Global Talent Leader | Redefining work for the new era of business and society | Helping companies build exceptional teams and high-performing culture | Career Coach and Keynote speaker | ex-Google
People are so misunderstood! And too often that misunderstanding translates into talent management practices. So I want to debunk the top three myths about human nature that I see shaping too many workplaces. Myth #1: Money is the best motivator Intrinsic motivation consistently outperforms extrinsic, but most businesses still rely on the latter. We think of people more like dogs to train with treats instead of seeds that will bloom in the right conditions. McKinsey research shows that employees rank feeling valued, having meaningful work, and being connected to others as more than twice as powerful for retention and performance than compensation alone. This lines up with decades of psychology research (Deci & Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory) demonstrating that motivation happens when three innate needs are met: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Money covers the basics of getting folks in the door. But once they’re inside, culture matters far more. Myth #2: People are inherently competitive. Thanks to evolution, people are wired to cooperate NOT compete. Humans are social beings whose survival depended on tribes, shared resources, and mutual aid. We bring that same ancient wiring into the workplace. As the Stoics said, "We were born to work together." Yet many organizations still gamify competition with stack ranking, forced comparisons, or power politics. The result is low trust, poor collaboration, and attrition. Google’s Project Aristotle found that psychological safety is the single biggest driver of team performance. Teams with high psych safety not only innovate more, they retain people longer and generate more revenue We should build environments where trust, dependability, and inclusion fuel performance at scale. Myth #3: People can turn off their emotions and biases Contrary to popular belief, we don’t have as much conscious control over our thoughts and emotions as we’d like. You can’t "switch off" emotion. At best, you can regulate how you respond. That’s what real emotional intelligence looks like. Suppression is not regulation, and "being unbiased" is not the same as building bias protections. Harvard Business Review notes that even people trained in critical thinking still make biased decisions because emotions and heuristics shape how we interpret information. Neuroscience research shows perception itself is subjective; what we see, feel, and remember is influenced by prior experiences and unconscious patterns. Instead of pretending we can be purely objective, design systems that account for subjectivity. Balance different perspectives, build decision-making processes that reduce the impact of bias, and train leaders on EQ. In order to lead the people you must love the people...and that starts with understanding them. PS: Here are all the psychology books I've read. Just kidding! It's a cool installation at Meow Wolf though