Few challenges frustrate veterinary leaders more than employee disengagement. Team members appear uninterested, fail to follow through on tasks, resist change initiatives, or contribute less than managers believe they should. The instinctive response is often to increase supervision, impose consequences, or create additional accountability measures.

Unfortunately, these approaches frequently fail to address the root causes of disengagement.

Motivation is not something managers give to employees. Rather, motivation is the internal drive that causes individuals to act in pursuit of needs, goals, or values. Understanding what motivates employees and how workplace systems either support or undermine motivation is essential to creating an engaged veterinary team.

Understanding Human Needs

Psychologists have proposed numerous theories to explain human motivation. Among the most influential is Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow suggested that human behavior is driven by a series of needs that range from basic physiological requirements to more complex social and developmental desires.

These needs include:

• Physiological needs such as food, sleep, and shelter
• Belonging and social acceptance
• Esteem and recognition
• Personal growth and self-actualization

While modern research suggests that these needs do not always occur in a strict sequence, the concept remains useful. Employees struggling to meet basic financial, emotional, or social needs may find it difficult to focus on higher-level goals such as professional development or organizational improvement.

But let’s step outside the university classroom and see this phenomenon in the real world.

• Grade School Lesson: When I was in the second grade, there were a pair of twins in my class, Patty and Phyllis, who regularly put their heads down on the desk to sleep. Outraged that the rest of us had to work, while these two slept (perception of fairness is also an important ingredient in motivation), we pointed and fumed that our teacher, Mrs. Delozier, should wake them. She did not. She allowed them to sleep because she knew that without the underpinnings of something fundamental like sleep, Patty and Phyllis were at odds to learn about addition and subtraction. It had nothing to do with motivation or a desire to learn and everything to do with the fact they couldn’t keep their eyes open to do either.
• Domestic abuse teaches a tough truth: Once, I managed an incredible worker. An immigrant from Eastern Europe, this woman could do anything: scrub a floor, wrangle a cat, hold a snake, hang a painting, tidy up a vase of flowers, run a vacuum, you name it. Then one day, no call, no show. Next day, no call, no show. Second day the same; she was unresponsive to any message that I sent. Finally, long after I gave up on her, she returned eight days later, punched in, walked to the broom closet and filled the mop bucket.

When I went to admonish her for being AWOL for so long, she turned to me teary eyed. Her entire face had been beaten. The boyfriend she had been living with was the culprit.

Criticize me if you like, I didn’t have the heart to write her up. I just let things go and we returned to our routine. A few months later it happened again. We cycled through the on again, off again level of performance until she finally drifted away never to be heard from again. This young woman wanted to work, loved being part of our team, but didn’t have the social infrastructure beneath her to provide us a consistent burn of engagement. Stability, support, and refuge matter.

• Breakfast first, class after: Children living in my school district start school at 9:30, not 9. Why? Because the school feeds them breakfast. With a median household income of 45K dollars, many children show up to school with empty stomachs. Teachers know that children that slump in their chairs or whose attention spans drift off can be plenty interested in growing, but not when their stomachs are growling.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Motivators are commonly divided into two categories: intrinsic and extrinsic.

Extrinsic motivators originate outside the individual and include compensation, bonuses, prizes, promotions, and other tangible rewards. They push people to act.

Intrinsic motivators originate within the individual and include achievement, personal growth, mastery, belonging, purpose, and professional pride. They pull people to act.

Although both forms of motivation influence behavior, research consistently demonstrates that intrinsic motivators tend to produce stronger and more sustainable engagement than external rewards alone.

Veterinary leaders frequently rely on raises, bonuses, contests, and incentives to improve performance. While these tools can generate short-term enthusiasm, they rarely create lasting commitment. Employees who are already highly motivated often become more energized by such incentives, while those who are disengaged typically remain disengaged.

Long-term motivation is more likely to occur when employees find meaning in their work, feel valued by colleagues, experience personal growth, and believe their efforts contribute to something important.

A few last comments about extrinsic motivation. I am sure there are some reading this who strongly believe that an extrinsic reward like money drives employee action. My experience has taught me otherwise.

• Money typically motivates only the already-motivated. Next time you attempt to motivate employees with money, keep an eye on who actually responds. In my experience, financial incentives end up going to those that are incentivized to help regardless and leave those that don’t earn the reward more demotivated because they feel the system is unfair.
• Financial incentives don’t have any staying power. Most of you increased your payroll spending considerable during the Pandemic as a way to motivate employees. How did that work out?
• Extrinsic rewards are not at the heart of other species’ motivation. When you train your dog, you mark good behavior with a treat. Does the dog subsequently perform the task because of the treat alone or is there something else going on? Think about how intently the dog watches you while learning. Is he enjoying the relationship he has with you during the training session? Think about the joy the dog has when returning the ball to you. Is he happy about the imminent treat or is he celebrating his mastery?

 

Reinforcement and Behavior Change

 

Motivation and behavior are closely related but distinct concepts. Motivation influences the desire to act, while reinforcement influences whether a behavior is repeated.

