The Motivation Code

1. Discover Your Unique Motivation Code to Unlock Peak Performance

Your Motivation Code is the unique, constant, unchanging behavioral drive that orients a person to achieve a distinct pattern of results.

Motivation Code defined. Your Motivation Code is comprised of your top three motivational themes out of 27 possible themes. These themes explain why you're willing to dedicate hours to tasks others might despise, why you feel compelled to collaborate or work alone, and why you make the same mistakes repeatedly. Understanding your Motivation Code can help you:

• Identify roles and tasks that naturally energize you
• Recognize why certain activities drain you
• Improve your relationships with differently motivated peers and managers
• Make more informed career decisions

Benefits of knowing your Code. By aligning your work with your Motivation Code, you can:

• Increase job satisfaction and engagement
• Improve productivity and performance
• Reduce stress and burnout
• Enhance team dynamics and collaboration

2. Understand the Six Motivational Families and Their Themes

There are 2,925 possible combinations of top three motivations, and 17,500 possible Motivation Codes.

Motivational Families overview. The 27 motivational themes are grouped into six families, each with distinct characteristics:

1. Visionary Family: Future-focused, driven by possibility
2. Achiever Family: Perseveres through challenges, focused on completion
3. Team Player Family: Energized by collaboration and meeting others' needs
4. Learner Family: Motivated by exploration and mastery
5. Optimizer Family: Driven to improve and make things efficient
6. Key Contributor Family: Fueled by recognition and being central to action

Theme interactions. While each theme has unique attributes, themes within a family share common characteristics. Your top three themes work together to shape your overall motivation, with the dominant theme often influencing how the others manifest.

3. The Visionary Family: Driven by Possibility and Impact

Those motivated by the Visionary Family themes revolve around possibility.

Visionary themes. The Visionary Family includes three themes:

1. Achieve Potential: Driven to identify and realize potential
2. Make an Impact: Motivated to leave a personal mark on the world
3. Experience the Ideal: Seeks to give concrete expression to concepts or visions

Visionary characteristics. People with Visionary themes in their Motivation Code:

• Are future-focused, sometimes at the expense of the present
• Can spot potential that others miss
• Are driven to turn ideas into reality
• May struggle with practical execution or getting bogged down in details

4. The Achiever Family: Fueled by Challenges and Completion

Have you ever made a fifteen-page budgeting spreadsheet to keep track of your spending and updated it every single day?

Achiever themes. The Achiever Family comprises four themes:

1. Meet the Challenge: Motivated by difficult tests of skill or endurance
2. Overcome: Driven to triumph over difficulties or opposition
3. Bring to Completion: Satisfied by finishing projects and meeting objectives
4. Advance: Energized by making progress and accomplishing goals

Achiever characteristics. Those with Achiever themes in their Motivation Code:

• Are rarely satisfied with half measures
• Push themselves and others to persist through difficulties
• May struggle with routine tasks or maintenance work
• Can be prone to burnout if not managed carefully

5. The Team Player Family: Energized by Collaboration and Service

They are the ones barking at the group to continue moving forward, persist when times get tough, and keep their eyes on the prize.

Team Player themes. The Team Player Family includes four themes:

1. Collaborate: Enjoys working with others toward a common purpose
2. Make the Grade: Motivated to meet standards and gain acceptance
3. Serve: Driven to identify and fulfill needs of others
4. Influence Behavior: Motivated to impact others' thinking and actions

Team Player characteristics. People with Team Player themes:

• Pay close attention to others, especially in group contexts
• Derive energy from taking care of people and meeting expectations
• May struggle with asserting their own needs or opinions
• Can be deeply affected by team dynamics and interpersonal conflicts

6. The Learner Family: Motivated by Exploration and Mastery

Those whose Motivation Code is made up of themes within the Learner Family are usually motivated to explore and learn new things, gain mastery, and demonstrate their knowledge.

