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A friend’s comment on my Facebook post about annual performance appraisals got me thinking — he said that it was natural for our colleagues to be expecting a promotion or good bonus for good performance.
This triggered a memory of when I was an officer cadet. My instructors (painfully) drilled in me the discipline to do any task assigned to the best of my ability. Not because someone was watching, or because someone was going to check on me, but because I had pride in my work and because it was my duty to do so.
Since then, I have always approached my work with the desire to do my best as there is satisfaction in that. Rewards like promotions or bonuses were “extras,” that while welcome, are not my main motivation to do a job well.
As promotions and bonuses are finite in any organization, I wonder if I, as a leader, have been mistaken to dangle the tangibles to motivate my team. As this is not sustainable, I could be contributing to The Great Resignation — where employees leave to find work that adds meaning to their life. Perhaps I can do better to focus on the intrinsics like pride and satisfaction for doing a job well.
Then again, doing work for the satisfaction it brings, could be because I am old ….
