I’m not motivated by the corner office. Promotions are great, but corporate progression is not my focus any longer. I’m not motivated by bonuses. Some extra money is great, but it’s not the reason I am doing the work. I’m not motivated by perks and unlimited vacation days. These are just some goodies that help sand down the jagged edges of bad days. I am motivated by a number of things. A few of them include: The ability to continuously improve at my craft with life-long mentoring, experience, and training. The ability to see my work manifested in the world in a way that truly helps others. The ability to do more of the work that really matters and less of the stuff that looks like work but is not necessary. Leaders: Focus on improving those things that really motivate your team members. What are those things? Well, we don’t have to guess. We can find out through conversation. Ask them. And don’t take the first answer as the whole answer. Dig a bit. Spend a few weeks or months investigating. We want to discover the soft underbelly of their personal “why.” Once we know that, then we can start focusing on the big things that matter. #leadership