As I wrote last time, when it comes to motivation at work, money is effective only in limited range of situations. Daniel Pink ? the author of the Drive – the surprising truth about what motivates us claims that the only way to make people work effectively in 21^st Century is to give them autonomy, mastery and purpose. Wat does it mean and how to do that? Autonomy means having the freedom of choice and being the initiator of one?s own behavior. People need autonomy in what, when, with whom and how they do things. To meet the need for autonomy allow your employees to make independent choices of tasks or the manner of their performance. The second is especially important in routine or unpleasant tasks that have to be done. If employees have freedom to shaped such work in a way that brings a little bit of play and fun in an otherwise mundane duties, they will be done faster and better. Mastery is about becoming better at something that matters. It begins with what Mihalyi Chikszentmihalyi called flow – an optimal experience when the challenges we face are perfectly suited to our capabilities. The study of 11 000 scientists and engineers working in industrial companies in the US have shown that the desire for intellectual challenge – that is, the desire to learn something new and dealing – is the best predictor of performance. So if you want to have creative employees with high achievements, give them the challenges that are neither too much nor too little ambitious, neither too difficult nor too easy. Their tasks should be compatible with their skills and interesting for them. Purpose means devotion to a cause that is larger and more durable than ourselves. At work it means having important (not only for my own interest but also for other people) goals to achieve, which are additionally specific and difficult.  According to Locke and Latham, goals that are explicit and challenging causes higher commitment towards them and, as a result, higher performance. But having such a goal is not enough ? one have to receive feedback about progress in relation to it. So to provide purpose for your employees, help them in setting goals that are specific and challenging and that go beyond the individual interest. Remember also to give your subordinates feedback on the quality of their work during completing their tasks, and not only after they are done. Easy? Not always. Achievable? Of course! What you need is mostly the individual approach to employees and treating them as you would like to be treated.   Source: Pink, D. H. (2010). Drive ? the surprising truth about what motivates us. Edinburgh: Canongate Books. Grafic credit: www.musicnewsnashville.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/goals-graphic.jpg