A fat paycheck or a great manager?
- Pinar Koyuncu Oktar
- 11 minutes ago
- 4 min read
What motivates you?
A fat paycheck?
A manager you genuinely get along with?
A promotion?
Being recognised for what you do?
Flexibility?
A great team?
Or simply waking up and feeling that what you are doing actually matters to you?
We talk about motivation as though it is something we either have or don’t have.
“I’ve lost my motivation.”
“I need something to motivate me.”
“This job just doesn’t motivate me anymore.”
But perhaps a better question is:
Where is your motivation coming from?
The things outside of us
There is nothing wrong with being motivated by money. I actually think we sometimes try too hard to pretend otherwise. Of course salary matters. Recognition matters. Titles can matter. A good manager matters enormously. So do bonuses, promotions, flexibility, benefits and having colleagues you enjoy spending time with.
These are external motivators.
And they can be incredibly powerful. Imagine two versions of the same job. In one, you have a manager who trusts you, gives you space, notices your contribution and advocates for you.
In the other, you have exactly the same responsibilities, but your manager micromanages you, rarely acknowledges your work and makes you question yourself constantly.
Same job. Very different motivation. The problem is not that external motivation exists. The problem begins when all of our motivation depends on it.
Because external factors are, by definition, not entirely ours to control. Managers change.
Companies restructure. Bonuses disappear. Someone else gets the promotion. The culture you loved changes. The title that felt exciting for six months becomes normal. Even the salary that once made you feel incredibly successful eventually becomes… your salary. And then what?
The motivation that comes from within
Internal motivation is quiet and somehow hidden that we don’t even notice it.
It is curiosity.
Mastery.
Purpose.
Autonomy.
Growth.
Contribution.
The satisfaction of solving something difficult.
The feeling that you are becoming better at something.
The knowledge that your work connects somehow to the person you want to be.
Nobody has to applaud you for it to exist. And interestingly, this kind of motivation often becomes most visible when the external rewards disappear.
Think about something you would still care about even if nobody knew you were doing it.
Something you want to learn even though there is no promotion attached to it.
Something you keep returning to even when nobody is paying you.
Something that gives you energy rather than simply giving you a reward.
There is usually a clue there.
But this isn’t either/or
I don’t believe the answer is to become so internally motivated that nothing around us matters.
We are human.
Put someone in a toxic environment long enough and purpose alone will not save their motivation.
Underpay someone consistently and telling them to “find meaning in the work” becomes almost insulting.
External conditions matter.
But perhaps they are the fuel, rather than the compass.
Fuel helps us move but it doesn’t tell us where to go and that distinction matters, particularly when we are making career decisions.
Sometimes we stay somewhere because the fuel is excellent. The salary is great.
The title sounds impressive. The company name looks fantastic on LinkedIn. Everyone around us thinks we are doing well.
And yet, somewhere underneath all of that, we know we are travelling in the wrong direction.
Other times, we leave something that looks perfect from the outside because internally we know we have stopped growing.
Neither decision makes much sense unless you know where you are trying to go.
This is where your North Star comes in
Your North Star is not your next promotion.
It is not a salary number.
It is not a job title.
And it certainly isn’t your manager.
Your North Star is the direction you want your life and career to move towards.
The impact you want to have.
The person you want to become.
The things you want to protect.
The values you don’t want to negotiate away.
When you know that direction, external motivators become easier to evaluate.
A higher salary?
Great. Does it help me move towards my North Star?
A promotion?
Wonderful. But does the life attached to that promotion resemble the life I actually want?
A manager I love working with?
Important. Am I also learning and becoming who I want to become?
A prestigious opportunity?
Exciting. But am I choosing it because I want it, or because I want other people to be impressed by it?
So this week, instead of asking yourself: “What motivates me?”
Try going one layer deeper:
What motivates me when nobody is watching?
Which parts of my motivation depend on other people?
What external rewards am I currently chasing?
If I got all of them, would I actually be happier with the direction my life was taking?
And finally: Is what I am working towards today taking me closer to my North Star?
That part is yours.
Not sure what your North Star is yet?
Reach out, and let’s discover it together. I am open for bookings after September ✨
pinarkoyuncuoktar@gmail.com
pinar@herleadershipplaybook.com
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