The Power of Progress: Enhancing Motivation in the Workplace and Beyond

"Consistent daily progress by individual employees fuels both the success of the organisation and the quality of those employees’ inner work lives." - Teresa Amabile

A Primal Pursuit

Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman offers a compelling insight into the pursuit of progress. Picture an animal wandering across a sparse landscape, she detects the subtle scent of water. With the scent comes a sudden surge of dopamine, but not upon drinking, but rather at the mere hint of finding water! This anticipatory release of dopamine drives the animal toward its goal. This mechanism underscores a key biological principle: the pursuit of a goal itself, rather than its attainment, sparks motivation and energy. This dynamic is not only essential for understanding animal behaviour but also illuminates crucial elements of human motivation in professional settings. Progress is an essential ingredient for human flourishing.

Customising Challenge for Enhanced Engagement

In the realm of video gaming, game developers increasingly leverage AI to dynamically adjust game difficulty. Developers ensure that challenges are perfectly calibrated to the individual player’s ability, promoting an optimal level of engagement. This use of AI in games mirrors the biological mechanisms described by Huberman, as it allows for the release of dopamine through tailored challenges that players are equipped to overcome yet find sufficiently stimulating. This personalised approach ensures that players are continuously motivated by their progress, enhancing both the enjoyment and the engagement of the gaming experience.

From Kittens to Corporates

Consider the familiar scene of a young kitten, its eyes gleaming as it swipes at a piece of wool dangling just within reach. If the wool is consistently pulled away, the kitten's interest wanes. Without the sporadic satisfaction of a catch, she loses motivation, encouragement dips and she retreats away from the activity. This scenario echoes a fundamental aspect of human motivation observable in children, where occasional successes are necessary to sustain engagement. Humans, like kittens, require intermittent progress to stimulate dopamine release, crucial for maintaining focus and enthusiasm towards tasks. This goes for sports, learning and any activity. For those of you stagnating in your career, it is the lack of progress that prompts you to look for progress elsewhere and it is perfectly natural.

Impact of Progress on Happiness and Frustration

Building on the idea of necessary progress, "The Progress Principle" by Teresa Amabile emphasises the asymmetrical impact of progress and setbacks on emotional well-being. Teresa is our guest on this week’s episode of The Innovation Show . Teresa’s research reveals while progress can significantly boost happiness and reduce frustration, setbacks have a disproportionately negative impact. The power of setbacks to diminish happiness and increase frustration is notably stronger than the power of progress to improve those emotional states, underlining the importance of managing setbacks effectively in any motivational strategy.

Addressing the Asymmetry in Corporate Dynamics

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” - Benjamin Franklin

In corporate environments, the principles highlighted by Teresa Amabile emphasise that effectively managing and learning from setbacks is as crucial as recognising progress. In her research, she uses the term 'catalyst' to describe anything that directly facilitates the timely, creative, high-quality completion of work, while 'inhibitor' describes the absence or negative form of a catalyst.

Catalysts support progress, whereas inhibitors hinder it. Intriguingly, these elements can impact inner work life immediately, even before affecting the work itself.

For instance, the moment employees realise they have clear goals or sufficient resources, there is an instant boost in their perception of the work and the organisation, their emotions, and their motivation. (Catalysts)

Conversely, when goals are unclear, resources are lacking, or colleagues drop the ball, there is a noticeable decline in their emotional and motivational state. (Inhibitors)

For brevity, I list the seven major catalysts below, which are pivotal in enhancing inner work life and ensuring the success of projects:

1. Setting Clear Goals: Ensuring employees understand where their work is heading and why it matters.

2. Allowing Autonomy: Employees must have a say in how they achieve their goals to feel intrinsically motivated and competent.

3. Providing Resources: Access to necessary equipment, data, and support is essential; lack thereof can stall progress.

4. Balancing Time: Appropriate time pressure can stimulate productivity, while too much can lead to stress and burnout.

5. Offering Help: Support from colleagues and management can elevate an employee’s work experience and efficiency.

6. Learning from Problems and Successes: Encouraging a culture that sees value in both failures and successes fosters resilience and continuous improvement.

7. Encouraging Free Flow of Ideas: An environment where ideas are welcomed and debated openly stimulates innovation and engagement.

By actively managing these catalysts (and minimising inhibitors), leaders can significantly improve the dynamics within their teams, enhancing both individual and organisational performance. This approach is critical for navigating the complexities of modern workplaces and achieving sustained success.

While it may seem to be a simple fix, Teresa’s research reveals that very few managers leverage the power of the progress principle.

Thanks for Reading

That episode with Teresa is available here:

To make New Product Progress, check out the latest episode of The Corporate Explorer Series with Vanessa Ceia, Ph.D