My team and I went to SavvyRoo, a cool online brainstorming site where people can enter their question and rank other people’s posts. We asked leaders for their top question about workplace motivation, and out of hundreds of questions, this one surfaced in the top 10: Why are managers such lousy motivators?

Most of the entries asked about how to motivate people. But this question tugged at the deeper issue of why motivation is such a challenge. There’s good science to explain why managers are typically lousy at motivation.

The big disconnect

You may be familiar with Ken Kovach’s seminal research. Individuals rank 10 workplace motivators. Their answers are compared to rankings of what their managers think motivates them. The results reflect how most employees feel: My manager doesn’t know what motivates me.

Managers tend to attribute external motivation to employees—such as good wages, promotions, and job security. (External motivators are not within the employees’ control.)

On the other hand, employees prefer more internal motivation—such as interesting work, growth, and learning. (Internal motivators are within the employees’ control.)

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