Dan Ariely on Motivation

This is a TEDx talk. About 25min, but highly relevant!

[ted id=1706]

The take-homes:

• acknowledge the contribution being made (don’t forget to give yourself kudos too),
• give context and meaning to tasks.

People will work harder and feel happier if their task has meaning, and if they know someone will see those results. On the other hand, a powerful de-motivator would be to cancel a project and not seem to notice that the work has been done. Even worse: have someone complete the work, then to pull it to bits or throw it away to make way for something else.

We can easily be focussed on other things and forget that our team are invested in and attached to the work they have contributed. If you develop a habit of saying “thanks”, this will help you avoid this problem.