Motivators at work

In Dan Pink's book Drive, he discusses research that shows in an environment where work involves cognitive thinking, rewards actually backfire and result in lower levels of performance.  Once you pay people enough-- and I'm sure there's lots of debate on how much that is-- what really matters is:

•  having a sense of purpose,
•  being able to master your work,
• and then having the autonomy to do what you do.

I know many (like me), who work in the public sector and for non-profits, are there because these factors-- either alone or in combination-- outweigh the monetary gains. 

As leaders, we need to think about retaining the best and how we can convey a strong sense of purpose, ensure that people have training and developmental opportunities, and then let give them some space to shine! 

I would add another factor that I see having significance, and that's a social connection.  We live in an increasingly interconnected world, where work gets done through partnerships and teams and this makes work fun!

To see a short, fun, animated version of Dan Pink's work, see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=u6XAPnuFjJc