My grandparents came to Germany as “Gastarbeiter” back in the 60s: people with dreams of a better life, hoping to escape the rural environment in Sicily. When they arrived, they were employed as simple workers, often in a form of employment called “Akkordarbeit”. Basically, it meant that the more they could produce, the more they would get paid.
Interestingly, this type of reward works well for simple tasks, but not for tasks that require creativity and initiative. The reason is that creativity needs a different “mind-set” and motivation behind it. People solve problems when they have a greater goal in mind and are free to arrive at their own conclusions as to what constitutes the ideal way to arrive at that goal.
This is what is called intrinsic motivation: the motivation that “lies within ourselves”. When you enjoy activities in your free-time, these are often intrinsically motivated, such as arts, sports, or social activities and require a certain degree of freedom and trust.
A monetary reward, on the other hand, usually works extrinsically motivating. The goal set to achieve is usually predetermined by either a company or a superior or simply by the fact that we need money for survival. These types of goals induce a certain level of stress that can reduce problem-solving abilities.
As the manager of a team, then, increasing motivation of an employee can mean increasing trust towards that employee by creating circumstances under which the employee can act freely and develop a sense of agency.