Mindset, Motivation, or Skill: Diagnosing the Root Cause of Your Nonprofit’s Performance Problem
It's very common for leaders to throw training at every performance problem we see. Yet not all performance problems result from a skill gap.
In fact, many are due to other factors, such as mindset or motivation. The problem with this is that performance won't change if you offer training in these cases.
So, in this episode, I'm breaking down how to determine if something is a mindset, motivation, or skill gap problem, and why this matters for successful behavior change.
▶️ Key Points:
00:00 Why training isn't always the right solution
02:44 A quick lesson on behavior change
05:18 Four questions to spot the root cause of a problem
The Fundamental Problem with Traditional Training
As leaders, we often default to a familiar solution when performance lags: training. When we see a problem, we assume there is a knowledge or skill gap, and we deploy a workshop, a course, or a new manual. I, too, have tried the traditional training approaches, and I realized that just telling people what to do and how to do it doesn’t work.
The problem is fundamental: We throw training at every performance problem we see, yet all performance problems aren't the result of a skill gap. In fact, many issues are driven by other critical factors, most often mindset or motivation. And here is the core truth that must guide our strategy: If you offer training for a mindset or motivation problem, performance won’t change.
If we want to create change that lasts, we have to move beyond quick fixes and get serious about diagnosis. That’s the focus on episode 163 of Learning for Good.
Why Motivation and Mindset Matter to Learning & Development
To illustrate this common trap, I shared a personal goal: I want to be an early riser. I want to wake up, have coffee in the quiet, watch the sunrise, and start my day right.
So, why is it that when my alarm goes off, I hit the snooze button more than once?
It’s not that I don’t know how to wake up early. I know how to set an alarm, swing my legs out of bed, and walk to the kitchen. The knowledge and the skill are there. The true issue is that my motivation is low when that alarm goes off. Telling me to wake up or training me to get out of bed simply won’t help.
This dynamic—a mismatch between the expected behavior and the actual result—plays out in our organizations every day. A manager might see an employee repeatedly failing to follow a documented procedure and immediately ask for a refresher course, assuming the staff member lacks the necessary skill. But if the staff member knows the procedure but simply doesn't want to follow it (low motivation), or hasn't committed to the process (mindset issue), that refresher training is a waste of precious time and resources.
How Behavior Change Works
To create true, lasting behavior change—which is exactly what we are attempting to do when we talk about improving staff performance—we must understand the psychological components that drive action. These components involve far more than just knowledge or skill.
Charles Duhigg, in his work on habit formation, discusses the essential elements required to create change: the habit loop. This loop consists of three parts: a cue, a routine, and a reward. Something must trigger the change (the cue), the individual implements the change (the routine), and then they see, feel, or receive some sort of positive benefit (the reward). This entire process confirms that to change behavior, we need more than just skill.
Building upon this, James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, offers a similar, yet expanded model that is highly useful for organizational leaders. His model breaks down behavior change into four sequential parts:
1. Cue: Something triggers the change.
2. Craving: The individual must want the change.
3. Response: The individual implements the change (the action).
4. Reward: The individual receives a benefit.
The addition of the craving element is crucial. Before someone can respond or implement the change (which requires skill), they must first want it. If the craving—the desire or motivation—is absent, the behavior will not follow, regardless of how skilled the person is.
Consider the example of smoking: Most people know that smoking is bad for their health. Society has tried to implement change through external cues and inconveniences, such as no-smoking areas and extra taxes. While these external factors may cause some individuals to stop, most people don't quit until they receive some sort of medical diagnosis. Why? Because the diagnosis provides the powerful, internal motivation that makes the craving for change strong enough to drive the necessary response.
If we want to improve performance in our nonprofits, we have to move beyond assuming that providing knowledge and skills is enough. We must recognize that the biggest hurdle in creating change is retention. When we try to make a change, eight out of ten times we revert to our old habits.
To overcome this powerful tendency toward reversion, we cannot just offer training. We must spend time figuring out why the person isn't doing the thing we need them to do. We must diagnose the root cause and then provide the right solution for the specific problem.
