The vast majority of respondents ranked support for making progress dead last as a motivator and third as an influence on emotion. In fact, only 35 managers ranked progress as the number one motivator-a mere 5%. The respondents ranked five tools-support for making progress in the work, recognition for good work, incentives, interpersonal support, and clear goals-in order of importance.įully 95% of the managers who took our survey would probably be surprised to learn that supporting progress is the primary way to elevate motivation-because that’s the percentage that failed to rank progress number one. We asked about the managerial tools that can affect employees’ motivation and emotions. To assess contemporary awareness of the importance of daily work progress, we recently administered a survey to 669 managers of varying levels from dozens of companies around the world. The diary research we describe in this article-in which we microscopically examined the events of thousands of workdays, in real time-uncovered the mechanism underlying the sense of achievement: making consistent, meaningful progress.īut managers seem not to have taken Herzberg’s lesson to heart. In a 1968 issue of HBR, Frederick Herzberg published a now-classic article titled “One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?” Our findings are consistent with his message: People are most satisfied with their jobs (and therefore most motivated) when those jobs give them the opportunity to experience achievement.
Whether they are trying to solve a major scientific mystery or simply produce a high-quality product or service, everyday progress-even a small win-can make all the difference in how they feel and perform. And the more frequently people experience that sense of progress, the more likely they are to be creatively productive in the long run. Through exhaustive analysis of diaries kept by knowledge workers, we discovered the progress principle: Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work. In our recent research on creative work inside businesses, we stumbled upon a remarkably similar phenomenon. Throughout these episodes, Watson and Crick’s progress-or lack thereof-ruled their reactions. When the duo finally had their bona fide breakthrough, and their colleagues found no fault with it, Watson wrote, “My morale skyrocketed, for I suspected that we now had the answer to the riddle.” Watson and Crick were so driven by this success that they practically lived in the lab, trying to complete the work. Dark days of doubt and ebbing motivation followed. According to Watson, “Our first minutes with the models…were not joyous.” Later that evening, “a shape began to emerge which brought back our spirits.” But when they showed their “breakthrough” to colleagues, they found that their model would not work. After the excitement of their first attempt to build a DNA model, Watson and Crick noticed some serious flaws. The Double Helix, James Watson’s 1968 memoir about discovering the structure of DNA, describes the roller coaster of emotions he and Francis Crick experienced through the progress and setbacks of the work that eventually earned them the Nobel Prize. The authors provide a checklist that managers can use on a daily basis to monitor their progress-enhancing behaviors. The actions that set in motion the positive feedback loop between progress and inner work life may sound like Management 101, but it takes discipline to establish new habits. It simply must matter to the person doing it. And the work doesn’t need to involve curing cancer in order to be meaningful.
On the flip side, small losses or setbacks can have an extremely negative effect. The key is to learn which actions support progress-such as setting clear goals, providing sufficient time and resources, and offering recognition-and which have the opposite effect.Įven small wins can boost inner work life tremendously. This progress principle suggests that managers have more influence than they may realize over employees’ well-being, motivation, and creative output. If the person drags out of the office disengaged and joyless, a setback is likely to blame.
If a person is motivated and happy at the end of the workday, it’s a good bet that he or she achieved something, however small.
In an analysis of knowledge workers’ diaries, the authors found that nothing contributed more to a positive inner work life (the mix of emotions, motivations, and perceptions that is critical to performance) than making progress in meaningful work. What is the best way to motivate employees to do creative work? Help them take a step forward every day.
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