Understanding Career Motivations

When I removed targets from my team, the first question every sales leader asked was... “How did you stop everything turning into chaos?” The answer was simple but not easy. We replaced top down targets with something far more powerful… A personal success blueprint for every rep. If you’ve never used one, here’s exactly what it is and how it works. It's a structured, data informed plan the rep co creates with their manager. It defines the inputs, activity levels & funnel metrics they need to achieve THEIR definition of success. It becomes the foundation for coaching, accountability & weekly 1:1s. Here’s how we built it. Step 1️⃣: Start with what top performers actually do... We pulled the data from our best reps. Things like... Discovery calls per week Discovery to qualified Opps created per month Opps to close Average deal size Sales cycle Etc....you get my point. This became our baseline blueprint. Not a rule, more like a map of effective execution inside our reality. Step 2️⃣: Understand the rep's intrinsic motivators... Because a blueprint only works if the rep is building toward something they care about. But first we needed to model the openness we sought from them. I shared my personal manual for working with me; a meaty guide that included lots of personal info, including my drivers & motivations. Then we found out what drove them... Some wanted a promotion. Some had a clear earning goal. Some wanted to rebuild confidence. Some wanted to be at the top of the leaderboard. Once you uncover the driver, you can build a plan that actually means something. Step 3️⃣: Build their personalised blueprint grounded in data... This is the coaching conversation where real change happens. It sounds like… “If your goal is £X and your deal size is £Y you will need around Z deals…” “Your win rate is X%, top performers sit at Y% percent…where could you realistically get it to?” “With your discovery to qualified at X%, how many discovery calls per week do you need?” The manager questions. The rep thinks. Together they build something ambitious but believable. And everything is rooted in their personal motivator...e.g. a clear path to promotion. The rep signs off. The manager commits to coaching to it. Step 4️⃣: Contract for accountability... This is where most leaders fall. We asked every rep… “When you fall behind, how do you want me to respond?” Some wanted a Slack nudge. Some wanted a short problem solving session. Some wanted it raised in weekly 1:1s Different reps need different triggers. Agreeing this upfront turns accountability into partnership. Step 5️⃣: Use the blueprint every week... Every 1:1 followed the GROW model. Goal, Reality, Options, Will. What’s working, what's not, what options do you see and what will you commit to this week? It keeps the conversation grounded in reality and solution focussed. 5 simple steps but success is driven by the quality of the coaching. That'll be my next post...

You started that course this year, but didn’t finish it. You enrolled in that bootcamp, but life happened. You planned to take that certification, but never did. Or maybe you tried, failed, and haven’t gone back since. You applied for roles. Didn't hear back, not even a rejection email. Maybe you even got to interviews. But no offer came through. Now you’re tired. Frustrated. Quietly wondering if cybersecurity is even for you. Let me tell you something most people won’t. This experience is far more common than you think. This is what the early and middle stages of cybersecurity often look like. Unclear progress. Pauses. Doubt. Restarting more times than you expected. Cybersecurity is not a straight line. It’s not a “learn for 3 months and arrive” career. It’s messy, slow, and often discouraging before it makes sense. What you’re feeling right now is not failure. It’s friction. And friction is usually a sign that you’re stretching into something unfamiliar, not that you’re incapable. Here’s the hard but freeing truth: Progress in cybersecurity often looks like pauses, restarts, and recalibration. The people who eventually break through are not always the smartest. They’re the ones who learn how to reset without quitting. So instead of asking, “Is cybersecurity for me?” Try asking: “What do I need to change about how I’m approaching it?” Smaller goals instead of big promises. Contextual structure instead of random learning. Consistency instead of motivation. You don’t need to catch up. You don’t need to start over completely. You just need to take one honest step again. And if this year didn’t go the way you planned, that doesn’t disqualify you. It just means your story is still being written. As we come to the end of 2025, I want you to pause and reflect. Not on what you didn’t finish, but on what you learned about yourself. What worked. What didn’t. What you now know you need. You don’t need a dramatic reset. You don’t need to catch up to anyone. You just need to carry the lessons forward. If you’re still thinking about cybersecurity as the year ends, that means something. And sometimes, that something is all you need to keep going into the next year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in Advance. Jonathan Ayodele

