Lead people
Autonomy, mastery and purpose
Also called Drive, Motivation 3.0
Look at a team's work through three needs that keep people engaged: a say in how they work, getting better at something, and knowing why.
- Time30 to 60 minutes
- People3 to 10 people
- Steps4
What it's for
For work that needs thought rather than routine, bonuses and pressure work less well than you'd expect. What keeps people engaged is autonomy (some say over what they do, when and how), mastery (the chance to get better at something that matters) and purpose (knowing why the work is worth doing).
Use the board in a retrospective or a team day: what feeds each of the three today, what starves it, and one change for each.
How to run it
What feeds it10 min
In each column, what gives the team more autonomy, mastery or purpose today.
What starves it10 min
In the same columns, what takes it away. Be specific: a meeting, a rule, a handover.
Pick what to change5 min3 votes each
Vote on the drains that cost the team most.
Agree one change each10 min
One change for each of the three, with an owner.
Tips
- Autonomy needs a clear purpose to point at. Freedom without a goal feels like being left alone.
- Mastery needs time to practise. A team that only ever ships has no room to get better.
Where it comes from
Set out by Daniel H. Pink in Drive (2009), drawing on Edward Deci and Richard Ryan's self-determination theory.
Pairs well with
Moving motivators
Each person ranks ten motivators by how much they matter, then moves each up or down to show how their work feeds or drains it.
Three needs theory
Each person places themselves between achievement, affiliation and power, so the team sees what drives each of them and where they might clash.
Squad health check
A team rates itself green, amber or red on ten areas such as fun, speed and tech quality, and talks about the reds.