How do you motivate employees?

The usual tools for motivating a team are perks, slogans, and speeches. Andrew Feldman and Bill Canady both say they don't use them.

Several CEOs here describe their approach in other terms. Vishen Lakhiani stopped trying to motivate people and helps them grow. Matt Paulson calls it alignment, and Matt Mullenweg says motivation isn't something you do to people.

Their answers cover ownership, growth, pay, and recognition.

Who you should listen to

Seven CEOs. Andrew Feldman has hired more than 15,000 people over 25 years, and Matt Mullenweg says Daniel Pink's Drive shaped how he built Automattic. Listen for the approach that fits your team.

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  Matt Mullenweg · CEO of Automattic and co-founder of WordPress

  Listen for: Mastery, autonomy, and purpose, and how they shaped Automattic.

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  Andrew Feldman · Co-founder and CEO of Cerebras Systems, which builds wafer-scale chips

  Listen for: The three things that keep people, from someone who has hired more than 15,000.

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  Vishen Lakhiani · Founder and CEO of Mindvalley, a personal transformation education company

  Listen for: The question he asks every new hire over lunch.

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  Bill Canady · CEO of Arrowhead Engineered Products and founder of The 80/20 Institute

  Listen for: Making incentives, authority, and accountability point the same way.

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  Jim Penman · Founder and CEO of Jim's Group, grown from a lawn-mowing side job

  Listen for: Why being overruled kills motivation fastest.

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  Matt Paulson · Founder and CEO of MarketBeat, a financial media company

  Listen for: Pay, ownership, and hiring people who want to win.

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  Kian Katanforoosh · CEO and founder of Workera; adjunct lecturer in AI at Stanford

  Listen for: Why access to courses doesn't make people learn.

What do CEOs do to keep employees motivated?

Matt Mullenweg

CEO of Automattic and co-founder of WordPress

Co-founded WordPress at 19

Why themA rare view on running a large remote company built around open source.

Matt’s advice: Give people mastery, autonomy, and purpose, the three needs from Daniel Pink's Drive.

“I don't think motivation is something you do to people. Daniel Pink's book Drive shaped a lot of how I built Automattic: people need mastery, autonomy, and purpose. Give them real agency over how they work, let them get better at something hard, and connect the day-to-day to a mission they actually believe in.”

Go deeper with Matt

Andrew Feldman

Co-founder and CEO of Cerebras Systems, which builds wafer-scale chips

Co-founded SeaMicro

Why themCan speak to building hardware and competing in the chip market.

Andrew’s advice: Interesting work, colleagues they respect, and leaders they trust. Slogans and perks don't do it.

“I don't think you motivate people with slogans or perks. After hiring more than 15,000 people over 25 years, I've seen that what keeps them is interesting work, colleagues they respect, and leadership they trust to act with integrity. Get those three right and the rest tends to follow.”

Go deeper with Andrew

Vishen Lakhiani

Founder and CEO of Mindvalley, a personal transformation education company

NYT bestselling author

Why themGood for big questions about purpose and the rules people live by.

Vishen’s advice: Help people grow: ask where they want to be in a year and map that to their work.

“I stopped trying to motivate people and started helping them grow instead. At Mindvalley, I have lunch with every new hire and ask where they want to be one year from now, then we map their growth to their work.”

Go deeper with Vishen

Bill Canady

CEO of Arrowhead Engineered Products and founder of The 80/20 Institute

30+ years leading companies

Why themConcrete on accountability, margins, and moving from founder to chief executive.

Bill’s advice: Line up incentives, authority, and accountability, then recognize your top performers.

“I don't motivate employees with speeches or posters. I design the system so their incentives, authority, and accountability point in the same direction, then I make sure the top 20 percent feel recognized and the rest see a real path to win.”

Go deeper with Bill

Jim Penman

Founder and CEO of Jim's Group, grown from a lawn-mowing side job

Thousands of franchisees

Why themBuilt a franchise network from scratch and has unusual views on fees and family.

Jim’s advice: Give real ownership, celebrate ideas publicly, and say yes whenever you can.

“I lean heavily on David McClelland's three drives: achievement, affiliation, and power. I'm achievement-obsessed myself, so I give people real ownership, celebrate their ideas publicly, and say yes whenever I can because nothing kills motivation faster than being overruled.”

Go deeper with Jim

Matt Paulson

Founder and CEO of MarketBeat, a financial media company

5.5M+ subscribers

Why themHands-on about email lists, online business, and angel investing.

Matt’s advice: Pay well, give ownership, and hire people who want to win.

“I don't think of it as motivation so much as alignment. We pay well, give people real ownership of their work, and let the budget flow to whatever is producing results. Once you stop trying to push people and start finding people who want to win, most of the motivation problem solves itself.”

Go deeper with Matt

Kian Katanforoosh

CEO and founder of Workera; adjunct lecturer in AI at Stanford

Co-created Coursera's Deep Learning Specialization

Why themWorks on measuring skills, useful for anyone thinking about learning and hiring.

Kian’s advice: Make growth visible and rewarded, so people see a future they can build.

“Access to a gym does not make someone a bodybuilder, and access to courses does not make employees learn. I motivate by making growth visible and rewarded, especially through learning velocity, because people stay when they see a future they can actually build.”

Go deeper with Kian

Everyone’s advice at a glance

How to motivate employees, step by step

1. 1

   Give people ownership. Jim Penman, Matt Paulson, and Matt Mullenweg all give people real ownership or agency over their work.

2. 2

   Ask where they want to grow. Vishen Lakhiani has lunch with every new hire, asks where they want to be one year from now, and maps their growth to their work.

3. 3

   Make growth visible. Kian Katanforoosh rewards learning so people see a future they can build.

4. 4

   Line up incentives with authority. Bill Canady designs the system so incentives, authority, and accountability point in the same direction.

5. 5

   Say yes when you can. Jim Penman says yes whenever he can, because nothing kills motivation faster than being overruled.

6. 6

   Get the basics right. Andrew Feldman says people stay for interesting work, colleagues they respect, and leadership they trust. Matt Paulson pays well.