How to work out what drives you and take charge of your career

What do motivational quotes all have in common? Think of the endless lines about pushing yourself and achieving your dreams. Knocking down boundaries, seizing opportunities and rising to challenges…

The answer is they’re all incredibly personal. They are all about YOU as an individual and they all boil down to one idea: taking charge of your own destiny.

Every individual working in a start-up has this power; accessible in a way which is unimaginable in corporate history. With no employee handbook stating the only way to progress or company rule books dictating how you should work, you are in the driving seat of your career. Plot your own path to success by following these steps.

Step 1: Work out what matters most to you

First, you must work out what drives ‘you’. How else can you ‘be your whole self’, ‘make your mark’ or ‘realise your definition of success and happiness’? Knowing what makes you happy, engaged and productive at work will help you find focus in what you are doing right now and ensure you make the career choices that are right for your future.

Motivators can be both extrinsic (e.g. getting paid for achieving a goal) and intrinsic (e.g. feelings of pride and connection with your work), but will always be unique to you.

To help you understand your work drivers, consider what matters most to you at work right now and why you consider them important. Thinking about your turn-ons and turn-offs is a great place to start. For example:

Turn-ons

• What work-related news excites you the most?
• What project were you doing the last time you lost track of time?
• What makes you want to go to bed early so tomorrow comes sooner?
• When do you feel like you are really “winning at life”?
• What challenge makes you want to do your best work ever?
• What piece of work have you been proud to circulate amongst your team mates and tell your friends and family about?

Turn-offs

• What is the type of task you put off, delay or never get around to doing well?
• What work makes you huff with your head in your hands?
• What is happening at work for you to seriously want to stay in bed?
• What type of day makes you grab a coffee every half an hour?
• What makes you feel sad, mad or scared at work?
• What behaviour from others brings out the worst in you?
• Which behavioural values make you lose respect for your colleagues?

Through our research at The Talent Stack, we’ve observed hundreds of people doing exercises like this and we know that your personalised list changes and shifts frequently. Stay tapped in by checking and editing your list often.

Step 2: Tell the company your motivational “why” and “how”

Second, and vital for development, have a regular, open dialogue with the people you work with, about your current key drivers. Just as it is critical to set out company-led goals and deliverables for any given project, also talk about “what’s in it for me”. Explain both your individual “why”- why you are motivated to do this project and what you want to get out of it – and “how” – how others can get the best out of you – as well as what drives you to your worst behaviour. This helps to cultivate an honest, transparent alliance, which is vital for building trust and collective understanding.

For example, at the beginning of every project, or phase of work, try discussing:

• What can I bring to this project, what is my impact?
• Why is it important to both me and the company?
• What conditions will enable me deliver to my maximum potential?
• What will be happening – how will we both feel – for things to be going well?
• What will I learn and how will I progress by doing this role?

Step 3: Co-create those conditions (and form a win-win alliance)

By following the first two steps, you are proactively creating a culture of dialogue and continuous feedback with your colleagues about your true career motivations. Now, you have to show how this positively impacts on company growth and co-create a framework that delivers tangible results for both sides (the win-win alliance). Think about the following performance levers as a string of PEARLs:

Productivity and success – Outline the goals; what doing great looks like.

Engagement and well-being – Establish what you need to feel great at work.

Alignment and feedback – Create your cadence for regular check-ins.

Reward and recognition – Explain how you like to be rewarded and thanked.

Learning and development – Co-create a skills development plan.

Step 4: Reap the ongoing rewards

Remember that your work motivations are not static: they shift and evolve as your circumstances change. In some cases, especially in agile start-up cultures, your primary motivation can change month to month. Co-creating this alliance (and helping the company to perform and grow as a result) via regular feedback and dialogue means you will be able to repeat the process time and again to ensure you stay motivated as things evolve.

Most importantly, though, you will be happy, engaged, and productive beyond your wildest expectations. By empowering yourself, you will drive your own career in the direction you want and sow the seeds of success in each role you take on. You won’t just be talking about your dreams, but achieving them.

As motivational quotes are on the mind, I’ll leave you with a personal favourite from Brené Brown: “Honestly, I don’t know anything more dangerous than standing on the outside of our lives, looking in and wondering what it would be like if we showed up?”