Meaningful Work – Quote by Teresa Amabile

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“Of all the things that can boost inner work life, the most important is making progress in meaningful work.”

 

In 2011, Teresa Amabile revealed some research she and her team had been working on that completely upended what was previously thought about leadership and engaging your employees.

It wasn’t fear-based, it wasn’t money-based, and it wasn’t necessarily touchy-feely “let’s hug it out”-based.

Meaningful Work

Source: Harvard Business Review – The Power of Small Wins

To find these new answers Teresa had 26 project teams across seven companies fill out diaries at the end of each work day.  The result was writings that revealed what made people the happiest in their work, and what made them want to continue working even when they didn’t have to – in other words, “Discretionary Effort”, the holy grail of any Employee Engagement initiative.

That means of all the things that can boost inner work life, the most important is making progress in meaningful work.

It is also the key to any Employee Engagement framework you give your leaders to lead by.  By writing down outcomes and clear steps to get there, you’re giving your people the basic clarity they crave.  But by matching those tasks to their personal strengths, and then tying your outcomes to a higher meaning, you’re unlocking a deeper engagement. Finally, by removing blockers and clearing the path for them, you’re enabling that happiness that Teresa discovered, and now you have some happy and deeply committed people working for your cause.

Further, in his book “The Game Changer” by Dr Jason Fox, the entire premise for engagement through gamification was progress – but to make progress visible. This takes it to a new level, and is also a key Lean Principle – “Visual Management”.

– David McLachlan

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