Four basic methods are commonly used to shape behavior:

Positive Reinforcement

A desirable stimulus is added to encourage a behavior.

Examples include praise, recognition, appreciation, and professional opportunities.

Positive Punishment

An undesirable stimulus is added to discourage a behavior.

Examples include verbal reprimands, disciplinary actions, or corrective feedback delivered in a punitive manner.

Negative Reinforcement

An unpleasant stimulus is removed following a desired behavior.

For example, increased supervision may be removed once an employee consistently performs a task correctly.

Negative Punishment

A desirable stimulus is removed following an undesired behavior.

Examples include loss of privileges, opportunities, or rewards.

Among these approaches, positive reinforcement is generally the most effective at sustaining workplace behavior. Employees who receive timely recognition for desirable actions are more likely to repeat those actions in the future.

Unfortunately, many veterinary practices rely more heavily on punishment than reinforcement. Managers often notice mistakes immediately, but overlook successful performance.

Proactive Feedback

In my career, one of the most valuable management lessons I have learned is that proactive, positive check-ins with employees, before they fail or require corrective action, are the best at building trust, supporting learning, and stimulating motivation. For more on how to accomplish this, visit The Feedback Loop.

Common Motivational Mistakes

Veterinary leaders frequently attempt to motivate employees through methods that create compliance rather than commitment.

Fear-Based Leadership

Threats, intimidation, and excessive criticism often produce the illusion that behavior has been changed, but usually just causes the unwanted behavior to go undercover. Think about the time you were in school and the teacher shouted, “Be quiet!”

Firstly, be quiet is not goal she’s after. What she wants is quite born out of engagement, but if she yells, ‘be quiet’ you’re not going to give her the engagement she wants. You’re going to smolder that you were demeaned by the way she treated you and take your inattentiveness underground.  

Excessive Dependence on Financial Rewards

Compensation matters. Employees must feel fairly compensated for their work. However, financial incentives alone rarely create sustained engagement. Money can influence attendance and retention, but purpose, growth, and belonging often determine discretionary effort.

Correcting More Than Recognizing

Many managers spend the majority of their interactions addressing problems.

Employees may receive immediate feedback when they make mistakes, yet receive little acknowledgement when they perform exceptionally well. Over time, this creates a culture where effort feels invisible.

Don’t believe me? Start a tally at your desk. Every time you invite someone into your office to address a concern, make a tick. Every time you invite someone in to acknowledge a success, make a tick. Keep track of whether one list grows disproportionately over time.

Attempting to Coach Unwilling Employees

Coaching can be valuable when employees are interested in learning and improving. However, coaching cannot kindle motivation in people too distracted, disinterested, or otherwise compromised to meet you half way.  Managers should focus on supporting growth, removing barriers to growth and success, and building trust rather than attempting to fundamentally change an employee’s ability to focus.

All employees aspire, but some can compartmentalized the ‘life’ noise they experience daily (depression, relationship issues, substance use, etc.) long enough to grasp at workplace growth opportunities. Others cannot. Spend time learning why some employees aren’t accepting the opportunities you are providing. Make adjustments as needed, but ultimately employees have to be willing and able to meet you somewhere in the middle. If they cannot, terminate them.

What Actually Works?

Real-Time Recognition

Timely, specific praise remains one of the most powerful motivational tools available to veterinary leaders.

Recognition is most effective when it identifies a specific behavior and communicates why that behavior matters.

Rather than saying, “Good job,” leaders should say, “I appreciated how thoroughly you explained the treatment plan to that client. You helped them feel confident moving forward with our services and care.”

Fairness

Research consistently demonstrates that perceptions of fairness influence motivation.

Employees compare their workloads, opportunities, recognition, scheduling practices, and compensation with their peers. When they perceive inequity, motivation often declines.

Leaders should routinely evaluate policies and practices through employees’ perspective of fairness.

Meaningful Relationships

Successful veterinary management always centers on the staff. Leaders that foster employees’ sense of acceptance, connection, and respect cultivate productive employees and stoke positive morale.

Many professionals identify their best workdays not as the easiest days, but as the days when the team worked together effectively to overcome challenges.

Creating a culture of mutual respect and collaboration satisfies powerful social needs while simultaneously improving performance.

Growth and Achievement

Employees are more engaged when they can see progress in their skills, responsibilities, and contributions.

Managers should help team members identify opportunities to learn, improve, and expand their capabilities.

Growth does not always require promotions or raises. Often it simply requires helping employees recognize their increasing competence and value.

Conclusion

Motivation originates from need. Veterinary leaders cannot manufacture motivation, but they can create environments that support it.

Employees are most likely to engage when they feel accepted, valued, treated fairly, and given opportunities to grow. Positive reinforcement, meaningful relationships, purposeful work, and personal development consistently outperform fear, punishment, and purely financial incentives.

The goal of leadership is not to light a fire under employees. The goal is to understand what already fuels them and then create conditions that allow those motivations to flourish.