THE CREATING A MOTIVATING work ENVIRONMENT SUMMIT

PUTTING MOTIVATIONAL SYSTEMS INTO PRACTICE!

THE TL;DR OVERVIEW

Too often, motivation is treated superficially. Instead, what’s needed is a concise understanding and lots of practical applications. Self-Determination Theory, the most respected model of motivation, emphasizes three elements: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. That’s what this summit is about: building a sustainable and intrinsically motivating environment for your organization. Leaders, managers, coaches, and others will explore how to align organizational goals with individual psychological needs through practical tools and real-world applications.  Highlights include:

• A keynote by NBA champion Ronny Turiaf on SDT and athletic performance

• A clear presentation on SDT with Richard Ryan, one of the co-developers of the framework

• Hands-on workshopping of SDT applications in management, performance reviews, hybrid work, DEI, and pay-for-performance systems

• Daily special events (panels, debates, explorations) during the live sessions, Nov 2–6

THE DETAILED OVERVIEW

Managers, leaders, sales professionals, marketers, coaches, and others are quite aware of the importance motivation can play on performance, team satisfaction, and the overall well-being of those in work enviornments. Heck, not only are these folks aware, they are often held accountable for “motivating” people to do whatever it is they must deliver.

Of course, motivation is much more difficult to manage. In fact, motivation itself is a more complex idea than just getting people to act.

First, there are different types of motivation. And managers, leaders, coaches, et. al. can uniquely affect those different motivations. A manager might decide to inspire the team with a competition… but does it yield the outcomes she expected? Or, a leader may inspire a team to act, but it isn’t because of a shared purpose, but rather fear. Alternatively, a coach might engage a client in a way that facilitates a passion for the work one does while aligning with the organizational objectives.

The trick is to know what can be done, the implications that might occur based on those actions, and to then be intentional about what to do. That’s what this summit is all about.

1. How can we foster more intrinsically motivating (passion-based) environments that enable sustainable and passionate engagement?

2. How can we avoid those behaviors that do motivate, but in a way that undermines long-term and sustainable productivity, that undermines and frustrates teams?

3. And how do we put these systems and structures in place within the various contexts we work?

Ultimately, it is about aligning the needs of the organization with the needs of the individuals— more specifically, those psychological needs that are the foundation of this entire summit!

COMPETENCE, AUTONOMY, & RELATEDNESS!

This summit leverages the science and research of a 50+ year theory of motivation that has over 8000 peer-reviewed studies and articles validating its merits and use. Self-Determination Theory. In fact, the Summit is delivered in partnership with the Center for Self-Determination Theory.

The focus is on practice. What tools, techniques, behaviors, and experiences can we leverage to create and foster those intrinsically motivating environments? To do so, we will cover several topics. The times and dates for the live, online sessions are pretty much locked, but we do reserve the right to modify if the need arises. All times and dates are ET (New York time).

1. A CASE STUDY FROM THE NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION (NBA). A keynote presentation and discussion delivered by former NBA Champion, Ronny Turiaf. Ronny, a recent Executive MBA Graduate studying how SDT explains the successes and failures he experienced as a professional athlete, shares his story, his SDT best practices, and motivational challenges. (MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3 from 08h00 to 09h30 and repeated TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4 from 13h00 to 14h30.)

2. AN INTRODUCTION TO SDT… IN PRACTICE WITH RICHARD M. RYAN. How do practitioners— those managers, leaders, coaches, and other professionals use SDT day-to-day? How do we support the satisfaction of those above-mentioned psychological needs? How do we provide the structure to support team members’ sense of competence, autonomy support to foster (obviously) autonomy, and involvement to support relatedness? (MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3 from 19h00 to 20h30 and again on TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4 from 08h00 to 09h30.)

