Free Exercise · 25–35 min

Your Motivation Style

Understand what drives you — and where that filter might be working against you.

Motivation isn't a character trait — it's an architecture.

The way you're wired to seek goals, respond to feedback, and engage with challenges follows consistent patterns called metaprograms. These are habitual filters your mind uses to decide what matters, what to act on, and what to ignore.

This exercise helps you see two of the most practically important ones for leaders.

Part 1

Toward vs. Away-From

Toward-oriented

You're energized by goals, possibilities, and vision. You talk about what you want to create. You're pulled forward by the picture of success. When things are going well, you feel momentum.

Away-from-oriented

You're energized by preventing problems and avoiding failure. You're excellent at identifying risks before they materialize. You feel sharpest when something is at stake. When things are going well, you sometimes feel like you're waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Answer honestly

  1. 1What motivates you more: the excitement of achieving something, or the relief of not failing at it?
  2. 2When you imagine a goal, do you focus more on what it will be like to achieve it — or on what happens if you don't?
  3. 3In periods of stability, when there's no immediate threat, do you feel energized or strangely flat?
  4. 4When was the last time you felt genuinely pulled toward something, not pushed away from something?

Write: "My dominant pattern is ___ and the cost it creates in my current context is ___"

Part 2

Internal vs. External Reference

Internally referenced

You evaluate your work primarily by your own standards. Feedback is useful information but doesn't fundamentally move the needle on how you feel. You're hard to manage through praise or criticism alone. You can maintain a position even when others disagree.

Externally referenced

You evaluate your work primarily by how it lands with others. You're highly attuned to feedback and responsive to it. You feel recognized when others acknowledge good work. Under pressure, the pull toward approval can make it difficult to hold an unpopular position.

Answer honestly

  1. 1When you complete a piece of work, do you know immediately whether it's good — or do you wait to see how it's received?
  2. 2If you received very positive feedback on something you privately thought was weak, would you feel good? Or would the gap bother you?
  3. 3If you received critical feedback on something you privately thought was strong, would you update your view — or hold it?
  4. 4How difficult is it for you to make a decision that you know will be unpopular with people you respect?

Write: "My dominant pattern is ___ and the situation where it most costs me is ___"

Bringing It Together

Look at your two answers — your toward/away pattern and your internal/external pattern. Ask:

  • ·Does this combination help explain any persistent patterns in how you operate — what energizes you, what frustrates you, what kind of situations consistently feel uncomfortable?
  • ·Is there a mismatch between your current dominant pattern and what your role most requires right now?
  • ·What would it look like to deliberately develop the less-dominant orientation — not as a replacement, but as an additional capability?

Reflection

  1. 1Which insight from this exercise surprised you most?
  2. 2What would someone who knows you well say about your motivation style? Would they agree with your self-assessment?
  3. 3Where in the next month could you experiment with your less-dominant mode — even once, in a low-stakes situation?

The filter feels like reality because it's the only lens you've had. Naming it is the first step to choosing it deliberately.

Take This Further

Knowing your motivation style is one insight. These formats help you actually build on it.

Coaching Session · 125 EUR · 60–90 min

Bring exactly this into a live coaching session. One specific thing — worked on properly, not just talked about.

The Reboot · 12-week program

If this connects to a pattern that keeps recurring in different forms — in decisions, work, or identity — that's the level The Reboot works at.