Workplace motivation is a myth. And that is actually good news for managers.

"My team has lost their motivation." Managers share this phrase regularly in training programs, interviews, and casual conversations. It expresses a real feeling: something has shifted in their people's commitment, and something is no longer working as it used to. Yet, as a diagnosis, it is false. And as long as this remains the go-to diagnosis, the solutions managers look for will be the wrong ones.

Motivation is not a personal trait like optimism or a sense of humor. We cannot say we are motivated in the same way we say we are energetic. Motivation is always relational: it exists in relation to something—a project, a manager, a team, a goal, an ideal. It is always driven "by" or "for." This seemingly simple distinction completely reshapes how a manager must approach the engagement of their teams. 

What is motivation, really?

The word motivation comes from the Latin motivus, which shares the same root as motor or motion in English. It literally means the capacity to put a reserve of energy into action. This etymological definition is valuable because it tells us two essential things: first, everyone has this reserve of energy inside them. Second, this energy needs to serve something to activate.

A team member who seems unmotivated is not a person without energy. Their energy is simply not connected to what their work offers. Perhaps they do not see the meaning behind what you ask of them. Perhaps their personal aspirations do not align with their current role. Perhaps the relationship with their manager fails to create the conditions that make them want to engage. Or perhaps a personal situation is draining their available energy.

Motivation "by" and motivation "for"

Motivation always expresses itself in two complementary ways. Motivation "for" refers to what the employee commits to: finalizing a project, reaching a goal, progressing toward a role, or contributing to a meaningful cause. This motivation is oriented toward a result, a future, or an aspiration.

Motivation "by" refers to what triggers that commitment: by a manager who shows trust, by a team that creates a sense of belonging, by recognition that feeds self-esteem, or by working conditions that allow them to give their best. This motivation is nourished by the context and relationships.

Every employee is driven by a combination of these two forms. Managers must strive to understand this specific combination for each member of their team. 

Why saying your team is unmotivated is a managerial mistake

When a manager says "my team is unmotivated," they make a category error. They treat motivation as a fixed state, a trait belonging to the person, when it is always the product of a relationship between a person and their environment. This mistake has significant practical consequences.

The wrong diagnosis leads to the wrong solutions

If motivation is a trait of the individual, the manager will look for solutions focused on the person: trying to cheer them up, explaining why they should care, or sometimes threatening them with consequences. These approaches might produce short-term effects, but they do not address the root causes of disengagement and rarely produce lasting change.

If, on the other hand, you understand motivation as relational, your solutions go in a completely different direction: understanding what connects or disconnects this employee from their work, identifying the "by" or the "for" that could activate their energy, and creating the conditions where this connection becomes possible. This approach is more demanding, but it is far more effective and shows respect for the person.

The trigger is often poorly expressed or subconscious

One of the challenges here is that the "by" or the "for" that would activate an employee's motivation is often poorly expressed or partly subconscious. Employees themselves do not always clearly know what they are missing or what could revive their commitment. They feel a void, weariness, or a sense of disconnection, but they do not necessarily articulate it precisely.

This is precisely where the manager's role becomes delicate and valuable. You must learn to ask the right questions, listen to what lies behind vague statements, observe behaviors that signal disengagement, and create a space for dialogue where the employee can gradually clarify what they need. 

The manager's true role: building the framework for motivation

Since motivation is not a property that a manager can inject from the outside, your role is not to motivate your team in the classic sense. Your role is to build the framework in which each employee can find, activate, and sustain their own motivation. This is a radically different posture, and often a harder one to maintain.

Understand the individual triggers of each employee

A manager's primary responsibility is to know each member of their team well enough to identify what activates their energy. What are their medium-term professional aspirations? What makes them proud of their work? What types of missions engage them more than others? What in the current environment creates friction or discouragement?

You do not gather this information in a standardized annual review. You build it through the daily relationship, in casual conversations, and by paying attention to the signals every employee sends, consciously or not, about what engages or disengages them.

Build the conditions that make motivation possible

Knowing the triggers is not enough. You must also build the concrete conditions in which these triggers can activate. This might mean assigning projects that match their aspirations, giving them visibility into the meaning of their work, granting more autonomy when that is what they need to engage, or offering more structure and support when uncertainty holds them back.

