You have a star player on your team. Let’s call her Sarah. For the past year, she’s been your most reliable, creative, and productive problem-solver. But for the last month, something’s… off.
She’s still hitting deadlines, but the spark is gone. She’s quiet in meetings she used to lead. The proactive, “what-if-we-tried-this” energy has been replaced by a passive, “just-tell-me-what-to-do” compliance.
Your management anxiety kicks in. Is she burned out? Is she looking for another job? Is it something I did?
You know you need to “motivate” her, but what does that even mean? Your first instinct is to reach for the old, familiar levers of management: recognition, rewards, maybe even a bonus.
I’ve been there. And my first instinct was completely wrong.
This is the real, unvarnished story of how I failed to motivate a key employee and the exact framework I used to fix it: Daniel Pink’s Drive. It’s a case study that proves most of us are trying to solve the wrong problem.
The Context & My Mistake (The “Trust” Builder)
Sarah was a senior software developer, the unofficial anchor of my team. As a new manager, I relied on her heavily. So when her engagement visibly plummeted after a tough (but successful) product launch, I panicked.
My company had a “spot bonus” program for high performers. It was the easiest tool in my toolkit. She’s tired, I reasoned. A little extra cash will show her she’s appreciated and get her back in the game.
I called her into a 1:1, and my attempt at motivation was clumsy, awkward, and totally missed the mark. It went something like this:
“Hey Sarah, you did great work on the launch. Really great. I know you’ve been working hard. Listen, I’ve put you in for a £500 spot bonus, which should come through in the next salary payment. So… yeah. Keep up the good work.”
The reaction was not what I wanted. She didn’t light up. She just gave a polite, thin-lipped smile and said, “Oh. Thanks, Stephen. That’s… nice of you.”
I felt awful. I hadn’t motivated her; I’d patronised her. I had treated a complex, creative professional like a machine you put a coin into. The bonus was transactional, and it made our relationship feel transactional, too. She was even quieter the following week. My “fix” had made things worse.
The Framework (The “Expertise”)
I went home that weekend frustrated. I knew I had fundamentally misread the situation. I started pulling management books off my shelf, and I landed on one I hadn’t read in years: Daniel Pink’s Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.
Reading it again was a “lightbulb” moment. Pink’s core thesis, backed by decades of research, is that traditional “if-then” rewards (like my bonus) are disastrous for creative, conceptual work.1 They extinguish intrinsic motivation and can make work feel like a chore.
Instead, Pink argues that true, lasting motivation (what he calls “Motivation 3.0”) comes from three intrinsic elements:
- Autonomy: The desire to direct our own lives. The freedom to have control over our Task (what we do), Time (when we do it), Technique (how we do it), and Team (who we do it with).
- Mastery: The urge to get better and better at something that matters. This is the desire to learn, grow, and face new challenges.
- Purpose: The yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves. This is the “why” — the connection between the daily work and a larger mission.
I realised my mistake instantly. I had offered an external reward when Sarah was clearly suffering from a deficit in one of these three intrinsic drivers. My job wasn’t to “bonus” her; it was to find out which of these three pillars was crumbling.
The Conversation (The “Experience” & “Helpful” Core)
I asked Sarah for another 1:1 a few days later. This time, I had a plan. I wasn’t going to talk at her; I was going to listen. My entire goal was to use the Drive framework to diagnose the problem.
Here is the “before” and “after” of that conversation.
❌ The “Before” Script (What I Did First)
- My Goal: Get her “back to normal” using a reward.
- My Method: A transactional, awkward monologue.
- The Vibe: Top-down, presumptive, and low-trust.
Me: “Hey Sarah. Noticed you’ve been a bit quiet. Just want to say you’re doing great. The launch was a success. I’ve put you in for a spot bonus to say thanks. So… keep it up.”
Sarah: (Polite but visibly deflated) “Oh. Thanks, Stephen. I appreciate it.”
[End of conversation. Problem not solved.]
✅ The “After” Script (Using the Drive Framework)
- My Goal: Diagnose which element (Autonomy, Mastery, or Purpose) was missing.
- My Method: Vulnerability and structured questions.
