How does creating meaningful work impact an organization’s ability to succeed? That’s the basis of my conversation with Dr. Teresa Amabile and Dr. Steven Kramer.
Teresa is the Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration and a Director of Research at Harvard Business School. Steven is a developmental psychologist whose writings have appeared in such illustrious publications as the Harvard Business Review and The New York Times.
In this episode, we discuss their research findings which serve as the basis for their new book “The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work”.
Over the course of the discussion, Teresa, Steven and I discuss:
- Why leaders need to provide employees with responsibilities that create a sense of purpose or meaning.
- How experiencing setbacks can be more damaging to employee morale than leaders realize.
- What leaders should be managing, as opposed to what they think they should be managing, to encourage productivity in their organization.
- What two other factors leaders can employ to improve employee performance over the long-term.
- How leaders and employees can help facilitate a shift toward the creation of meaningful work.
As I told Teresa and Steven during our conversation, “The Progress Principle” is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year on leadership and improving an organization’s productivity. I invite you both to listen to this podcast and to check out their book to find out why I so thoroughly enjoyed reading “The Progress Principle”, as well as talking with them about the discoveries they made through their research on the challenges employees face in today’s workplace.
I’d appreciate it if you could help support future episodes of this leadership podcast by taking a moment to rate my show on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your preferred streaming platform.
Noteworthy links:
Buy Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer’s book “The Progress Principle” on Amazon.com (or Amazon.ca for Canadian readers).
Hi Tanveer,
Although I have not yet read their book, the whole principle to me makes intuitive sense. Small wins build confidence and learning. Small mistakes also deliver learning and minimize the crash of the ego that large mistakes can bring.
There are many who disagree with this. They believe of the sink or swim model. Although this can work in terms of results, it doesn't account for the hidden psychological impact that affects all future work collaboration, initiative, and results.
Best,
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach
Hi Kate,
You know what’s interesting about Teresa and Steven’s findings is that even small mistakes or setbacks can be damaging despite any potential learning opportunities. When you think about it, this makes a good amount of sense because for something to be viewed as a learning experience requires the viewer to actually make the effort to frame the situation in such a context. As most of know, while some mistakes are easy to frame as ‘a learning opportunity’, there are other situations where when things go wrong, it’s hard to think of what we can learn from it because we’re so deflated motivation-wise and emotionally because of the undesired outcome.
In any case, it’s a great book, Kate, and I’m sure you’d enjoy it. Although the basis of their book is the research they did, it’s far from being an academic or dry read in large part because of what Teresa points out during the conversation about how they researched and collected the data. Namely, that they relied on personal narratives of the employees to help them gain a deeper insight into what was going on in the employee’s minds. Consequently, the book is full of narratives and stories that help to illustrate their findings, making for a stimulating read on all fronts.
Thanks again, Kate, for sharing your thoughts on this podcast. Appreciate it!
It's a great read. Who doesn't want to increase their productivity? Highly recommended
Glad to hear you enjoyed this book as well, Jonathan.