Ask leaders what motivates their people, and many will name recognition, pay or clear goals. All of those matter. But one influential line of research points to something simpler and easier to overlook: the feeling of making progress on work that matters.
What the research found
Harvard Business School professor Teresa Amabile and psychologist Steven Kramer studied thousands of daily diary entries written by people working on creative projects inside companies. Each day, participants described their work, their feelings and the events that stood out. When the researchers analyzed the entries, a clear pattern emerged. Of all the positive events that shaped how people felt about their work, making progress in meaningful work stood out as the most important. Even small steps forward were linked with better moods, stronger motivation and more creative thinking.
Amabile and Kramer called this the progress principle and described it in a book of the same name. One of their more striking observations was that many managers did not rank supporting progress as a top motivator, even though it showed up so strongly in the diaries.
Why setbacks hit harder
The same research found that setbacks had a powerful effect in the other direction, and negative events often seemed to weigh more heavily than positive ones. A day when work felt blocked, undone or pointless could drag motivation down significantly.
That matters for leaders in midsummer, when vacations, slow approvals and missing colleagues can leave projects stuck. A team may be working hard and still feel as if nothing is moving. Leaders who notice this can make a real difference.
Make progress visible
Progress motivates only when people can see it. Leaders can help by making small wins part of the team’s ordinary rhythm:
- Start or end a weekly meeting by asking each person to share one thing that moved forward.
- Keep a shared board or document where completed steps are recorded, not just open tasks.
- Connect daily work to its purpose by reminding people who benefits when the task is done.
- Break large projects into milestones that can actually be reached within a few weeks.
- Notice partial progress, not only finished outcomes.
Remove what blocks it
Amabile and Kramer also described supports that help people move forward, such as clear goals, enough time, help with problems and access to resources. They called these catalysts. Leaders can ask a simple question in one-on-one conversations: what is slowing you down right now? Then do what they can to clear the path, whether that means making a decision, finding information or protecting focus time.
Equally important is avoiding the things that quietly undermine progress, such as shifting priorities without explanation, holding back information or dismissing the importance of someone’s work.
None of this requires a big budget or a new program. It requires attention. A leader who helps people see and make progress each day gives them one of the most powerful motivators there is, and it is available every single workday.
New messages, real moments from the road, and the All Is Well Project. Follow along and say hello.
The lessons behind everything Chris teaches. Start with three chapters, free.
Turn the lessons into your comeback.
Talk it through free with the Team Dorrity coach, or work with Chris one-on-one in The Better Than Back Experience.
