Reforming teacher pay is a hot topic.  Many belileve that performance pay will motivate teachers.  The belief that money motivates is a widely held misconception.  The underlying assumption is that if you dangle a carrot in front of an employee, the employee will perform better, work harder and change their behavior.  It is simply not the case.  It is insulting because the very premise is that the worker (the teacher) is holding something back and not giving their all UNLESS they are paid more.  Workers, including teachers, dive into their daily work for reasons that are intrinsically motivating.  Feelings of appreciation and respect, believing you make a difference, providing value to people and society, and the pure satisfaction of learning, accomplishing, discovering and sharing are the TRUE motivators.   As we develop improved teacher pay strategies for the future, we should develop compensation plans that recognize our intrinsic motivators.  If we spend too much on “this for that” type of pay plans, they will fail to have any affect on teacher performance and student and school results.  There are ways, however, to connect pay to desired behaviors, outcomes and results.  Connecting pay to real measurable and valued outcomes is a great strategy to send meaningful messages about what is important for success.  One useful strategy used extensively in private business for the past decade is multi-rater feedback.  A list of desired behaviors and outcomes is developed by teachers, administrators, boards and parents.  Teachers receive feedback from multiple sources, including students, kept confidential, and a monitor or mentor works with the teacher on areas to improve.  When the results show exemplary outcomes the rewards can be administered.  This isn’t an easy or short process.  Its success depends on buy in from all stakehodlers.  It is one of many potentially innovative ways to improve and tie a reward to performance.  To reiterate, if we assume that  money is the motivator, the strategy will fail.  The desire for respect, being appreciate, reaching goals, receiving recognition and impacting society are motivators.  There are many ways to create the environment for these motivators to work for the good of our public education system.