Goal-oriented or recognition-oriented?

My wife and I were having a conversation the other day, and while I am not completely sure how we ended up on this particular subject, I think it has some direct relevance to leadership.  In fact, I am sure that it does.  Our question was whether it was better for a person to be goal-oriented or recognition-oriented.  There have been times in both of our lives when we could have said that we were more goal-oriented than recognition-oriented, and vice versa.  Let me give you an example.  As I have stated in the past, some of my fondest memories growing up came from my time in the Boy Scouts of America.  The Eagle Scout Award is Scouting's highest honor - in fact, very few Boy Scouts earn the rank of Eagle Scout.  I set a goal to become an Eagle Scout - a goal that I happily achieved.  I can't tell you for sure whether reaching the goal was the more important driver of my achievement or if it was the award that came at the end of the work.  Certainly earning the rank of Eagle Scout came with a lot of recognition and positive accolades.  Which was more important in my case?  I honestly can't say for sure.

Here's another example.  Throughout high and college, I worked hard so that I would one end medical school and become a physician.  As anyone who has gone to medical school can attest, it's not an easy path.  While the percentages differ from year to year (and by how the number is determined), around forty percent of individuals applying to medical school get accepted (importantly, the U.S. News and World Report states that only about 9% of applicants get accepted, but this number is based on faulty statistics and doesn't take into account that most individuals apply to more than one medical school).  Once you get to medical school, it gets even harder!  There is no question that being a physician (even today) brings with it a lot of recognition and positive accolades.  However, if the only reason I studied all those hours was to earn that recognition, I probably would have never made it.  In this case, the goal was a more powerful motivator than the reward.

There is an age-old argument about intrinsic motivation versus extrinsic motivation.  Intrinsic motivation is when individuals engage in a behavior or perform a certain action simply because they enjoy it.  Conversely, Extrinsic motivation occurs when individuals engage in a behavior or perform a certain action for the reward that they receive at the end (the reward can be money, fame, or praise). Most management studies suggest that leaders would do well to rely upon intrinsic, as opposed to extrinsic motivation.  However, there is a very subtle difference between what I my wife and I were talking about (being goal-oriented versus recognition-oriented) and intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation.  In both of the examples I mentioned above, you would be exactly right if you argued that there certainly elements of extrinsic motivation (earning an Eagle Scout badge in the first, earning the right to add the initials "M" and "D" after my name in the second).  However, I can also tell you that if I hadn't enjoyed doing all of the things that I did in Boy Scouts, I would have never stuck with it long enough to earn the Tenderfoot badge let alone the Eagle Scout one.  Similarly, if I didn't find biology, chemistry, and physics interesting all through school, I would have never done well in school, nor would I have stayed in the undergraduate majors that I did.

So, where did my wife and I end up in our discussion?  The simple answer is that there isn't a simple answer.  There are times when individuals are going to be more goal-oriented than recognition-oriented.  At other times, they are going to be more motivated by earning the recognition than they are by achieving the goal.  The important thing for leaders is to understand the differences and use both as motivators.  Leaders should set goals for their teams (and for themselves).  Along the way, leaders should continue to encourage their teams to push on, even when it gets hard.  They should stay positive and recognize their teams by saying "Good job" and "Thank you."  And when the team finally achieves the goal, they should be recognized.  In addition, leaders should know what kind of individuals that are on their team - there are some individuals who will lean more towards being "goal-oriented" just like there will be some that are more "recognition-oriented."  I think my wife settled on something similar.  The best approach often is the one that works best.