Weekly Quote: The Science of Motivation

I recently began reading Get it Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation by Ayelet Fishbach. I’ve heard Ayelet’s name mentioned by psychologist and Grit author Angela Duckworth on the No Stupid Questions podcast. I enjoy Angela’s perspective, so this felt like a great book to pick up.

As a leader, I have found meaningful and effective goal setting with team members to be a challenging task to do well. I’ve thought a lot about it because I was responsible for twenty annual performance reviews in my most recent position. They required goals aligned with the business needs and individual engagement goals. It was a lot of work to do well, and it was a personal priority that each team member felt like I was giving them my attention and care. I think I did a pretty good job, but I’d like to learn more.

I’m enjoying that Get it Done delves into the science behind motivation and, inversely, demotivation. It’s a complicated subject, and I’m already learning a lot, challenging some of my own beliefs and practices, and taking notes on how to get better at goal setting.