British people are motivated first and foremost by their own standards. The desire to do good work — to meet a benchmark they have set for themselves — drives effort more powerfully than any external reward.
This means that the most important thing a manager can do is not praise or incentivise but create conditions in which people can do work they are proud of. Give them challenging work, the autonomy to do it well, and the resources they need — the internal engine does the rest. Excessive praise or constant encouragement is unnecessary and often counterproductive: it can feel patronising or inflated, undermining the person’s own judgment of their work. British professionals want to know they have done well by their own measure.
External confirmation is welcome when genuine and specific, but it is not what drives the effort. The effort comes from within.
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