Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: Why motivation is a manager's job: You can inspire people to bring their best selves to work / Susan David -- Section One: Assess engagement on your team -- Want to know how engaged people are? Here's what to measure : look beyond annual surveys to discretionary effort, relationships, and schedule / Ryan Fuller -- Where engagement surveys go wrong: strategies for avoiding common biases when crafting questions / Jennifer Cullen -- Go ahead: ask your employees if they're happy: one-on-one conversations will help you retain and engage them / Allison Rimm-- Section Two: Understand common motivators -- It takes more than just extrinsic rewards to inspire people: financial incentives often for more harm than good -- What Maslow got wrong about our psychological needs: satisfy people's deepest needs--for autonomy, relatedness, and competence / Susan Fowler -- Recipe for disengagement on your team: stop the drive-by praise and guilt gratitude-people see through it / Ron Carucci -- Motivating salespeople: what really works: tailor rewards to your stars, laggards, and core performers / Thomas Steenburgh and Michael Ahearne -- One engagement strategy does not fit all: find out what makes each person tick / Natalie Baumgartner -- Section Three: Make work more meaningful -- Power of small wins: making progress possible boosts creativity an productivity / Theresa Amabile and Steve Kramer -- Best leaders show people that their work matters: cultivate the four characteristics that set master motivators apart / Lewis Garrard and Toms Chamorro-Premuzic -- Great storytelling connects employees to their work: get people to see past a task to the service they'er providing others / Joseph Grenny -- Help someone discover work that excites them: unlock passion, commitment, and performance with these questions / Amy Jen Su -- How to motivate employees to go beyond their jobs: let them choose when and how they volunteer extra effort / Mark C. Bolino and Anthony C. Klotz -- Section Four: Encourage growth and development -- To support learning, managers need to coach: five tips for guiding others along the road to peak performance / Monique Valcour -- Why talented people don't use their strengths: identify their superpowers--and then put those skills to work / Whitney Johnson -- Let employees personalize their jobs: fit jobs to people, instead of people to jobs / Vivek Bapat -- Mentoring someone who doesn't know what their career goals should be: encourage them to develop transferable skills while they test different paths / Tania Lun and Jordan Cohen -- How to retain and engage your B players: uncover hidden strengths, conquer limiting beliefs, and give permission to shine / Liz Kislik -- What to do when a good employee stops trying to grow: if they're stagnating, it's time for a change / Whitney Johnson -- Section Five: Prevent burnout on your team -- One in five highly engaged employees Is at risk of burnout: you may be in danger of losing your most motivated, hardworking people / Emma Seppala and Julia Moeller -- Your overwhelmed, stressed-out team needs relief: focus everyone on the work that matters by clarifying team purpose / Julie Mosow -- How to apply the right amount of pressure: capture the benefits of productive stress by turning the heat up or down / Liane Davey -- Burnout at work isn't just about exhaustion. It's also about loneliness: foster compassion, strong networks, and solidarity so people feel less alone / Emma Seppala an Marissa King -- Don't let grunt work drag down performance: everyone has to do it, but your team shouldn't fell trapped by it / Whitney Johnson -- Section Six Create a culture of engagement -- Positive work cultures are more productive: support six key qualities on your team to build a healthier, happier company / Emma Seppala and Kim Cameron -- Flex work doesn't help employees if it hurts their careers: make sure people feel safe using the benefits you offer / Lindsey Trimble O'Connor and Erin Cech -- Rules for Designing an inspiring workplace: environmental psychology points the way to better spaces for all / Sally Augustin -- IDEO's engagement formula: four principles that powered the innovator's success / Duane Bray.

As a manager, it's your responsibility to ensure your team is motivated and performing at a high level. But recent data reveals abysmal engagement levels among workers around the globe. How do you fix the problem--before your most talented people walk out the door? By understanding what drains your employees, you can increase their job satisfaction and push them toward achieving their goals. The HBR Guide to Motivating People provides practical tips and advice to help your team find meaning in their work, build on their strengths, and produce the best results for the organization.