I was running a Motives Met program for a leadership team when one leader proudly shared:
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“I know growth is of top importance to people, including myself,” he told me. “So I make it a priority. Every few months, I sit down with each person and focus on their growth goals.”

I said:

“Taking the time to have one-on-ones is so important, so that’s great, especially if growth is of top importance to them.”

Then I asked the question that shifted the room.

“But what if it’s not?”

What if they just went through a big growth spurt and are in a season of contentment?
What if what motivates them right now is seeing the fruits of their labor actually land?
What if they’re craving connection, more work–life harmony, or a deeper sense of stability and certainty?

I shared:

“There are 27 other factors that drive your team’s well-being and performance.
Are you also talking with them about those?”

And BOOM.

He said it was a complete lightbulb moment.
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Because in that moment, he realized something most leaders don’t see clearly until it’s pointed out:

He wasn’t leading his team.
He was leading himself.

Why This is So Dang Hard!

If you have been hanging out with us at Motives Met for awhile you know:
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There are 28 human motives, like GROWTH, FUN, SELF-ESTEEM, PURPOSE, SECURITY, and APPRECIATION, that drive our health, happiness, and success at work.
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Some of these are deal-breaker “must-have” motives for me, while they may fall to the bottom in importance for you.
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AND, my ideal work-life harmony or language of appreciation could be very different than yours.
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Then sprinkle in other dynamics:

• Industry pressure
• Reorgs or layoffs
• Shifting priorities
• Constant change​

So yeah, the truth is this stuff is hard.

There are 28 motivational drivers, and we all value them differently and meet them differently. Leaders are left guessing; they don’t know where to focus, they don’t know which needs are thriving and which are struggling.

It’s easy to fall into one-size-fits-all approaches that actually fit none.

Personalization Is the Way Forward

Whether you want:

• Greater well-being
• Stronger connection
• Higher performance
• Stable retention
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Personalization for your people is the path.
Yes, it’s harder. But it actually works.
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Personalization is helping one person align their work with their purpose and strengths, so they can see the meaning in what they do and feel they are making a difference. And helping someone else align their work with challenge, experimentation, and innovation, giving them space to stretch, test ideas, and build something new.
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It’s coaching a team member to help them pave a path toward the future success that matters most to them, while helping someone else address the lack of security or fairness that’s weighing them down and risking their exit.
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It’s knowing that some people on your team are work-life harmony separators.
They do their best work when they can clearly turn work on and off, strong boundaries, clean lines, real downtime.

And others are integrators.
They find harmony in ebb and flow, flexing their hours, blending work and life in a way that feels aligned rather than stressful.
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Human-centered leaders create alignment that supports both, so everyone can do their best work in the way that works best for them.

From “One-Size-Fits-None” to Human-First

Here’s how you can intentionally meet people where they are, to truly lead human-first, which means putting people’s human needs first.
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1. Identify What Truly Drives Each Person

Stop guessing.
Know what matters most to each person in this season of their work life, what fuels them to stay, engage, and thrive.
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This is why we created the Motives Met Human Needs Assessment™ to give leaders real data and clarity, not assumptions, on what uniquely drives each person, which makes team members feel seen and valued.

2. Pinpoint the Strong & Weak Spots

Once you know what matters, patterns emerge.

Maybe growth is a strong shared top value, but security is taking a hit during a reorg.
Maybe work-life harmony looks great for most of the team, but is breaking down for one person (hello, workload issue).
Maybe innovation is thriving, while Fairness, Future Success, or Stability are quietly struggling.

You can’t celebrate or fix what you can’t see.
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​3. Talk About It

Sounds simple, right? Yet too often it doesn’t happen.
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Having honest, human conversations about unmet needs fueling burnout, what’s working, what’s not, and new ideas to consider, drives big results.

4. Focus Your Attention

If everything is a priority, nothing is.

You cannot meet all 28 motives for everyone, all the time.

Great leaders practice motive mindfulness, they focus their energy where it will make the biggest difference.

​5. Elevate High-Impact Human Skills​
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Once you know your focus areas, you can build the human skills that matter most.
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Clearer feedback.
More compassion.
Psychological safety.
Emotional intelligence.
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These aren’t “soft skills.”
They’re high-impact skills needed to lead humans well.

All this goes without saying; leadership is, in fact, also about leading yourself. It’s knowing and honoring what you need most to be well at work, so you can lead well, while keeping in mind your team members may be very different from you.

This Is the Work We Do Inside the Motives Met Leadership Accelerator

We don’t help leaders lead people.

We help them lead their people.

Generic leadership programs have good intentions, but they miss who your team actually is.

Inside the Motives Met Leadership Accelerator, leaders gain:
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• Coaching and the skills to lead with clarity, humanity, and real impact for greater results.
• Game-changing insights from the Human Needs Assessment™.
• Practical strategies and tools like Motives Connect™ for meaningful motive 1-on-1 conversations
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Because human-first leadership isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what matters for yourself and the people you actually lead.

Ready to thrive in 2026?

Reach out and ​send us a message​, or better yet, ​grab a time to chat​ about your goals and challenges.