4 types of motivation

One framework used for understanding motivation is the hierarchy of needs proposed by American psychologist Abraham Maslow in 1943. According to Maslow, humans are inherently motivated to better themselves and move toward expressing their full potential—self-actualization—by progressively encountering and satisfying several levels of need from the most fundamental, such as for food and safety, to higher-order needs for love, belonging, and self-esteem.

People often have multiple motives for engaging in any one behavior. Motivation might be extrinsic, whereby a person is inspired by outside forces—other people or rewards. Motivation can also be intrinsic, whereby the inspiration comes from within—the desire to improve at a certain activity. Intrinsic motivation tends to push people more forcefully, and the accomplishments are more fulfilling.

Motivation is what drives people to success. Think about people who are motivated to lose weight—the more driven they are, the greater success they have. Motivation plays a critical role in employee productivity, quality and speed of work.

Through research with thousands of employees and leaders, we've discovered that there are five major motivations that drive people's actions at work; Achievement, Power, Affiliation, Security and Adventure.

Intrinsic motivations are those that arise from within the individual, such as doing a complicated crossword puzzle purely for the personal gratification of solving a problem.2

Extrinsic motivations are those that arise from outside of the individual and often involve rewards such as trophies, money, social recognition, or praise.

Motivation is defined as the reasons why you are doing something, or the level of desire you have to do something. If you want to lose weight to get healthier, this is an example of motivation to improve your health.