Almost everyone I know in their 40s tells me some version of the same thing: “I just don't want to work for anyone else anymore.” That realization happens when you have enough experience to trust your own judgment - and you're tired of being overridden. That’s how I felt when I started working for myself. Yes, autonomy lets you work from wherever and set your own [insane] hours, and those things are gifts to ambitious people. But improving your personal life is just one part of the picture. When you work for yourself, you can prioritize the things you think matter most to the business, move fast when the business needs you to, and slow down when it's time for you to think. The people I know who have autonomy are, almost without exception, the happiest people I know professionally. And the ones who don't are increasingly frustrated. If I notice this, I wonder why CEOs don’t. Here's what I keep seeing: when CEOs want to retain great people, they offer a better title or a salary bump. And yes, that works - for about three to six months. Then their budget adjusts, the person is unhappy again, and everyone's back to the same conversation. Because on a daily basis, trust does more to keep people happy in their jobs than compensation. Giving people the tools they need to succeed and the room to actually use them turns a paycheck into loyalty. Autonomy means letting people make real decisions about what they prioritize, how things should get done, and are given room to try new things. Set the boundaries, but make them expansive enough that people can actually be creative inside them. People want autonomy, and if they can’t find it within their roles, they’ll go somewhere else.

Less than 23% of your reps are ACTUALLY money motivated. Read that again. Less than 23% are wired where money itself is the driver — where every behavior, every decision, every mindset choice comes back to making as much as possible. Those people are honestly easy to manage. You never have to talk them into activity or skill work. They just go. (just make sure they aren't cutting corners!) But the 77%? Money doesn't motivate them. But what does REQUIRES money. The vacation requires money. The car requires money. Retiring their mom requires money. The ring they want to buy? Money. Then you have the fully intrinsically motivated folks - Mastery, Helping, Autonomy, Creation, Purpose, etc - They need motivation too! The problem is the top 5% of sellers generally ARE (over 70%) money/extrinsically motivated, and often top sellers become leaders and so what kind of comp/motivation plan do they put in place? the same that worked for them And if you don't know what those things actually are for each person on your team — if you've never sat down and mapped their personal goals to their professional ones — you are pulling a lever that doesn't work for most of your people. Here's what this looks like in practice: Your rep shares their real goals with you in a 1:1. You write them down. Then you connect the dots every single week. "Remember Bali? This commission check gets you 40% of the way there." Drop a picture of Bali in their Slack when they close a big one. Mention it when they're grinding through a hard stretch. Celebrate the goal — not just the quota. And when they actually hit it — the car, the ring, the trip — that moment is yours too as their leader. That's the whole point of leading people. Most managers track quota attainment. What we should really track is: goal attainment rate. How many of your people hit what they were working toward this year? That number tells you whether you're leading — or just managing a spreadsheet. If you can help people leverage their professional goals to hit their personal goals. That's how everyone wins.

Reading Drive by Daniel H. Pink made me reflect regarding true motivation, which stems from autonomy, mastery, and purpose—not just external rewards. In 1949, Harry Harlow conducted a groundbreaking experiment with rhesus monkeys that reshaped our understanding of motivation. Presented with a mechanical puzzle, the monkeys engaged eagerly—solving it not for food or rewards, but for the sheer satisfaction of the task itself. Astonishingly, when Harlow introduced raisins as an external reward, their performance declined. The lesson? Intrinsic motivation—the drive to act for its own sake—can be disrupted by extrinsic incentives. Fast forward to today: many organizations still operate on the standard assumption that motivation hinges on external rewards like bonuses, promotions, or recognition. While these tactics may spark short-term gains, research—including Harlow’s work and later studies by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan—shows they often fail to sustain long-term engagement. Worse, they can undermine the natural desire to explore, learn, and master challenges. Yet, this extrinsic-heavy approach dominates corporate playbooks, rooted more in tradition than evidence. What does this mean for leadership? It’s time to rethink how we inspire performance. Leaders must move beyond the carrot-and-stick model and build environments that nurture intrinsic motivation. Here’s how: Empower Autonomy: Give people the freedom to shape how they work. When individuals feel trusted to take ownership, creativity and commitment soar. Support Mastery: Offer opportunities for skill growth and meaningful challenges. People thrive when they can see their progress and stretch their abilities. Connect to Purpose: Link daily tasks to a larger mission. A sense of meaning fuels passion and persistence. Rethink Rewards: Use extrinsic incentives sparingly—to celebrate, not dictate. Ensure they enhance, rather than replace, the joy of the work itself. The implication is clear: leaders who prioritize intrinsic motivation can unlock a culture where performance is driven by curiosity, pride, and purpose—not just the next paycheck. #Leadership #Motivation #IntrinsicMotivation #OrganizationalCulture

