t motivate me, and neither do the annual performance reviews. What I REALLY care about is what my customers think of me, what my team thinks of me and how they are doing, and that my management and company care about and value my efforts.

Watch this and comment!

What are your experiences with monetary incentives for knowledge work?