Employees want to deliver quality performance!
During his keynote speech at the Unlock Culture: Insights into a Culture Journey event, hosted by the Eswatini Water Services Corporation (EWSC) and The K3Y at Happy Valley Hotel, South African leadership expert Siphiwe Moyo emphasized that employees are naturally motivated by meaning, autonomy, and relationships, which drive performance much more effectively than money or punishment.
With his characteristic blend of humour and research-based insights, Moyo challenged traditional management mindsets, arguing that employees are inherently inclined to perform but are often held back by inadequate systems and uninspiring leaders.
“I think people actually want to go the extra mile,” he told the full room of corporate leaders and HR professionals. “But what we think drives behaviour is often not what actually does. Science and practice show that meaning, autonomy, and relationships are far more potent motivators than punishment or financial rewards.”
To illustrate his point, Moyo referenced a behavioural study involving daycare centres. When parents were fined for late pick-ups, one might expect punctuality to improve. Instead, parents became even later, treating the fine as a paid service.
“This shows that money is not always the motivator we assume it to be,” he explained. “In fact, sometimes financial incentives and punishments decrease performance, as they alter the meaning of the work.”
Instead, Moyo encouraged leaders to focus on task significance, demonstrating to employees the direct impact of their work. He cited a behavioural study involving university call centre staff tasked with fundraising. Initially, the team struggled to secure donations from alumni, many of whom refused to contribute.
Researchers then arranged brief five-minute coffee meetings for the alumni with some scholarship beneficiaries – students whose lives had been transformed by the donations. After this simple intervention, alumni contributed five times more funds than before.
“It turns out that just meeting someone whose life your work has touched can significantly boost engagement,” Moyo explained. “Seeing the human effect reframes the task as a pro-social behaviour.”
For Moyo, the lesson is straightforward: “Every human being wants to know — because I went to work, someone’s life is better.”
This perspective resonated deeply with the event’s theme, which examined how cultural transformation can enhance organizational performance. EWSC Managing Director Jabulile Mashwama, who has led a six-year internal culture journey, echoed Moyo’s views. “When we say ‘we are blue,’ we are not only talking about water as our product — we are affirming our belief system as a people-centred, performance-driven organisation,” she said.
Moyo urged leaders across Eswatini companies to alter their approach: “Don’t just tell people what to do. Show them the why. Because why we work determines how well we work.”
“Better workplaces matter,” Moyo concluded. “Because work should not be a drag.”