Motivation Explorer Diagnostic

Discover the unique motivational fingerprint of yourself and everyone in your team.

Why it Matters

What organisations and teams don't want are people who go through the motions, uninspired. We also don't want otherwise passionate people who are frustrated and disengaged because we have inadvertently demotivated them. What we want are people who are deeply driven.

Motivation Explorer has the power to make this happen. Motivation Explorer helps leaders understand the specific Intrinsic drivers and Extrinsic factors that will maximise the motivation and engagement of each person in their team and themselves.

How it Works

A Cards Activity,
Then an Online Assessment

Motivation Explorer is a discovery tool. The process happens with a physical deck of cards (not a screen). The act of sorting, ranking and rating them creates a rich, tangible conversation about what truly matters to each person.

The results are then captured on the Influence Engine platform, creating a dashboard and AI-assisted insights and guidance.

Autonomy category card back Voice motivator card front Novelty category card back
The Deck

A Tangible Deck, Not a Screen

Every motivator has a colour-coded back, grouped by category, and a front that names a single, specific driver. Sorting them by hand is what makes the conversation real.

What Motivates You? cover cardCover
Autonomy category backAutonomy
Voice motivator frontFront
Connection category backConnection
Being Heard motivator frontFront
Mastery category backMastery
Achievement motivator frontFront
Novelty category backNovelty
Curiosity motivator frontFront
Purpose category backPurpose
Sense of Purpose motivator frontFront
Hygiene category backHygiene
Connection Autonomy Mastery Novelty Purpose Hygiene
What it measures

The Motivation Explorer report reveals your top intrinsic motivators, how satisfied you currently are with each, and the Hygiene factors (extrinsic motivators) that keep you comfortable. The Influence Engine platform turns it into a live dashboard with AI-assisted insights and practical guidance. Here's a sample of what comes back.

Your Motivation Profile

★ Inspiring / Mentoring Others
Connection · Non-Negotiable
Decision Freedom
Autonomy
Fun
Connection
Winning & Being the Best
Mastery
Creativity / Innovation
Novelty
Sense of Purpose
Purpose

Satisfaction Ratings

★ Inspiring / Mentoring OthersConnection8/10
Decision FreedomAutonomy5/10
Neutral
FunConnection9/10
Winning & Being the BestMastery2/10
Sense of PurposePurpose5/10
Neutral

Hygiene Factor Ratings

Competitive PayCompensation7/10
Pretty happy
Clarity & DirectionSupport3/10
Not happy
Employer ReputationStatus8/10
Leave & FlexibilityWork-life4/10

Leader Strategies

Decision FreedomAutonomy
Do this
  • Set the guard rails. Agree what's fixed and the outcomes expected.
  • Clarify the zone of freedom. Mark out what's theirs to decide.
  • Assign decision rights (yours, theirs and shared).
Watch out for
  • Revoking freedom after a mistake. Debrief and learn instead.
  • False choices. Only offer options you're genuinely open to.
  • Ignoring stated preferences without explanation.
AI Leadership Summary Powered by Claude

A personalised summary of this person's motivation profile, with specific, practical advice for their leader (generated from their card sort and ratings).

Generate AI Summary
What you get
Diagnostic + Cards
For the individual leader
  • ✓The physical deck – a beautifully designed set of cards that's yours to keep, returning to it again and again for years to come
  • ✓Report – a beautifully presented, clear, practical report accessed through the Influence Engine portal (or exported to PDF)
  • ✓Your motivational fingerprint – a clear picture of the intrinsic drivers and extrinsic factors that motivate you most
  • ✓Satisfaction snapshot – how well each of your key motivators is currently being met
  • ✓Insight – AI-powered insight personalised to your profile
  • ✓Strategies – practical strategies for motivating yourself and the people you lead
  • ✓Reinforcement – periodic nudges to your inbox to keep motivation front of mind
Dashboard
For the organisation
  • ✓Clarity – a clear, beautifully presented dashboard depicting motivation patterns across a cohort (individual identifiers removed)
  • ✓Current state – see the cohort's strongest motivators and how well they're being met, at a glance
  • ✓Trends – track how motivation shifts across the cohort over time
  • ✓Insight – AI-powered insight informed by benchmarking data and personalised to this cohort
  • ✓Roadmap – engagement and development priorities across the cohort, and the actions the organisation and executive can take
Senior Leadership Cohort
208 Senior Managers
Overall satisfaction
65%
Autonomy
Times selected410 / 1,248
Satisfaction41%
Mastery
Times selected330 / 1,248
Satisfaction79%
Connection
Times selected203 / 1,248
Satisfaction74%
Key pattern: Autonomy is this cohort's strongest driver, yet the one they're least satisfied with — making it the priority. Mastery and Connection are well met.
What you also get
Guidance from experts

Each report is debriefed by Shaun Kenny or Michelle Rushton in a group workshop setting (usually part of a leadership development program, team offsite or conference).

Shaun and Michelle are co-founders of the Influence Engine platform and the leadership consultancy People of Influence. For over sixteen years they have worked closely with leaders and their teams, helping them get the very best out of their people.

Motivation Explorer pairs with the leadership and team programs that Shaun and Michelle deliver across the globe where entire teams discover what drives them and learn how to lead one another better.

Shaun Kenny
Shaun Kenny
Co-Founder, People of Influence & Influence Engine
Michelle Rushton
Michelle Rushton
Co-Founder, People of Influence & Influence Engine
Who's it for

Motivation Explorer is powerful across the entire organisational hierarchy. It's particularly valuable for anyone with direct reports.

There are countless ways to use it:

With their team With their manager With customers & clients In job interviews When coaching & mentoring Even with family & friends
Two ways to work with us

Influence Engine is the platform for diagnostics, dashboards, roadmaps and AI insights.

Contact Influence Engine →

People of Influence is the consultancy through which Michelle Rushton and Shaun Kenny deliver leadership development programs, team offsites and facilitate impactful conferences.

Visit People of Influence →