It’s a familiar moment in professional services:
A team member submits a client report. It’s late, sloppily formatted, and riddled with inconsistencies.
You’ve already promised it to the client. And now, instead of reviewing and sending, you’re spending an hour rewriting it yourself.
The Default Reaction
Most leaders respond with some version of:
- “They’re not detail-oriented.”
- “They need to take more ownership.”
- “They’re not ready for this level of work.”
Sometimes that’s true. But often, the real issue is less visible.
It’s not about capability.
It’s about motivation.
The Missing Framework: Motivation Isn’t Binary
We tend to treat motivation as all-or-nothing.
Someone’s either motivated or they’re not.
But Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan) gives us a more useful model: a six-stage continuum that maps how people engage with their work.
Here’s the breakdown:
| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| Amotivation | “I don’t see the point.” |
| External | “I’m doing this because I have to.” |
| Introjected | “I should do this, or I’ll feel bad.” |
| Identified | “I understand why this matters.” |
| Integrated | “This aligns with how I see myself.” |
| Intrinsic | “I actually enjoy doing this.” |
Most professionals don’t operate at the extremes.
They’re somewhere in the middle — getting the job done, but not fully owning the work.
Why This Matters in Professional Services
In high-trust firms — consulting, legal, advisory — we expect people to be self-driven.
But if someone is stuck at level 2 or 3 (External or Introjected), the work becomes transactional.
They meet the deadline, but the quality’s uneven. They “did the thing,” but they didn’t think it through.
It’s not laziness.
It’s a lack of meaningful connection to the work.
And that’s where things break down.
A Real Example: The Report That Needed Rewriting
Let’s say a senior associate submits a client report.
- Inconsistent formatting
- Vague conclusions
- Obvious errors in the data
You know they’re capable of more. But they didn’t approach it like it mattered.
If they were operating from Identified or Integrated motivation, they would have reviewed it carefully.
They’d have thought, “This is my name on the line.”
But from External or Introjected?
It’s just a task to check off.
What Most Leaders Do — And Why It Falls Short
When this happens, managers typically correct the content.
They fix the document, give some high-level feedback, and move on.
But the root issue — how the person relates to the task — remains untouched.
The Better Move: Shift the Motivation One Step
Your job isn’t to make someone love the task.
It’s to help them take one step forward on the continuum.
You don’t go from “I have to do this” to “I love this” in a single conversation.
But you can go from “I have to” to “I understand why this matters.”
That starts with framing.
Instead of:
“Please double-check your work.”
Try:
“This isn’t just a report. It’s how the client judges our credibility and expertise.”
That framing changes the weight of the work.
Not because it adds pressure — but because it adds purpose.
What You’ll Notice When It Works
When motivation moves from External to Identified or Integrated, things shift:
- Fewer errors
- More initiative
- Deeper questions about context and intent
- Less management, more ownership
People don’t just finish the work.
They start to care about the outcome.
So What?
If your team’s work keeps coming back below standard, don’t jump straight to accountability frameworks.
Ask yourself:
- Where is their motivation sitting?
- Have we made the meaning behind the work clear?
Because motivation isn’t fixed.
It’s shaped — by leadership, context, and connection.
One Practical Step
Think of someone on your team right now — someone smart, capable, but not quite delivering at the level you expect.
Ask yourself:
- What level of motivation are they currently operating from?
- What’s one sentence I could say that might move them one step forward?
Not a pep talk.
Just a clearer connection between the work and what matters.
That shift won’t happen overnight.
But it’s how ownership begins.