Your star performer just quit. The team's energy feels dead. Before you blame them, ask yourself: Am I the problem? I learned this the hard way in 2018. My best leader walked into my office on a Tuesday morning. Resignation letter in hand. No warning signs. Or so I thought. The truth hit during his exit interview: "I haven't felt challenged in months. Every idea got buried under urgency. I was solving problems, not building anything meaningful." I'd been so focused on quarterly targets that I missed what was actually driving him. That moment exposed a blind spot I see in most leaders today. Most leaders think motivation is about pushing harder. More targets. More incentives. More pressure. It doesn't work. After 25 years of coaching executives, I've learned that exceptional leaders don't push harder, they tune in deeper. Three forces drive real performance (@Dan Pink): 1/ 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 – the need to own your work At a fintech startup in Singapore, the CEO stopped dictating solutions. Teams got the problem and goal, then chose their path. When people own the 𝗵𝗼𝘄, they stop watching the clock and start solving problems that matter. 2/ 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 – the hunger to grow A sales director ditched generic bonuses for growth investments. Top performer wanted negotiation training? Sent him to learn from FBI hostage negotiators. Another wanted coding skills? Paid for a bootcamp. Invest in someone's growth, loyalty follows. 3/ 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 – work that matters beyond the paycheck A renewable energy company replaced revenue dashboards with impact metrics: carbon prevented, communities powered. Engineers stopped seeing code deployments. They saw forests saved. Purpose transforms tasks into a mission. The best leaders create environments where autonomy enables mastery, and both serve a purpose that matters. That leader who quit? He's now CTO at a thriving startup. We meet quarterly for coffee. He taught me that retention isn't about golden handcuffs. It's about understanding what gold means to each person, before they walk out. Which of these three is missing most in your workplace? Drop the number below.

In a recent conversation, a new leader and I explored what truly drives people to perform at their best. She had a team member that was just not delivering, was calling in sick a lot and missing deadlines. We talked about what might be contributing to this behaviour. I believe that in many cases it comes down to three fundamental human needs and whether they are being met: 1. The need to feel COMPETENT 2. The need for AUTONOMY 3. The need for a sense of RELATEDNESS According to Self Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan), when people feel capable, have freedom in how they work, and feel genuinely valued, something shifts. They move from just doing the minimum to being truly engaged in their work. This is the transformational stuff that changes everything. As a leader, here are some actions you can take to create an environment that facilitates intrinsic motivation: 🗣️ Start with strengths – Recognising what people do well builds psychological safety and opens the door to honest, constructive conversations. 🗣️ Clarify the WHY – Purpose reduces resistance and increases energy. When explaining tasks, connect them to multiple perspectives: What's in it for them? For the team? For clients? For the broader community? This clarity is fuel for motivation. 🗣️ Mind your language – Words like "you need to," "you must," "you have to" diminish autonomy and kill intrinsic motivation. Less autonomy = less persistence, creativity, and problem-solving. Respecting these "laws of human nature" isn't just good leadership—it's a rational strategy that reduces friction and inefficiency. When we create environments where people feel competent, autonomous, and connected, we don't just manage performance—we unlock potential. #Leadership #Coaching #EmployeeEngagement #SelfDeterminationTheory #PeopleManagement #IntrinsicMotivation

