Whether they are trying to solve a major scientific mystery or simply produce a high-quality product or service, everyday progress-even a small win-can make all the difference in how they feel and perform. And the more frequently people experience that sense of progress, the more likely they are to be creatively productive in the long run. Through exhaustive analysis of diaries kept by knowledge workers, we discovered the progress principle: Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work. In our recent research on creative work inside businesses, we stumbled upon a remarkably similar phenomenon. Throughout these episodes, Watson and Crick’s progress-or lack thereof-ruled their reactions. When the duo finally had their bona fide breakthrough, and their colleagues found no fault with it, Watson wrote, “My morale skyrocketed, for I suspected that we now had the answer to the riddle.” Watson and Crick were so driven by this success that they practically lived in the lab, trying to complete the work. Dark days of doubt and ebbing motivation followed. According to Watson, “Our first minutes with the models…were not joyous.” Later that evening, “a shape began to emerge which brought back our spirits.” But when they showed their “breakthrough” to colleagues, they found that their model would not work. After the excitement of their first attempt to build a DNA model, Watson and Crick noticed some serious flaws.
The Double Helix, James Watson’s 1968 memoir about discovering the structure of DNA, describes the roller coaster of emotions he and Francis Crick experienced through the progress and setbacks of the work that eventually earned them the Nobel Prize. The authors provide a checklist that managers can use on a daily basis to monitor their progress-enhancing behaviors. The actions that set in motion the positive feedback loop between progress and inner work life may sound like Management 101, but it takes discipline to establish new habits.
It simply must matter to the person doing it. And the work doesn’t need to involve curing cancer in order to be meaningful. On the flip side, small losses or setbacks can have an extremely negative effect. The key is to learn which actions support progress-such as setting clear goals, providing sufficient time and resources, and offering recognition-and which have the opposite effect.Įven small wins can boost inner work life tremendously. This progress principle suggests that managers have more influence than they may realize over employees’ well-being, motivation, and creative output. If the person drags out of the office disengaged and joyless, a setback is likely to blame.
If a person is motivated and happy at the end of the workday, it’s a good bet that he or she achieved something, however small. In an analysis of knowledge workers’ diaries, the authors found that nothing contributed more to a positive inner work life (the mix of emotions, motivations, and perceptions that is critical to performance) than making progress in meaningful work. What is the best way to motivate employees to do creative work? Help them take a step forward every day.
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