More Than a Feeling—How Bank Culture Drives Profit [VIDEO]
Does bank culture really matter? Gallup tells us that if you have an average amount of disengagement, it will rob $3,400 from your bottom line for every $10,000 of...
Welcome to the Top 5 Percenter™ Blog
Employee Motivation Research Turned on its Ear
You’ve heard the expression, “You wouldn’t know a good thing if it bit you”? It’s a funny expression, but as it pertains to employee motivation, it’s right on the money.
According to a recent study by Teresa Amabile and Steven J. Kramer, when 600 managers were asked to rank the impact on employee motivation and emotions of the five workplace factors that are commonly defined as significant influencers—incentives, recognition, interpersonal support, clear goals, and support for making progress—they identified “recognition for good work” as Numero Uno.
And they were dead wrong.
When the researchers tracked the day-to-day activities, emotions, and motivation levels of hundreds of workers in many settings, they found that the top motivator was actually listed dead last on the managers’ survey.
The top motivator was (drumroll)…PROGRESS. That’s right, progress.
By analyzing 12,000 diary entries with the daily ratings of motivation and emotions, the researchers found that progress was the key factor on 76 percent of peoples’ best days and only 25 percent on their worst. Who’d have thunk it?
This is GREAT news, because unlike many other motivators, progress is something you can control, monitor, post, celebrate, and transform…and see results within days!
More From The Blog
How Do You Stop “Matching Price” and Set Yourself Apart as a Category of One
I've heard it a thousand times—a CEO will say to me, "I am so tired of lenders walking into my office and saying, 'Boss, I'm going to lose this deal unless we match the...
Why Is It So Important to Hold On to Low-Cost Deposits
When everyone is competing for a scarce item, it becomes difficult unless you improve at it. This is exactly what we need to do with low-cost deposits. Let’s face it,...
The Power of Cross-Sales—How to Do Them Without Being Salesy
I attended my first bank CEO conference several decades ago. You know what the theme was when people talked about cross-sales? They said, "My people are still order...
Why Culture Cannot Be Delegated
Sometimes, two different ideas seem to challenge each other. You've probably heard me say that everyone has a role in managing the culture of the organization. You've...
Everyone Is in Sales
I don't care what your position is; you have a sales position. Why? Let's say you're out with other soccer moms, and somebody mentions they're planning on building a...
Learned Helplessness
When I was working on my graduate studies in organizational development, I learned about the concept of learned helplessness. What I've discovered is that it’s a...
Can Strategic Thinking Be Taught or Nurtured? [VIDEO]
Ken Blanchard wrote several books years ago and conducted a research study. What he found was that the number one concern for business owners was the lack of people...
Getting Excited About Why Cross-Sales Matter [VIDEO]
Do you feel good about yourself when you help other people? What if you could get your team excited about having your clients acquire all the products and services...
Everyone is In Marketing [VIDEO]
Whenever I do the Breakthrough Banking Blueprint Conference, I ask the question “Who here is in marketing”, and one or two hands go up. I ask again, “Who here is in...