What comes after mastery?
Monday, March 21, 2011 at 01:54PM I recently finished reading Daniel Pink's excellent book "Drive". In the book, Daniel Pink suggests that there are three key things that are most important to us when it comes to motivation.
The first is autonomy, which is not necessarily the same as independence. It's the ability to choose what we work on, when we work and who we work with, either within or outside an organisation.
The second key is to have the opportunity to develop mastery in what really interests us. This is the type of work that every now and then lets us experience the phenomenon that's known as "flow".
It's not about attaining mastery. Is it actually ever possible to do that? If it is, what comes after mastery?
The final key is to have the sense that what we are doing is contributing to something that is more important than ourselves and also more important than profit alone. This is what we might call purpose or making a difference.
Autonomy, mastery and purpose. Sounds like something worth aiming for!