Moving forward…
Employee engagement drives bottom line, however what does engagement mean and how do you help employees connect with the company.
Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer co authored the book the Progress Principle which explored the question of when people are motivated and engaged at work. They recruited 238 people across 7 companies, and everyday they completed a diary entry and a questionnaire. After 12,000 days worth of data Amabile & Kramer drew conclusions from the information.
The most conclusive result was that people are most motivated when they are making progress on meaningful work. The most powerful thing to excite, engage is moving forward even if it is a small win. That is the progress principle.
The terminology the pair used in their book was “inner work life” – what moves you forward?
What was the most startling find was a negative impact can be 2 or 3 times more damaging than a positive move forward.
We therefore need to be most aware of our nourishers and our toxins. These can be people and also environments. Think about a place where you are really productive and a place with the opposite effect. We make the choices as to where we spend our time and we need to ensure that we look after ourself by the environment we work in.
How do you keep yourself moving forward?
- Stay focused – know what you want to achieve
- Track small wins – write down what you want to get done
- Spend at least 30 minutes each day on meaningful work
How do Manager’s apply the Progress Principle?
- Catalysts – Share clear goals, with milestones and quick wins along the way
- Autonomy – Empower team members to take initiative and responsibility
- Resources – Provide the right materials at the right time
- Human support – Being there
Please do contact nuggets for a workshop on “Understanding your Motivation”
