Drive: Harnessing the Intrinsic Motivation of Lawyers

Daniel H. Pink’s 2009 book “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” (“Drive”) is packed with information that is highly relevant to the legal profession today.

Drive’s core goal is that motivating professionals like lawyers requires law firms to go beyond the traditional use of carrots and sticks, punishments and rewards. Instead of focusing on these external motivators, Pink argues, what law firms need to do is tap into the intrinsic motivational drive of their attorneys. This will result in more engaging and ultimately more satisfying work. Pink argues that this will not only reduce attorney turnover and burnout, but is, in fact, the secret to high performance.

Pink highlights three key aspects of work that make it inherently more satisfying: (i) autonomy; (ii) master’s degree; and (iii) purpose. He argues that these components of intrinsic motivation are interdependent and mutually reinforcing, that, like the legacy of a tripod, the apparatus of excellence cannot be sustained without each component in place.

If Pink’s argument has any merit, then law firms would do well to pay careful attention to each of the three components of intrinsic motivation in their human resource strategies. Here are some ideas on how to do it:

(i) Autonomy: There are five main ways in which firms can increase the general sense of autonomy of their lawyers. These include giving lawyers greater leeway on: (i) what to work on (subject autonomy); (ii) when to do your job (temporary autonomy); (iii) where to do their work (place of autonomy); (iv) with whom to do their work (team autonomy); and (v) how to do their job (autonomy technique). The idea here is not that firms have to give their lawyers full autonomy over all aspects of their work. It is simply that law firms have at their disposal five separate channels along which to promote greater autonomy of lawyers, and that an increase in autonomy along any of these five channels will result in a higher level of autonomy. of job satisfaction.

(ii) Mastery: Law firms can promote attorney mastery by aligning the difficulty of certain tasks with the general level of skill or development of their attorneys. Pink calls these “Goldilocks tasks,” tasks that are neither too hard nor too difficult. The idea is that in order to develop dominance it is important for lawyers to commit; and to participate, they must be presented with challenges that are well suited to their skill level. Tasks that are too challenging result in a feeling of being overwhelmed; too easy tasks result in boredom; tasks that are neither too difficult nor too easy, but are “right” in the commitment. Commitment, in turn, leads to dominance. Law firms concerned with developing masterful lawyers must ensure that they are not overwhelmed or bored, that they are generally engaged in their work. If firms achieve this balance, their lawyers’ work becomes its own reward.

(iii) Purpose: To make the work of their lawyers more satisfying, law firms would also do well to consider increasing the emphasis they place on meaningful, not just profitable work, i.e. the work they give their clients. attorneys feel that they are making a positive contribution to something larger than themselves. This does not mean rejecting profit as a motive; it simply means making more room for nonprofit contributions. This might mean crafting a mission or vision statement that embraces genuine values ​​related to nonprofits and ensuring that incoming attorneys share those values. It could also mean putting more emphasis on pro bono work and perhaps including it as part of performance reviews. It could even mean hiring professional trainers to work with your attorneys. Whatever the approach, taking steps to instill a greater sense of purpose into many lawyers’ working lives will ultimately make them more engaged, creative, resourceful, and yes: satisfied.

It’s no secret that lawyers in general are a notoriously unhappy bunch. It is also clear that attorneys are the most important resource of any law firm. Companies that value this resource would do well to take the ideas presented in Drive seriously. In the end, when lawyers are satisfied with their work, everyone wins, not only the lawyers themselves, but also their colleagues, their firms, and most importantly, their clients.