- The Vibe: Collaborative, empathetic, and high-trust.
Me: “Sarah, thanks for meeting me again. Look, I wanted to reset on our last chat. I feel like I missed the mark. I offered you a bonus, and frankly, I felt your reaction. It felt like I’d misread the situation, and I’m sorry for that.”
Sarah: (Surprised, sits up a little) “Oh… it’s fine. Thanks for the bonus.”
Me: “It’s not fine. I value your work too much to just… check a box. I’m not here to talk about your output—it’s still great. I’m here to talk about your engagement. I’ve noticed the ‘spark’ seems to be missing. Am I off-base?”
Sarah: (Pauses, then a small sigh) “No. You’re not wrong. I’m just… I’m just tired, I guess.”
Me: “I want to understand that better. I’ve been doing some reading… Can I ask a few different questions? When you think about your work right now… what part of your day do you dread? And what part do you still look forward to?”
Sarah: (Thinks for a long time) “Dread? That’s a strong word. I guess… I’m just bored. I feel like I’m just fixing legacy code and tidying up reports all day. The launch was a huge push, and now I’m just… sweeping the floor. I haven’t learned anything new in six months.”
Me: (A-ha! This is Mastery. The challenge is gone.) “Okay, that’s a huge insight. So you’re stuck in a rut. You’re not being challenged.”
Me: “Second question. Do you feel connected to why we’re doing any of this? I mean, do you see the impact of all this legacy work you’re doing?”
Sarah: (Shakes her head) “Not really. I just get tickets. I fix them. I close them. I don’t even know which customers this is helping. It just feels like… maintenance.”
Me: (And there it is. Purpose is gone, too. She’s disconnected from the ‘why’.)
The Outcome & The Lesson (The “After”)
The conversation completely changed our dynamic. We had a diagnosis. The problem wasn’t a lack of appreciation (in the form of money). The problem was a critical lack of Mastery and Purpose.
So, we made a plan. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a start.
- To address Mastery: We agreed that for 20% of her time (this is Autonomy-over-Time), she would lead a research spike on a new AI-driven analytics tool the team had wanted to explore. It was a high-challenge, high-learning project.
- To address Purpose: I set up a standing quarterly call for her and two other developers to speak directly with our Customer Support team lead. They could hear real stories and frustrations from the users they were building for.
The result wasn’t instantaneous. It took a few weeks. But the change was visible. The first time Sarah presented her research findings on the new tool, the “spark” was back. She was animated, confident, and teaching her peers. Her energy started to lift the whole team.
My lesson was profound. I had been acting like a manager, when I needed to be a motivator. A manager “rewards and punishes.” A motivator removes obstacles. The obstacle for Sarah wasn’t her paycheque; it was boredom and a lack of connection. Drive gave me the language and the framework to see that.
💡 For Visual Thinkers (A Dyslexia-Friendly Tip):
Pink’s three elements—Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose—can feel abstract. In my follow-up email to Sarah summarising our chat, I didn’t just use a wall of text. I drew a simple visual map.
I made a three-column table. Column 1: Our Goal (e.g., “Get you learning again”). Column 2: The Blocker (e.g., “Stuck on legacy code”). Column 3: Our Action (e.g., “20% research spike”).
This is crucial for many people, especially visual thinkers and those with dyslexia. It turns a vague conceptual conversation into a concrete, shared, and scannable plan of action.
🟧 Try This Today: Your First Step
You don’t need a big, formal meeting to start. The next time you’re in a 1:1 with a team member, just try to diagnose Mastery.
Instead of asking “How’s it going?”, try this one, specific question:
“What’s one thing you’d like to get better at or learn this quarter, even if it’s not directly related to your current project?”
Their answer will tell you everything you need to know about their intrinsic drive for Mastery. Listen, and you’ll know what to do next.
“Even fifteen years after publication, Drive remains one of the most cited frameworks in organisational psychology.”
The ideas in this article come from real management experience and communication training. They’re designed to help you think differently about motivation and leadership, not to replace professional advice or formal HR guidance.
By Steve Connell, BSc PGCE (Communication Trainer & Former Business Manager)
Updated: 15 November 2025