According to a Gallup study (State of the Global Workplace, 2023), 70% of employee engagement is directly tied to the behavior of their immediate manager. This figure shows how much the manager is the primary lever for their team's motivation—not as an external source of energy, but as a creator of the conditions that allow everyone's energy to thrive.

Distinguish temporary disengagement from deep disengagement

Every employee goes through periods of lower engagement. A temporary workload, disappointment over a project, or a difficult personal situation can momentarily reduce the energy available for work without signaling a structural issue. Managers must learn to distinguish these normal variations from a deeper disengagement that requires a different response.

Deep disengagement often signals that the "by" or the "for" that connected the employee to their work has disappeared or never truly existed. In this case, a quick fix will not work. It requires an in-depth conversation about aspirations, working conditions, and growth perspectives, with the goal of rebuilding a sustainable motivational foundation. 

What major motivation theories tell us in this context

Looking at major motivation theories through the lens of "by" and "for" allows us to connect them coherently rather than pitting them against each other.

Maslow and fundamental needs

Abraham Maslow showed that humans are motivated by a hierarchy of needs, from the most basic (security, belonging) to the highest (self-actualization). In the workplace, an employee whose security needs (job stability, clear framework) are not met cannot fully mobilize around performance or development goals. A manager who understands which level of need each employee is experiencing knows which lever to prioritize.

Deci and Ryan: intrinsic motivation as the goal

Edward Deci and Richard Ryan distinguished extrinsic motivation, triggered by external rewards or constraints, from intrinsic motivation, which comes from the interest and pleasure found in the activity itself. Their work shows that intrinsic motivation is far more sustainable and produces higher quality results. It activates when three fundamental psychological needs are met: autonomy (feeling in control), competence (feeling capable), and relatedness (feeling like you belong to something that matters).

These three needs define precisely the framework managers must aim to build so their people's motivation can thrive over the long term. 

FAQ: Frequently asked questions about motivation at work

Can you motivate someone who does not want to be motivated?

No, not in the literal sense. You cannot create motivation from the outside. What you can do, however, is build the conditions in which the person finds their own reasons to engage. If, despite a well-built framework and sincere dialogue, no triggers activate, the issue is no longer about motivation but perhaps about the fit between the person and their role, missions, or organization.

Is compensation an effective motivational lever?

Compensation is a hygiene factor in Herzberg's terms: its absence or insufficiency creates dissatisfaction, but raising it does not create long-term motivation. Beyond a certain comfort threshold, intrinsic factors (meaning, autonomy, recognition, development) determine the level of engagement. Compensation is necessary. It is not sufficient.

How do you approach an employee who seems deeply disengaged?

Through a sincere, one-on-one conversation in a supportive, non-judgmental environment. The goal is not to convince the employee to be motivated, but to understand what has changed, what they are missing, and what could recreate a connection. Open questions, active listening, and a genuine readiness to hear difficult answers are the baseline requirements for this exchange. If the disengagement is deep, this may require several conversations.

Can motivation be sustained over time without a promotion?

Yes, as long as other levers besides hierarchical growth are active: variety in projects, skill development, the quality of relationships in the team, meaning found in daily work, and recognition received. An employee who does not move up vertically can remain highly engaged if these dimensions are present. Conversely, an employee who feels they are stagnating on all these fronts at once will be difficult to keep engaged.

How do you train managers to better understand and activate their teams' motivation?

The most effective training on this topic combines conceptual insights (understanding the mechanisms of motivation) and practical application: how to lead a one-on-one conversation aimed at understanding each employee's triggers, how to adapt leadership styles to different profiles, and how to build the conditions for sustainable engagement. Discover our training programs to support your managers in this process. 

Conclusion: Managers do not motivate. They build the conditions for people to motivate themselves.

Motivation is not a gift that managers hand out to their employees. It is an energy that exists in each of them, waiting for a "by" or a "for" to give it direction. The manager's role is to find this lever for each member of their team, build the conditions in which it can activate, and maintain a relational and organizational framework that allows it to last.

This role is more demanding than that of a traditional motivator. It requires curiosity for each individual, humility in the face of human complexity, and a deep belief that sustainable team engagement is built on relationships and meaning, never on constraint or artificial enthusiasm.

To develop these managerial skills within your leadership teams, discover our training programs: designed to anchor sustainable practices in the daily realities of every organization. 

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