Which of the following is most motivating to workers?
- Recognition
- Incentives
- Interpersonal support
- Support for making progress
- Clear goals
If you guessed #1, you are like most managers, but you are WRONG. A multi-year motivation study with hundreds of subjects found that it is actually #4. On 76% of subjects’ best days, progress was mentioned (compared to on only 25% of their worst).
The study warns managers and leaders to “…Scrupulously avoid impeding progress by changing goals autocratically, being indecisive, or holding up resources. Negative events generally have a greater effect on people’s emotions, perceptions, and motivation than positive ones, and nothing is more demotivating than a setback…”
Read more information about this study here.
Becoming the Boss 