Learner themes. The Learner Family consists of four themes:

1. Comprehend and Express: Driven to understand and communicate insights
2. Master: Satisfied by gaining complete command of a skill or subject
3. Demonstrate New Learning: Motivated to learn and show new abilities
4. Explore: Driven to venture into the unknown and expand knowledge

Learner characteristics. Those with Learner themes in their Motivation Code:

• Thrive on acquiring new skills and knowledge
• Often prefer generalist roles that allow for diverse learning
• May struggle with repetitive tasks or roles that don't offer growth
• Can bring fresh perspectives and ideas to projects, especially in early stages

7. The Optimizer Family: Driven by Improvement and Efficiency

Those motivated by the Optimizer Family themes are often the people most likely to start organizing their desk while they meet with you.

Optimizer themes. The Optimizer Family includes six themes:

1. Organize: Motivated to create smooth-running operations
2. Make It Right: Driven to follow and establish correct standards
3. Improve: Happiest when using abilities to make things better
4. Make It Work: Focused on fixing broken or poorly functioning systems
5. Develop: Motivated by the process of building from start to finish
6. Establish: Driven to lay secure foundations

Optimizer characteristics. People with Optimizer themes:

• Excel at spotting inefficiencies and areas for improvement
• Often gravitate towards operational or process-oriented roles
• May struggle with accepting "good enough" or embracing change
• Can be valuable in ensuring organizational effectiveness and quality

8. The Key Contributor Family: Fueled by Recognition and Control

Some people are born to be in the spotlight.

Key Contributor themes. The Key Contributor Family comprises six themes:

1. Evoke Recognition: Motivated to capture attention and interest
2. Bring Control: Wants to be in charge of their own destiny
3. Be Unique: Seeks to distinguish themselves through special talents
4. Be Central: Motivated to be a key person holding things together
5. Gain Ownership: Driven to acquire and control resources
6. Excel: Wants to stand above the rest and exceed expectations

Key Contributor characteristics. Those with Key Contributor themes:

• Often seek leadership or high-profile roles
• Thrive on recognition and being at the center of action
• May struggle with sharing credit or working behind the scenes
• Can be powerful drivers of organizational success and innovation

9. Activate Your Motivation Code in Your Current Role

It is not selfish to want to operate within your Motivation Code. In fact, it's the least selfish thing you can do, because it means you will be more deeply engaged and create better value more consistently.

Craft your job. Understanding your Motivation Code doesn't mean you need to change careers. Instead, look for ways to activate your motivations within your current role:

• Identify tasks that align with your top themes
• Seek out projects or responsibilities that engage your motivations
• Reframe less enjoyable tasks in terms of outcomes that matter to you
• Break work into components that activate different aspects of your Code

Create a Motivation Statement. Develop a brief statement that captures your core drivers:
"I am fundamentally motivated to __________ as I __________ and __________."
Use this statement as a guide for decision-making and prioritizing tasks.

10. Communicate Your Motivation Code to Your Manager

Discussing your Motivation Code with your manager takes careful planning, so here are some tips for making this exchange a productive one.

Prepare for the conversation. When discussing your Motivation Code with your manager:

1. Approach as a teacher, sharing what you've learned about motivation
2. Provide examples of recent work aligned with your Code
3. Discuss moments when you operated outside your Code
4. Suggest practical ways to shape your role around your motivations

Focus on organizational benefits. Frame the conversation in terms of how operating within your Motivation Code benefits the team and organization:

• Improved engagement and job satisfaction
• Increased productivity and discretionary effort
• Enhanced collaboration and decreased unnecessary conflict
• Greater psychological safety within the team

11. Choose Clean Fuel: Align Your Work with Your Core Motivations

The most profound work you will ever do will be accomplished only when you are burning clean fuel.

Clean vs. dirty fuel. Recognize the difference between clean and dirty motivational fuel:

Clean Fuel:

• Aligned with your Motivation Code
• Focused on positive outcomes and creation
• Leads to sustained engagement and satisfaction

Dirty Fuel:

• Driven by anger, resentment, or proving others wrong
• Creates residual bitterness and negativity
• May provide short-term motivation but leads to burnout

Focus on positive drivers. To sustain long-term motivation and fulfillment:

• Identify the outcomes that truly matter to you
• Recognize how your work contributes to those outcomes
• Celebrate progress and achievements aligned with your motivations
• Regularly reassess and realign your work with your Motivation Code

By understanding and activating your unique Motivation Code, you can unlock your full potential, increase your job satisfaction, and make a more meaningful impact in your work and life.

Last updated: August 20, 2024