By Amy Brann
Motivation isn’t about perks or pressure. In this eye-opening piece, Amy Brann, author of Make Your Brain Work, reveals why outdated incentive models fail and how leaders can truly energise teams by understanding the brain’s reward system, directing attention wisely, and creating space for deeper meaning, reflection, and self-driven motivation.
Did you know that leaders are not just setting goals—they’re shaping brains? Every conversation, priority, or performance framework subtly rewires what your team pays attention to—and therefore what drives them. In short, leaders are custodians of attention. And that makes them architects of motivation.
Yet many organisations are still clinging to outdated motivation models: carrot-and-stick incentives, short-term rewards, and generic ‘engagement’ initiatives. The science is in—and these approaches are not only ineffective, but often counterproductive. If you want a high-performing, energised, resilient team, it’s time to rethink what actually drives people at work.
1. Understand the Brain’s Reward System—Or Risk Working Against It
Most motivation strategies fail because they misunderstand how the brain processes rewards. Dopamine, the chemical often associated with motivation, is not simply released when someone gets a bonus or praise. It’s released in anticipation of something meaningful—especially when a person feels they had some autonomy or identity in achieving it.
This is where traditional rewards go wrong. Monetary incentives, performance rankings or superficial perks often light up the brain’s reward circuitry only briefly—a dopamine spike followed by diminishing returns. The neuroscience is clear: lasting motivation is fuelled not by short-term external rewards, but by internal ones that connect to purpose, contribution, and personal identity.
If you want sustained motivation, design roles and recognition systems that help people feel proud of who they are becoming—not just what they’ve done.
2. Motivation Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All—It’s Shaped by Attention and Conditioning
Here’s a truth that surprises many leaders during my keynotes: there’s no such thing as a ‘Gen Z brain’ or a ‘Boomer brain.’ All generations share the same neurological architecture. What differs is how their reward systems have been conditioned to light up.
Some individuals will be energised by hitting a metric. Others by solving a complex puzzle, or knowing their work has made someone’s life easier. These triggers are shaped by culture, personal values, and formative experiences—not by age or job title.
And this is where your role as a custodian of attention becomes vital. What you choose to spotlight in meetings, what you celebrate in others, what you measure—these direct attention, and attention shapes behaviour. If you focus only on revenue, expect short-termism. If you focus on mastery, collaboration or growth, expect a very different culture.
To motivate your team, know what lights them up—and then keep drawing their attention there.
3. Coaching Conversations Elicit Identity-Level Motivation
The best motivation doesn’t come from external nudges – it comes from within. But most organisations don’t give people the space to discover what truly drives them.
That’s where coaching-style management makes all the difference.
Unlike performance reviews or directives, coaching creates a space for employees to reflect, explore, and find meaning in their work. It encourages people to ask not just what they’re doing, but why it matters—and how it aligns with their own sense of identity.
From a neuroscience perspective, this isn’t soft skills – it’s highly strategic. Identity-level reflection activates the medial prefrontal cortex, involved in self-relevance and future-oriented thinking. It allows someone to connect a task not just to the company mission, but to their own values, growth, or who they aspire to be.
Want your people to feel truly engaged? Ask better questions (e.g. What part of this project feels most meaningful to you personally? Or What kind of reputation or impact do you want to build through this role?), listen longer, and help them find their own why—not just yours.
4. Downtime Isn’t a Luxury – It’s Where Motivation Gets Wired In
We often think motivation is about doing more. But sometimes, the key is in doing nothing – deliberately.
Research into the brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN) has shown that during rest, reflection or daydreaming, we integrate ideas, solidify memories, and generate new connections. These moments are not wasted – they are where deeper meaning is made. When people have time to pause, they’re more likely to link their daily work with broader goals, values, or insights. That connection builds intrinsic motivation.
This is why relentless busyness kills motivation. It gives people no time to internalise, reframe, or extract meaning from their work.
If you want lasting motivation, don’t just encourage downtime—protect it.
5. Purpose and Identity Trump Pay Cheques—Every Time
Compensation matters. But beyond a certain point, it stops motivating. What keeps people going through uncertainty, complexity, or setbacks is purpose—and its close cousin, identity.
Meaningful work doesn’t have to change the world. But people do need to see how their effort contributes to something worthwhile—and how it reflects the kind of person they want to be. Whether it’s being known as the go-to problem-solver, or the person who always has time to mentor others, these identity hooks activate deep neural reward pathways far more powerfully than short term material gains.
So when you connect a task to an organisational mission, don’t stop there. Ask: How could this role connect to who this person wants to become?
Because when people do work that aligns with their identity, they don’t just show up—they shine.
Rethinking Your Role as a Leader
The carrot-and-stick model belongs to a different era. Today’s business leaders need to become neuroscience-literate, emotionally intelligent custodians of attention and meaning.
Start by asking:
- What do I draw my team’s attention to most?
- Do I know what truly lights each person up?
- Are my conversations helping people feel seen, stretched and aligned with who they want to be?
Because motivation isn’t something you give to people. It’s something you help them find—and fuel.
And that’s not just good leadership. That’s good science.
Amy Brann
