AMP = Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose.
Now this is a power-packed acronym! These three words power the engine within us that takes us to greater heights, and help us achieve self-actualization in the personal and professional environment.
Located at the peak of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy, self-actualization is described in the following way:
“What a man can be, he must be. This need we may call self-actualization…It refers to the desire for self-fulfillment, namely, to the tendency for him to become actualized in what he is potentially. This tendency might be phrased as the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming.”
Why is this stuff important?
- Supporting innovation and experimentation without punishment is crucial to personal and professional success. An environment that supports ‘test-drives’ allows people to close in on what seems an impossible task.
- A ‘purpose-driven’ (not solely money-driven) approach makes what we do meaningful. An overload of seemingly monotonous work that isn’t engaging anymore is a productivity killer. Opportunities that allow one to explore and master new areas puts a spring back in a one’s step.
- The journey is, quite often, more significant than the destination. Experience and personal achievement are, without a doubt, the more distinguishing and memorable aspects of our lives.
During a class I was in earlier this year, the instructor played an RSAnimate video adapted from Dan Pink’s talk at the RSA to drive home a point. The video reinforces what really motivates us. If you haven’t come across this video yet, I recommend you watch it here. If you’ve watched it before, well, watch it again to remind yourself what it’s all about.
This week, my blogs are going to dissect AMP and take a look at why so many of us do things, not for money, but for the sheer joy of fulfillment and learning. AMP is a powerful influence over human lives that often goes unrecognized and under-appreciated.
Thx Kimberly for taking the time to comment. You’ve hit the nail on its head. Also, you’ve heard me rant about this before – companies hire really talented people, but then either stifle their creativity or stick them on work items that doesn’t do justice to their skills. We’re inherently curious beings, and fueling that fire is going to keep us engaged.
Thanks for sharing this important AMP info, Anu! I love Daniel Pink’s book and animated video. My experience working for many years with individuals, teams and organizations to achieve “impossible” results has convinced me that purpose drives all. Unimaginable changes happen when people are in pursuit of what they perceive to be a worthy purpose. And purpose is “created” by the story we invent around ourselves and our activities. The janitor sweeping the floor at NASA in the 1960s wasn’t cleaning, he was helping put a man on the moon. I say we should invent a story that makes whatever we’re doing worthwhile!