3. FROM NEEDS TO STRATEGIES: DESIGNING MOTIVATION THAT LASTS WITH HERMINA VAN COILLIE. Organizations don’t run on quick fixes — they run on motivation that lasts. In this workshop, you’ll learn to move beyond abstract “needs” and translate them into concrete strategies that fuel high performance and well-being. Using the Strategy Check, we’ll explore how you can actively support Autonomy, Belonging, and competence in your employees, colleagues, clients, and leadership. Practical, evidence-based, and directly applicable in your workplace. (MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3 from 13h00 to 14h30 and again, on THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6 from 10h00 to 11h30.)

4. HYBRID WORK WITH ANJA VAN DEN BROECK. Whether we like it or not, hybrid work is here to stay. How can we use SDT to construct a hybrid work environment that meets BOTH team member and managerial expectations? (MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3 from 15h00 to 14h30 and repeated on WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 from 11h00 to 12h30.)

5. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT. How can managers and leaders ensure the work gets done, but in a way that supports the well-being, productivity, and development of team members? How do those managers and leaders measure and evaluate performance in a way that is supportive and not punitive, developmental, and not frustrating? What about feedback? (TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4 from 18h00 to 19h30 and again on THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6 from 06h00 to 07h30.)

6. PROBLEMS-BASED LEADERSHIP WITH MATT RICHTER. As we all know, it is all about the context. Based on the types of problems practitioners face, how do they adjust, modify, and develop their SDT interventions to solve the problem and support the teams? (TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4 from 18h00 to 19h30 and again on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7 from 11h00 to 12h30.)

7. THE LIMITS OF BONUSES IN MOTIVATING EMPLOYEES WITH Marylène Gagné. Recent research shows that bonuses have weak effects on motivation and performance, have adverse effects on well-being, and cause deviant behaviors. Employees also misunderstand them. We will unpack what works better than bonuses to motivate well. (WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 from 08h00 to 09h30 and again on the 5th from 21h00 to 22h30.)

8. EVERYDAY PRACTICES TO BOOST INCLUSION EXPERIENCES AT WORK WITH ANNE BRAFFORD. We all have multiple identities that are important to us, and the experience of workplace inclusion depends in part on our ability to harmonize them in ways that enable us to feel valued and that we add value at work. These energizing experiences are tied to higher engagement, well-being, and performance. This session will focus on everyday, doable behaviors—by ourselves, colleagues, and leaders—to support greater identity harmonization and experiences of inclusion for all employees. (WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 from 15h00 to 16h30 and again on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7 from 13h00 to 14h30.)

9. FROM BLIND STEERING TO GUIDED LEADING: NAVIGATING COMPLEXITY WITH THE LEADERSHIP COMPASS WITH NATHALIE AELTERMAN. Diagnosing and devising strategies to foster structure and autonomy support in contrast to chaos and control. Supporting the path toward meaningful work engagements. (THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6 from 08h00 to 09h30 and again that day from 13h00 to 14h30.)

10. BALANCING THE NEED TO MAKE MONEY WITH THE NEED TO BE HAPPY WITH JACQUES FOREST. How does money affect one’s happiness and well-being at work? How can organizations balance the realities of pay and other rewards with greater and more meaningful satisfaction among employees? This session explores the impacts and realities of money! (FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7 from 08h00 to 09h30 and repeated at 15h00 to 16h30.)

11. SPECIAL STUFF! We will also have a special event each day of the live sessions (November 2-6)…. A panel discussion about putting SDT into practice at an enterprise level (MONDAY, 11h00 to 12h00), a discovery/ exploration session about autonomy and autonomy support (TUESDAY, 11h00 to 12h00), a debate— the meaning of money: beliefs in motivation (Wednesday, 13h00 to 14h00), a storytelling & improv session with KAT KOPPETT (THURSDAY, 16h00-17h00), a general SDT Q&A with JACQUES FOREST (THURSDAY, 18h00 to 19h00), and two closing sessions depending on your timezone. Special sessions are only offered once and last 60 minutes.