Total Motivation Workshop

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Diagnose current team drivers and agree on concrete, low-cost team practices that increase direct motivation.

Use it when: Use during retrospectives, team resets, or planning sessions to identify hidden pressures and strengthen engagement.

Skip it when: Skip during active compensation disputes, corporate restructuring, or when leadership cannot support changes to daily working norms.

Group arrangement: Subgroups of 3 to 5 people for motivator analysis, pairs or trios for action design, and whole-group plenary debrief.

Timing: Matches the 90-minute workshop duration in the source document.

Materials and tools

• 2 pads of sticky notes per table
• 1 marker per participant
• Scratch paper pads (1 per subgroup)
• 4 flip chart stands with paper pads
• Masking tape or painter tape
• 1 copy of the Total Motivation Reference Handout per participant
• 1 digital countdown timer
• Shared digital whiteboard (for remote or hybrid sessions)

Before participants arrive

1. Label flip chart 1: 'Direct Motivators: Play, Purpose, Potential'.
2. Label flip chart 2: 'Indirect Motivators: Emotional Pressure, Economic Pressure, Inertia'.
3. Label flip chart 3: 'Team Commitments'.
4. Distribute sticky notes, scratch paper, markers, and one reference handout to each seat.

Say this to open

Welcome. Today we will assess what drives our performance using the Total Motivation framework. To begin, think back to a time when you felt energized and motivated at work. What was happening?

How to run it

1. Recall Energizing Work 10 minutes

   Speak the opening script. Give everyone 1 minute of quiet reflection. Ask for 4 or 5 volunteer examples from the room. Note common patterns on a blank chart. Introduce the Total Motivation premise: why we work impacts how well we perform. Explain that three direct motivators fuel sustained performance while three indirect pressures degrade adaptability over time.

2. Explore the Six Motivators 20 minutes

   Review handout definitions. Split participants into 2 to 6 subgroups of 3 to 5 people. Ensure all six motivators are covered across the room: assign 3 motivators each if 2 groups exist, 2 each if 3 groups exist, or 1 each if 6 groups exist. Groups take 8 minutes to discuss scratch paper prompts: What does this look like here? How does it affect work? What feeds or weakens it? Allow each subgroup up to 90 seconds to present their assigned motivators.

3. Map Current Drivers 25 minutes

   Point out the Direct and Indirect charts. Give participants 5 minutes to write current workplace drivers on sticky notes, one item per note. Submissions are anonymous. Participants place notes under the appropriate categories. Allow 5 minutes for silent review of posted notes. Facilitate a 15-minute group discussion analyzing which drivers dominate daily operations.

4. Design Direct Motivation Practices 25 minutes

   Form pairs or trios. Assign each group one direct motivator (Play, Purpose, or Potential), cycling through all three evenly. Teams spend 10 minutes drafting one or two immediate, low-cost habits. For example, for Play, a team might introduce a 15-minute weekly code refactoring challenge. Allow 10 minutes for groups to post and summarize ideas. Spend the final 3 minutes selecting the top 2 or 3 most practical practices across all proposals.

5. Commit and Close 10 minutes

   Ask participants to write two commitments on separate sticky notes: 'I will create more motivation by...' and 'As a team, we will build a culture that...'. Participants post notes on the Team Commitments chart. Read 3 to 4 varied commitments aloud. Agree on where to post the chart for future follow-up.

Debrief questions

• Which motivators currently consume most of our daily energy?
• What is one indirect pressure we can actively reduce this month?
• From the practices selected today, which one will we test first this week?

Finished output: A team diagnostic chart of current motivators and a shared sheet of specific low-cost commitments to increase direct motivation.

Remote

Set up a digital whiteboard with designated areas for Direct Motivators, Indirect Motivators, Action Ideas, and Commitments. Use video breakout rooms of 3 to 5 participants for step 2 and pairs for step 4. In step 3, allow the first 4 minutes for silent reading and drafting notes with cameras off before pasting them to the board and resuming plenary voice discussion.

Hybrid

In-person attendees write on physical sticky notes while a designated scribe mirrors them onto the digital whiteboard. Remote attendees post directly to the digital whiteboard, which is projected in the physical room. Keep in-person participants paired with local peers and remote attendees paired in virtual breakout rooms during design steps.

Access and participation choices

• Handouts provide written definitions so participants do not rely solely on spoken instructions.
• Posting sticky notes is anonymous and private by default.
• Participants may decline to speak aloud during whole-room debriefs without penalty.

If the session gets stuck

Participants confuse Potential (direct skill growth) with Economic Pressure (seeking a promotion or bonus).

Clarify that Potential focuses on developing capabilities for the future, while Economic Pressure focuses strictly on external financial rewards or avoiding penalties.

Action proposals demand executive decisions like compensation overhauls or company reorganization.

Refocus participants by asking: 'What habits can this immediate team test tomorrow without needing external sign-off?'

Terms used here

• ToMo: Total Motivation, a framework measuring performance based on reasons why people work.
• Direct Motivators: Drivers inherent to the work itself: Play, Purpose, and Potential.
• Indirect Motivators: Drivers external to the work itself: Emotional Pressure, Economic Pressure, and Inertia.