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In their book "The Progress Principle" and in recent Harvard Business Review articles, authors Terese Armabile and Steven Kramer reveal that the single most important influence in the level of engagement in people's jobs is making progress in meaningful work. Drawing on a multi-year research project, they argue that managers at all levels are routinely and mostly unwittingly undermining the meaningfulness of work for people in their organisations.
The authors outline a number of "traps" that senior managers fall into, that if avoided can "boost the odds of tapping into the motivational power of progress".
Trap 1 - Mediocrity Signals
Your company aspires to greatness as expressed in it's mission statement; your words and actions and tendency to be risk-averse signal that you are more comfortable being ordinary. Not very inspiring!
Trap 2 - Strategic Attention Deficit Disorder
You start and abandon strategic and tactical initiatives frequently. There is not enough time to discover whether initiatives are working and there is insufficient communication to team members when making shifts.
Trap 3 - Corporate "Keystone Kops"
You think that the everyday workings of your company or group are running smoothly, but you are unaware of the mayhem and chaos that actually exists. Conflicts between company functions due to a lack of coordination and support makes it difficult for people to maintain a sense of purpose.
Trap 4 - Misbeggoten BHAGs
BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) express the goals of an organisation that connect with people's values and this helps infuse work with meaning. But if these goals are too extreme, or grandiose, or vague and confusing they create little meaning for people in the company. This destroys a sense of purpose.
Can you recognise any of these traps in your organisation? Have you fallen into any of them yourself? What can you do to avoid them and create meaning and purpose that motivates your people towards greatness?
Extreme Motivation
Following the theme of motivation - something fun from the TEDx Talk series. This one features Diana Nyad, a long distance swimmer in the 1970's. At 60 years of age, she attempted her longest swim ever - from Cuba to Florida. She speaks about how to prepare mentally to achieve an extreme dream, and asks: What will YOU do with your wild, precious life?
