Nobody Actually Wants to Be "Motivated"

Yesterday, a CEO in Shanghai told me his team was "unmotivated."

I asked him: "What would you do if I told you they'll never be as motivated as you are?"

Long pause. Then: "I'd figure out how to win anyway."

Exactly.

The Fantasy We Keep Buying

Every executive search I've done in the past fifteen years starts the same way. "Kevin, we need someone who can motivate the team." Then comes the usual wish list: change agent, cultural transformer, someone who can "unlock potential."

Here's what I've learned working with executives from Seoul to São Paulo: motivation is a luxury most people can't afford. They're thinking about mortgages, school fees, job security. They care about not looking incompetent at the next team meeting. They care about surviving your next reorganization.

The idea that you can engineer sustained motivation is consultant fiction. Real leaders work with human reality, not human potential.

What Actually Moves the Needle

Trust Beats Inspiration Every Time

When I rolled out DEX AI across our network, the biggest pushback wasn't about features—it was fear. "Will this replace me?" "Do I still matter?"

The worst response would have been some motivational speech about "embracing change." Instead, I acknowledged the fear directly. I was honest about what we didn't know. I made it clear that their judgment was irreplaceable, that the technology was there to amplify them, not replace them.

Trust isn't sexy. But it's what people actually need to do difficult work.

Systems Over Speeches

I've seen more engagement come from a clear Monday standup than from any inspirational town hall. When people know what's expected, can ask for help without losing face, and see progress—even small progress—you get resilience instead of burnout.

Daily touchpoints. Weekly wins. Honest feedback loops. These aren't exciting, but they keep teams functional when everything else is chaos.

Make Technology Serve Humans, Not Replace Them

The executives I work with get this wrong constantly. They implement new systems and wonder why adoption is slow. Here's why: if your latest platform doesn't make people feel more capable, more connected, or prouder of their work, you're just optimizing for efficiency at the expense of meaning.

The real win is when technology becomes invisible—when it serves the mission instead of becoming the mission.

Listen for the Silence

In cross-border teams, the killers are the polite nods, the "we'll circle back" that never comes, the feedback that stays buried in private channels. After every critical meeting, I do pulse checks. Not in the group—privately, off the record. That's where you find the real resistance, the actual concerns, the things people can't say in public.

If you're only hearing what's said in meetings, you're missing most of what matters.

When Purpose Fails

I've watched purpose-driven leadership crash more times than I can count. Sometimes the mission is too abstract. Sometimes people are just tired. Sometimes they have bigger problems than your quarterly goals.

That's when you see real leadership—not in the speech you give, but in showing up the next day, holding space for trust, asking uncomfortable questions, adapting when your first plan doesn't work.

The middle isn't failure. Most of us operate between cultures, between strategies, between ideals and reality. That's where the actual work happens. Don't try to escape it—use it.

What I Tell Other Leaders

Your team doesn't need to be inspired to be effective. They need clarity, safety, and systems that work even when their energy is low.

The executives I place successfully understand this. They build for human inconsistency, not human potential. They create environments where people can contribute without having to care as much as the leader does.

That's not cynical—that's sustainable.

The best teams aren't the most motivated. They're the most honest, the most adaptable, and the most resilient. They show up when it matters, not because they're inspired, but because the system supports them and the work has meaning beyond the moment.

Bottom line: Stop chasing motivation. Build trust, create systems, listen to what isn't being said. The work gets done when people feel safe and capable, not when they feel inspired.

If you've ever felt like you're the only one who cares as much as you do—welcome to leadership. That's not a bug, it's a feature. Work with it.

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Kangze (Kevin) Hong

Founding Partner, LYC Partners | Founder, GEA & DEX AI

APAC | Europe | Global

“Building bridges where others see borders. Redefining executive search, leadership, and advisory—so you can thrive in the age of AI, uncertainty, and global opportunity.”