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BOOK REVIEW: THE PROGRESS PRINCIPLE
“Something attempted, something done
Has earned a night’s repose”
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
The Village Blacksmith
The Progress Principle: Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, Harvard Business Review Press
This path breaking book deals with the question of during the course of their research, the authors found
what really motivates employees and makes them that fluctuations in performance depend on fluctuations
perform at their best. Based on extensive research, it in inner work life that arise from events in a person’s
introduces the concept of Inner Work Life, which is work situation, regardless of personality traits or other
defined as “the confluence of perceptions, emotions characteristics.
and motivations that individuals experience as they
react to and make sense of the events of their The authors studied the relationship between
workday”. It refers fundamentally to workday performance and inner work life using four dimensions
reactions to on-the-job events; it is unique to each of performance-creativity, productivity, commitment
person, e.g., my inner work life experience is different and collegiality (interpersonal support to team
from yours; and it is inner because it is rarely members). Their findings: Creativity, productivity,
expressed and usually imperceptible to others. commitment and collegiality (and therefore
Inner work life is made up of three components. The performance) are all higher when the three components
first of these is Perception: about managers, the of inner work life- perceptions, emotions and
organization, the team, the work, and even oneself. motivation- are positive. For instance, there is a
The second is Emotion, which may be positive or definite connection between creativity and favorable
negative, triggered by any event at work; the third is perception; people were more creative when they saw
Motivation- the drive to do something or not. their organization and its leaders in a positive light; as
However, Inner work life is not a fixed state, or even a collaborative, cooperative, open to new ideas, and
“steady state” of equilibrium. On the other hand, it is willing to reward creative work. By the same token,
the consequence of a dynamic interplay between a not only is there a direct relationship between positive
person’s perceptions, emotions and motivation at any emotions, e.g., happiness, and creativity, but in some
point during the workday. It is a system, a set of cases, creativity can even follow from positive
interdependent components that interact over time. emotions. For instance, the happier a person’s mood is
However, it should not be confused with personality; on a particular day, the more creative thinking he will
be likely to do on the next day. The reason for this lies
Indranil Mitra, Assistant General Manager (PMI) in the realm of neuroscience, and involves patterns of
Email – imitra@ntpc.co.in activation of certain areas of the brain.
95
“Something attempted, something done
Has earned a night’s repose”
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
The Village Blacksmith
The Progress Principle: Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer, Harvard Business Review Press
This path breaking book deals with the question of during the course of their research, the authors found
what really motivates employees and makes them that fluctuations in performance depend on fluctuations
perform at their best. Based on extensive research, it in inner work life that arise from events in a person’s
introduces the concept of Inner Work Life, which is work situation, regardless of personality traits or other
defined as “the confluence of perceptions, emotions characteristics.
and motivations that individuals experience as they
react to and make sense of the events of their The authors studied the relationship between
workday”. It refers fundamentally to workday performance and inner work life using four dimensions
reactions to on-the-job events; it is unique to each of performance-creativity, productivity, commitment
person, e.g., my inner work life experience is different and collegiality (interpersonal support to team
from yours; and it is inner because it is rarely members). Their findings: Creativity, productivity,
expressed and usually imperceptible to others. commitment and collegiality (and therefore
Inner work life is made up of three components. The performance) are all higher when the three components
first of these is Perception: about managers, the of inner work life- perceptions, emotions and
organization, the team, the work, and even oneself. motivation- are positive. For instance, there is a
The second is Emotion, which may be positive or definite connection between creativity and favorable
negative, triggered by any event at work; the third is perception; people were more creative when they saw
Motivation- the drive to do something or not. their organization and its leaders in a positive light; as
However, Inner work life is not a fixed state, or even a collaborative, cooperative, open to new ideas, and
“steady state” of equilibrium. On the other hand, it is willing to reward creative work. By the same token,
the consequence of a dynamic interplay between a not only is there a direct relationship between positive
person’s perceptions, emotions and motivation at any emotions, e.g., happiness, and creativity, but in some
point during the workday. It is a system, a set of cases, creativity can even follow from positive
interdependent components that interact over time. emotions. For instance, the happier a person’s mood is
However, it should not be confused with personality; on a particular day, the more creative thinking he will
be likely to do on the next day. The reason for this lies
Indranil Mitra, Assistant General Manager (PMI) in the realm of neuroscience, and involves patterns of
Email – imitra@ntpc.co.in activation of certain areas of the brain.
95
