Internal and External Assessment
Chapter Seven: Understanding your Motivational Drivers
Your energy creates conditions for motivation that either flows from the inside out or is driven by external factors. This assessment will help you identify your natural motivational tendencies and discover how to design environments where sustainable motivation can thrive.
Instructions
For each pair of statements below, distribute 5 points between them based on how accurately they describe you. For example, if ‘A’ strongly describes you and ‘B’ doesn’t, you might assign 4 points to ‘A’ and 1 point to ‘B’. If both describe you somewhat equally, you might assign 3 points to ‘A’ and 2 points to ‘B’.
There are no right or wrong answers. Be honest with yourself—this assessment is a tool for self-awareness and growth.
Section 1: What Drives Your Energy
1. When taking on a new project or challenge:
____ A. I’m motivated by the opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge.
____ B. I’m motivated by the recognition or rewards I might receive.
2. When faced with a difficult task:
____ A. I persist because overcoming the challenge itself is satisfying.
____ B. I persist because I want to avoid the negative consequences of giving up.
3. When deciding how to spend my time:
____ A. I prioritize activities that I find personally meaningful or enjoyable.
____ B. I prioritize activities that will lead to tangible outcomes or rewards.
4. When I achieve success:
____ A. My greatest satisfaction comes from knowing I’ve mastered something challenging.
____ B. My greatest satisfaction comes from the recognition or rewards I receive.
5. When learning something new:
____ A. I’m driven by curiosity and the desire to understand.
____ B. I’m driven by how the new knowledge will benefit me practically.
Section 2: How You Motivate Others
6. When trying to motivate a team or individual:
____ A. I focus on connecting the task to their values and interests.
____ B. I emphasize the incentives or consequences tied to performance.
7. When giving feedback:
____ A. I highlight growth, learning, and the process they went through.
____ B. I focus primarily on the outcome and results achieved.
8. When designing a team environment:
____ A. I prioritize autonomy and meaningful choice in how work gets done.
____ B. I create clear systems of rewards and accountability.
9. When someone is struggling with motivation:
____ A. I try to help them connect with the purpose behind the work.
____ B. I find ways to make the external rewards more appealing or immediate.
10. When celebrating achievements:
____ A. I emphasize the growth, learning, and meaning derived from the process.
____ B. I highlight the tangible rewards and recognition received.
Section 3: Sustaining Motivation Over Time
11. To maintain my energy for a long-term project:
____ A. I need to feel personally connected to the purpose and meaning of the work.
____ B. I need clear milestones with rewards or recognition along the way.
12. When my motivation begins to wane:
____ A. I reconnect with why the task matters to me personally.
____ B. I remind myself of the rewards or consequences at stake.
13. The work environments where I thrive most have:
____ A. Autonomy, opportunities for mastery, and meaningful purpose.
____ B. Clear expectations, feedback, and recognition for achievements.
14. I find it easiest to motivate others when:
____ A. They have a personal connection to the task or its purpose.
____ B. There are clear incentives tied to performance.
15. The accomplishments I’m most proud of are those where:
____ A. I was driven by personal passion regardless of external recognition.
____ B. My efforts were recognized and rewarded appropriately.
Scoring and Interpretation Guide
Add up all your points for the ‘A’ responses:
_______ (Intrinsic Motivation Score)
Add up all your points for the ‘B’ responses:
_______ (Extrinsic Motivation Score)
Your total should equal 75 (5 points × 15 questions).
Intrinsic Score: 53-75 | Extrinsic Score: 0-22 Primarily Intrinsically Motivated
You are strongly driven by internal factors like purpose, learning, autonomy, and the inherent satisfaction of the activity itself. You likely find deeper satisfaction in work that aligns with your values and offers growth, even without external rewards. Your challenge may be maintaining motivation when tasks don’t naturally connect to your interests or values.
Intrinsic Score: 38-52 | Extrinsic Score: 23-37 Balanced with Intrinsic Leaning
You value the inherent rewards of meaningful work while also appreciating external recognition. You can sustain motivation through internal drivers but benefit from occasional external validation. This balanced approach serves you well in most environments, though you might find yourself more fulfilled when your work connects to deeper purpose.
Intrinsic Score: 37 | Extrinsic Score: 38 Balanced Motivations
You draw equally from both motivational systems, adapting fluidly to different situations. This versatility lets you maintain motivation across various circumstances, though you might sometimes experience tension between competing motivational drives.
Intrinsic Score: 23-37 | Extrinsic Score: 38-52 Balanced with Extrinsic Leaning
While you can tap into intrinsic motivation, you’re often energized by clear rewards, recognition, and outcomes. You appreciate feedback and tangible measures of progress. Your challenge may be maintaining energy when external rewards aren’t immediately available.
Intrinsic Score: 0-22 | Extrinsic Score: 53-75 Primarily Extrinsically Motivated
You are strongly motivated by external factors such as recognition, rewards, and avoiding negative consequences. You thrive with clear expectations and feedback. Your challenge may be sustaining motivation when external rewards diminish or when facing tasks with delayed gratification.
Reflection Questions
1. What surprised you most about your results?
2. Think of a time when you were deeply motivated. Which type of motivation (intrinsic or extrinsic) was primary? How did it affect the quality of your work and your satisfaction?
3. How might you design your environment to better support your natural motivational tendencies?
4. If you lead others, how might you adjust your approach based on understanding different motivational needs?
5. What one change could you make to better balance intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in your life or work?
Next Steps: Designing Your Motivation
Based on your results, choose one action from each category to implement this week:
If you scored higher on Intrinsic Motivation:
Connect daily tasks to your broader purpose by writing down how they contribute to what matters most to you.
Create more opportunities for learning and growth in routine activities.
Seek environments that offer greater autonomy and meaning.
When motivating others, help them find a personal connection to tasks before emphasizing rewards.
If you scored higher on Extrinsic Motivation:
Create small, meaningful rewards for progress on important tasks.
Look for the deeper purpose behind work you’re already doing.
Set up a system of accountability with someone you trust.
When feeling unmotivated, create a visible way to track your progress.
The most sustainable motivation comes when both systems work together. Even the most challenging tasks become achievable when people find personal meaning in their work while also receiving appropriate recognition for their contributions.
This assessment is intended as a reflective and developmental reference tool, designed to offer insights into energy patterns and influence dynamics. It is not a clinical, psychological, or psychometric assessment, nor has it undergone formal clinical validation or testing. Results should be interpreted as guidance for self-awareness and growth, rather than as diagnostic conclusions.