I have been reading "The Gamer’s Brain: How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game Design" by Celia Hodent 🔜 GDC and am so grateful to finally have better terminology to explain often abstract game design concepts. I am particularly thrilled how intrinsic motivation—internal drive—plays a pivotal role in game design. Celia lay outs three core intrinsic motivators shape our experiences: Competency: The desire to feel effective and master challenges. When players experience moments of achievement, they gain a deep sense of purpose and value in their gameplay. Autonomy: Autonomy is about self-direction—the freedom to make choices, experiment, and innovate. It empowers players to explore, create, and leave their unique mark on the game world. Relatedness: This motivation stems from our need to connect and belong. Whether through cooperative play or community engagement, relatedness imbues gaming with a sense of impact and shared experience. I was inspired to map these core motivators into a Venn diagram and create three new sub-categories that cover areas where they converge: Camaraderie (Competency + Relatedness): Mastery paired with connection builds environments where players learn from one another and grow together, whether it is collaborative or competitive. Creativity (Autonomy + Competency): When freedom to explore meets the satisfaction of skill, players are inspired to innovate. This dynamic sparks new ideas and encourages the evolution of gameplay mechanics and metas. Self-Expression (Relatedness + Autonomy): By merging the need for connection with the freedom of choice, games allow players to express their identities. This leads to richer narratives and more personal experiences, and explains the draw of character customization, housing, and UGC. We see these intrinsic motivators at work in wildly successful games like Fortnite (especially with Fortnite Create and UEFN), Valheim, and Minecraft. These platforms empower players not just to play, but to create, share, and connect—resulting in communities that thrive on a wide range of purpose, value, and impact. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is the drive to engage in an activity due to external rewards or pressures rather than personal interest. Extrinsic motivation is influenced by outcomes like points, badges, leaderboards, monetary rewards, or even the avoidance of negative consequences. While extrinsic motivators can be powerful in encouraging short-term engagement or specific behaviors, these external rewards often don't foster the deeper, long-lasting fulfillment that comes from intrinsic motivations. As game developers, it is so important to understand and leverage intrinsic motivations to empower us to provide players meaningful and fulfilling gameplay. How are you supporting these intrinsic motivations in your games? #gamedev #gamedesign #userexperience #indiedev #gameindustry

The Best L&D and Talent Development Leaders I Know They all share one thing in common: An obsession with understanding what actually drives employees to learn and grow. If you’re in L&D or Talent Development and haven’t yet heard about Daniel Kahneman’s theories or Edward Deci’s Self-Determination Theory (SDT), stick around, this might reshape your perspective on employees' motivation to learn and grow. Forget gamification. It’s not about SCORM files or content formats. Real motivation is fueled by what’s inside. According to Deci's theory, three core psychological needs tap into intrinsic motivation and make learning genuinely engaging: 1. Autonomy People want to feel in control. When learners have choices in their learning paths, engagement skyrockets. Whether it’s picking the topics they dive into or solving problems their way, autonomy fosters ownership and drives interest on a deeper level. 2. Competence We all need to feel like we’re getting somewhere. When learners sense progress and feel capable, it sparks motivation. Building skills step-by-step and reinforcing growth through feedback keeps people moving forward. 3. Relatedness Motivation thrives on connection. Learners who feel part of a community, whether with peers, mentors, or even the material itself—engage more deeply. If you’re planning your 2025 strategy, do yourself a favor and ask yourself how to enhance these three areas. Want to make your L&D strategy effective? Focus on intrinsic motivation. → You will see higher engagement. → You will foster deeper learning. → You will drive genuine growth.

I am in security engineering at Google with over a decade in cybersecurity. If I could sit down with any experienced security professional feeling stuck or burned out right now, here's what I'd tell them: [1] Your technical depth is valuable, but influence is what scales impact. Learn to translate risk into business language. Executives don't care about CVE scores, they care about customer trust and revenue impact. [2] Stop being the team that always says "no." Build security guardrails that let developers ship fast and safely. The best security engineers I know are enablers, not blockers. [3] Automate yourself out of repetitive work. If you're manually reviewing the same types of configs or running the same scans every sprint, you're wasting your expertise. Build tooling, then move upstream. [4] Mentor someone junior. Teaching forces you to articulate what you actually know versus what you think you know. Plus, they'll ask questions that challenge assumptions you've held for years. [5] Your war stories matter. That incident you handled at 2am, the zero-day you mitigated, the architecture you hardened, document them. They're proof of judgment under pressure, not just technical skill. [6] Burnout is real in security. The threats never stop, the alerts never end, and someone will always question why you didn't prevent something. Set boundaries. You can't protect systems if you're running on empty. [7] Invest in relationships across teams. Security doesn't succeed in isolation. The best outcomes happen when you've built trust with engineering, product, and leadership long before a crisis hits. [8] Keep learning, but be selective. You don't need every certification or to master every framework. Go deep on what matters to your organization's actual risk profile. [9] Your career isn't linear. Lateral moves, team changes, even stepping back to go forward, they all count. Growth isn't always upward. You've earned your expertise through real battles. Don't let imposter syndrome or exhaustion make you forget that. Your experience is exactly what the industry needs right now.