A top leadership consultant says: Stop trying to motivate people! Find a powerful alternative to the carrot and stick in this science-driven guide. It's frustrating for everyone involved and it just doesn’t work. You can’t motivate people—they are already motivated, but generally in superficial and short-term ways. In this book, Susan Fowler builds upon the latest scientific research on the nature of human motivation to lay out a tested model and course of action that will help leaders guide their people toward the kind of motivation that not only increases productivity and engagement but that gives them a profound sense of purpose and fulfillment. Fowler argues that leaders still depend on traditional carrot-and-stick techniques because they haven’t understood their alternatives and don’t know what skills are necessary to apply the new science of motivation. Her Optimal Motivation process shows leaders how to move people away from dependence on external rewards and help them discover how their jobs can meet the deeper psychological needs—for autonomy, relatedness, and competence—that science tells us result in meaningful and sustainable motivation. Optimal Motivation has been proven in organizations all over the world—Fowler’s clients include Microsoft, CVS, NASA, the Catholic Leadership Institute, H&R Block, Mattel, and dozens more. Throughout this book, she illustrates how each step of the process works using real-life examples—and offers a groundbreaking answer for leaders who want to get motivation right!

What if the answer to motivating people is to stop trying to motivate them? 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.

Explains the principles of successful motivation, and tells how to sharpen the influence style and dramatically upgrade the performance of people at all levels in the work life.

Managing and motivating people in the workplace means getting them to achieve goals, perform at their highest level and enjoy the work in a fear-free environment. The author provides the tools and techniques needed to achieve such an end.

This introduction to the series is mainly a guide for the manager themselves to show them the basic skills in training, enabling them to bridge the gap between competence and performance. The emphasis is on turning the workplace into a learning environment and empowering the team to succeed.

This "Idiot's Guide" shows how to pump up trainers, managers, and leaders of all kinds to inspire the people who work for them.