S02 Ep102 Autonomy + Competence + Relatedness

Feeling fulfilled and passionate about our work comes from having autonomy, competence, and relatedness. 

So what do those three terms mean and how can you achieve them?

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Welcome to Ever Better Today: the daily podcast for creating your optimal business, career, or overall life in ten minutes or less. I’m Lisa Conners Vogt, Executive and Leadership Coach and founder of Ever Better Coaching and Consulting. Let’s jump in!

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Cal Newport talks about Self-Determination Theory (SDT) in his book “So Good They Can't Ignore You”. SDT is actually composed of six mini-theories and one of them is Basic Psychological Needs Theory. To learn more, go to selfdeterminationtheory.org/theory

Basic Psychological Needs Theory

Psychological well-being and optimal functioning are a result of

autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Autonomy

This is the feeling that you have control over your day and that your work is important and meaningful. Don’t expect this in the early days of your career. Strive for a blend of autonomy and guidance by finding mentors and role models to help you navigate your profession. As you gain experience, you’ll enjoy more autonomy than you’ve earned. 

Competence

There are four levels of competence. As your skills and awareness develop, you’ll move through the phases of:

Unconscious incompetence; conscious incompetence; conscious competence; and unconscious competence.

Learn more about this model by listening to Episode 7 of Ever Better Today.

Relatedness

This is the feeling of connection to other people. You have to feel a connection in order to feel very engaged and passionate about your job and mission-driven.

Episodes 99, 100, 101, 102, and 103 describe just some of the takeaways from So Good They Can't Ignore You and Born Standing Up.

There are many other lessons in these books so I encourage you to rea