Intrinsic Driver Alignment
Match motivation to what energizes each person instead of projecting your own
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 97%
Hemmings explains that a distant championship did not motivate every cold training session. Immediate drivers did: sometimes monthly performance targets and achievement, sometimes connection with teammates, and for others recognition from a coach. She applies the same logic to leadership. Identify what most energizes the individual, observe the work and feedback that make them light up, and connect necessary action to that source of motivation. A leader must also recognize their own bias: someone driven by winning can mistakenly sell achievement to a colleague who values contribution or ownership. The framework therefore combines self-awareness, conversation, observation, a tailored motivational cue, and a check that the cue actually improves engagement.
Origin
Hemmings connects her athletic motivation with her coaching work and cites Dean Spitzer's work on super motivation. Extracted from The Diary of a CEO.
Core principles
- 01People can be energized by different intrinsic rewards
- 02Long-term goals may not motivate every difficult day
- 03Short targets can supply an immediate sense of achievement
- 04Behaviour and reactions reveal what makes someone engage
- 05A leader's own driver should not be imposed on everyone
How to run it
- 1
Audit your own driver
Name the reward that most often energizes you, such as achievement, affiliation, recognition, contribution, or ownership. Treat it as a bias as well as a strength.
Watch out Do not assume your driver is universal.
- 2
Discover the other person's driver
Ask what makes work feel worthwhile and observe when the person becomes animated, persistent, or proud.
Pro tip Compare reactions to progress, praise, collaboration, contribution, and autonomy.
- 3
Connect the immediate task
Frame the next action around the person's strongest driver. Keep the cue close enough to matter today rather than relying only on a distant goal.
Pro tip Use short targets for achievement-driven work and meaningful ownership for autonomy-driven work.
Watch out Do not fabricate meaning or promise rewards you cannot provide.
- 4
Deliver matching feedback
Recognize the kind of value the person cares about, whether progress, contribution, connection, ownership, or acknowledgement.
- 5
Test and revise
Watch whether effort and engagement improve. Ask again when the response suggests that the assumed driver was wrong or has changed.
Pro tip Treat diagnostics as a starting hypothesis, not a permanent label.
In the wild
Hemmings says a championship two years away was not always enough to get her through a difficult winter day. Her coach set monthly gym, running, swimming, and water targets. Her desire for achievement made the nearer test meaningful, while connection with teammates could motivate her on other days.
→ Immediate intrinsic rewards supported the daily training required for the larger goal.
Common mistakes
Projecting your own motivation
A leader driven by winning may keep emphasizing victory to someone who cares more about contribution or ownership.
Relying only on external rewards
Hemmings describes pay and promotion as external and less sustainable than understanding what the work provides intrinsically.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for managers, coaches, and individuals trying to sustain effort through repetitive or difficult work.
Not ideal for
It is not a justification for manipulation, ignoring fair pay, or assuming one diagnostic permanently defines a person.
From the transcript
“we all have different drivers”
“know that it's not the same as yours”
From the episode
I Won 11 World Titles Because They Said I Couldn't - Anna Hemmings MBE