PLN 49: Unmotivated Team? What 12,000 Diary Entries Reveals

Time to Read: 3 mins 

"My team just needs to be more motivated."

I hear some version of that sentence a lot, from leaders, business owners, managers... sometimes even from team members themselves.

And when I ask what they've tried, the answers are usually pretty similar: a team-building event, a rah-rah pep talk, a shiny new incentive layered into the mix.

Everyone reaches for whatever might spark the motivation.

And, to be fair, so did I back in my corporate sales management days.

It usually worked... for about a week. Then we'd be right back where we started.

It's only now that I understand why.

Tucked inside that approach is a belief most of us never think to question: motivation comes before action.

It sounds logical, right? Light the spark 🧨 and the reaction follows 💥.

But that's only half the picture.

Researchers Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer had 238 professionals, across seven companies, answer a short survey at the end of every workday for about four months, on average. This resulted in nearly 12,000 diary entries, which included ratings on emotions, motivation, and perceptions of the work, along with notes on what happened each day.

On days when people made progress, even a small step forward, they were more motivated by the work itself. On setback days, motivation dropped, and some people even felt apathetic about doing the work at all.

Of everything the researchers examined, progress in meaningful work was the single biggest lift.

The same researchers also surveyed 669 managers about what motivates people. Only 35 of them (about 5%!) ranked supporting progress first. Most ranked it dead last, and put recognition at the top.

Recognition does help, and it showed up in the diary data too. It just wasn't nearly as powerful as progress. Plus, there's not much to recognize until something moves forward.

Which makes our starting belief a little shaky. Motivation can spark action, AND action can spark motivation. Yet the second direction gets far less of our attention. 

And it’s easy to understand why. Motivation is the easier lever to pull, which is probably why we reach for it first.

Progress in meaningful work takes more thought, largely because of misconceptions about what makes work meaningful.

But the truth it... your team doesn't need to be curing cancer or solving world hunger for their work to matter to them. Meaning can be personal, too.

One person might light up when a favorite client gets real results because of the work they did. Another may find inspiration in knowing their role makes the work better for their teammates.

Helping each person find that thread, and then clearing the way for progress toward it, is where you come in as a leader.

How can you do this? I'm so glad you asked. 😉

💡 Practionable Takeaway

1️⃣ Start with you. The next time motivation dips on your team, notice what you instinctively think and do. Understanding your own patterns here is an important piece of the equation, especially long term.

2️⃣ Ask each person: What about this work matters to YOU? It’s quite possible they’ve never thought about it in a personal way. Helping them to surface their connection to the work will give them something more meaningful to work towards.

3️⃣ Make it intentional. When you interact with them, ask questions that specifically tie to the meaning they uncovered. Work to keep them anchored to it so they continually feel fueled by making progress on meaningful work.

🎥 Want to Go Deeper? 

If making progress is what fuels motivation, it's worth asking what happens when progress keeps stalling out.

My issue on why your brain loves a finished task digs into what all those half-finished loops quietly do to your self-trust, and why closing them builds momentum.

You can read it here.

To Your Success,

Laura 💜🧡

P.S. What are your go-to strategies when motivation stalls? Hit reply and let me know — I’d love to hear about it!