How to Diagnose the Root Cause of the Performance Problem
Before deploying resources toward a new training program, leaders and L&D professionals must think critically and ask the right questions about what is truly happening inside the organization and across the teams.
We can distill the performance diagnostic into four critical questions, each pointing to a different root cause and, therefore, a different required solution:
The Clarity Gap: Do your people know what they should be doing?
This is often where gaps first appear. Leaders frequently think the expectation is clear, but in reality, it isn't. Staff are left trying to guess what they need to do to meet expectations. If people don't know what is expected of them, they cannot possibly succeed.
The Solution: If this is your organization's pain point, the solution is not training on how to perform the task, but rather fixing the clarity gap. Start by:
Creating tailored communications.
Documenting processes.
Offering checklists.
Providing other similar resources that clearly define expectations and necessary steps.
The Skill Gap: Do your people know how to do what they need to do?
If your staff members are clear on the expectations (Question 1 is solved), but they still can't execute, the issue might be a genuine skill gap. If they know what to do but lack the knowledge of how to perform the task, they will become frustrated and ultimately fail to meet expectations.
The Solution: This is the only root cause where traditional training is the primary, effective solution. To address a skill gap:
Create targeted training or workshops.
Pair people up with knowledgeable peers.
Find a mentor or coach for them.
Focus intentionally on building those specific skills.
The Motivation Gap: Do your people want to do the thing they need to do?
This question can be a painful one for leaders to ask and answer. Sometimes, people simply don't want to follow through. While some might attribute this to "laziness," it is often the result of deeper, systemic issues within the organization.
Motivation problems stem from factors that actively discourage staff from following through, such as:
A pain point in the process that makes the desired behavior burdensome.
A lack of recognition for their work.
The overwhelming reality of constant change that they are battling.
A critical lack of trust and psychological safety within the organization.
If motivation is low, no amount of technical training will succeed because the prerequisite craving is missing.
The Solution: If motivation is the pain point, leaders must take a step back and work to rebuild the organizational environment. This involves building trust among teams, as trust must exist for people to be motivated to do the work. Solutions should focus on addressing cultural issues, recognizing staff contributions, and eliminating unnecessary pain points that frustrate employees.
The Mindset Gap: Have your people committed to the change?
This is the ultimate test of behavioral permanence, and it ties directly back to mindset and identity. To truly decide something means every other option is no longer an option; the individual is committed.
When I confess that I want to be an early riser, but I'm not, it’s because my identity is not in it. I haven't made the fundamental decision that "I am an early riser," and so, I have not committed and I have not followed through.
In a nonprofit setting, if staff know what to do, know how to do it, and even have some motivation, but performance still stalls, it often means the necessary behavior has not become integrated into their professional identity or commitment to the organization’s success.
The Solution: This gap requires a mindset shift, which is profoundly difficult to change through superficial training. Solutions here must focus on deep coaching, leadership engagement, and fostering an environment where commitment to the mission and the expected behaviors is reinforced at every level, helping staff internalize the behavior as part of "who we are" and "what I do here."
Identifying the Right Learning Solution
For nonprofit leaders dedicated to driving lasting change, the takeaway is simple but challenging: You must start with a performance diagnostic before you offer training.
Training is a powerful solution. It is how we build capacity and ensure staff are capable. But it does not address every potential problem. If we waste time and money offering skill-based training for problems rooted in clarity, motivation, or mindset, we will only perpetuate the frustration of fixing the same problems over and over.
We must commit to figuring out the problem first: Is it a mindset issue, a motivation one, or is there a true skill gap? If we can identify the root cause, we can offer the best, most targeted solution to that specific problem.
When the right solution meets the right problem, true behavior change occurs, performance improves, and everybody wins. This critical diagnostic step is how we ensure that our learning investments actually drive performance, build capacity, and fuel our mission impact.
To learn more about how to spot a mindset or motivation problem (not just a skill one), tune into episode 163 of the Learning for Good podcast.
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