Beyond Incentives: What Keeps Ethics Champions Motivated?
- Carsten Tams
- Apr 9
- 2 min read
What keeps Ethics Champions motivated and engaged?
Champions Program leaders recently explored this question in our latest Champions Clubhouse session. What stood out right away was the wealth of ideas. Participants surfaced a wide range of practical approaches to sustaining motivation. The challenge, it turns out, is not so much identifying measures for motivating programs.
When it comes to motivation, there is no single lever to pull. The real challenge is curating a handful of targeted measures that complement and reinforce each other to create a motivating program experience.
Here are stix strong themes emerging from the discussion:
1. Champions want to contribute, not just participate
Motivation increases when people can shape, adapt, and influence what happens, not just represent the program.
2. The sweet spot: Role clarity + role ownership
Defining a clear set of Champion roles is critical. When Champions are also empowered to personalize how they contribute within that role scope, motivation strengthens significantly.
3. Growth keeps people engaged
Champions stay involved when they feel they are growing, learning useful skills, building confidence, and becoming more effective as ethical leaders shaping culture in their work environment.
4. People engage when they feel part of a positive community
Programs work when people feel part of something, connected, supported, and able to support others.
5. Recognition needs to feel real
Tangible rewards work best when they are experienced as signs of genuine appreciation, rather than as transactional or conditional payback.
6. Where It All Converges: The Experience Matters Most
One insight stands out for me and ties all the other insights together: The strongest motivator is the experience itself. If the program feels meaningful and rewarding, people engage. If it does not, incentives will not fix it.
What this means for program design
Rather than adding more elements, the opportunity is to design a coherent experience where Champions can answer three simple questions:
Do I genuinely want to be part of this?
Can I grow and succeed in this role?
Do I belong here?
When the answer is yes, motivation follows.
Editor’s Notes
What Are Your Thoughts on Motivation?
What have you found most effective in sustaining Champions' motivation?
More on Motivation
Our next blog post will explore what motivation research tells us about designing Champions programs. We will translate key insights into practical implications for program design.
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Topic: Getting Leadership Support and Funding
May 21, 2026, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM EDT
Register here: https://ethicschampion.com/#club
Our Support
Helping organizations design Champions programs that people experience as motivating and genuinely want to be part of is a central part of our mission at EthicsChampion.
If you want to learn more, feel free to reach out.
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