Drives, Performance, Creativity and Introversion in the Workplace

In an attempt to determine what drives people to undertake a particular action, research, analytics and discussion on motivation continues. Decades of research and published studies has yet to bring forth a unified theory of motivation. In the last decade, serial research has brought about some extraordinary and intriguing aspects regarding the effects of different types of motivation on performance and creativity. Prominent researchers encircling the field of study include Dan Ariely et.al, Susan Cain, Mihaly Czikzentmihalyi, Edward Deci, Sam Glucksberg, and Richard Ryan, analysts from the London School of Economics, Robert Eisenhower, Linda Shanock and more recently, Dan Pink. Although not universally in agreement, their findings suggest that extrinsic drives may have a negative impact on overall performance and creativity. The answer to the effects of drives on performance and creativity remains unclear, but it has not prevented a number of innovative organizations from structuring their reward systems, employee engagement, and team conceptions based on elements of a new operating system. This new operating system is based on the elements of autonomy, mastery and purpose, finding that traditional management instruments are antiquated. Incorporation of these three elements considers the latest discoveries, scientific research and evidenced-based findings. Some of these new work approaches include ROWE and the 20 percent rule. In this paper, the author intends to shed some light upon the relationship between drives, performance, creativity and introversion in the modern workforce.