Often times in our workshops, when we discuss the limitations of external motivators, we get a common question. It goes something like this: “But the world works on external motivators. After all, I go into work because I get a paycheck. Incentives ARE motivating. So, why shouldn’t we be doing the same thing with our children?” Well, it turns out that the truth is a bit more complicated, and that incentives can actually have negative repercussions under certain conditions. Watch this short clip from Dan Pink to learn more about when incentives may actually make things worse (we’ll give you a hint – think about our Thinking Skills Inventory) and what actually motivates people to do well.
