Progress Principle: Post #9--Teams

Teams: When people have to work together to solve problems, performance depends on 4 factors: creativity, productivity, commitment, and collegiality. Of the four, creativity is most important in the 21st century. But all four are affected by the big 3 of inner work life—emotions, perceptions and motivation. Emotion: people performed 50% better on positive than negative days. Students who watched a comedy improved their problem solving. Incubation effect: Being more positive and creative on one day increases the likelihood that it will extend to the next day or two. Perceptions: When people saw leaders as collaborative and cooperative, they got more creative. If they perceived negativity or infighting, creativity took a hit. Motivation:  People are motivated by the intrinsic interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, and challenge of the work itself—not by threats or rewards! Just focusing on extrinsic motivations lowers creativity. Creativity actually gets worse with carrot-and-stick approaches. Individual creativity and productivity lead directly to corporate productivity (Harter, 2010). Mood and health: Mood affects the immune systems. Dissatisfied employees get sick—plain and simple. Monitor health, and you’ll get a clue about inner work life.