David Maddux, MBA, RBLP-T, ACC, CPC’s Post

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Dean, Congressional Staff Academy, U.S House of Representatives

I recently read Daniel Pink’s excellent book Drive – The surprising truth about what motivates us where Pink extends on research dubbed ‘The Sawyer Effect’. In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom faces the dreary task of whitewashing his Aunt’s fence. Bored with the thought of ‘work’, he promotes the opportunity as ‘play’ to his friends managing to enlist a willing workforce to replace him. The key motivational principle that Twain highlights here is that work is behavior we are obliged to do, whereas play is behavior one chooses to do. The Sawyer Effect relates to research conducted with reference to the drivers of motivation around work and play. Researchers experimented with children whereby they divided them into three groups. The first group was the ‘expected award’ group where children were told they’d receive a certificate and ribbon if they drew a picture. The second group was the ‘unexpected award’ group where children were simply asked if they wanted to draw (without the promise of awards). At the end of the session, the researchers then handed each child that drew a certificate. The third group was the ‘no award’ group. Children were invited to draw but no promise of award was made, nor certificates handed out at the conclusion. Two weeks later the teachers set up paper and markers for the children during a free-play period and invited them to draw. What happened next is fascinating. Children who were in the second group of ‘unexpected award’ and third group of ‘no award’ drew just as much as they had previously. However, the children in the first ‘expected award’ group showed much less interest and spent little time drawing. Researchers concluded that The Sawyer Effect had taken hold. They wouldn’t even play without a reward. What is your intrinsic motivation like? How do you reward people and motivate them? If you are using techniques like the first group of promising a reward to motivate them, then we need to talk, If you want to learn more about intrinsic motivation and tools to inspire and motivate your team, then we need to talk. Contact me at the email and website are listed below, so we can put some leadership in your life!  Don’t forget to like, comment, and follow so you don’t miss future videos.   Leadershiplucklife.com    leadershiplucklife@gmail.com #iPEC, #Lifecoaching, #Executivecoaching, #ICF, #managing, #leadership, #successful, #mentorship, #leadershipdevelopment, #inspiration, #peopleovereverything, #talentdevelopment #growthmindset #alwaysbelearning, #multitasking , #confidence, #connecting, #positive, #mindset , #priorities, #support, #followme, #motivation, #success, #management, #training, #life, #Mondaymotivation, #tomsawyer https://lnkd.in/e7wniAME

Tom Sawyer

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