Self-Determination Theory - Deci & Ryan

Self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017), provides one of the most robust models for human motivation, they define three main factors that drive motivation in the workplace (and hence engagement). These are autonomy, competence and relatedness. Leaders should actively maximise these factors so that teams achieve higher levels of personal satisfaction and performance.

Autonomy

• The bounded autonomy provided to Self Managing Teams should be as broad as possible. For example, given all the time and resources to solve complex problems towards a measurable outcome.
• Teams should be masters of their own destiny and should not need to routinely hand off work to others. Leaders should seek actively to remove such handoffs.

Competence

• Ensure that people have opportunities to improve their skills through, for example, training and practice (e.g. running coding dojos).
• Encourage a culture of finding value in personal growth and motivation.

Make sure that people’s need for competence is not removed, for example, by seeking to de-skill work

Relatedness

• Set up teams so that they develop people’s deep need to be connected, interact with and experience caring for others.
• Establish stable teams which have a clear purpose to which the members can relate.
• Make it clear how that team purpose is related to the overall objectives of the organisation.