Cutting-Edge Leadership

The best in current leadership research and theory, from cultivating charisma to transforming your organization.

by Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D.

Using “Small Wins” to Advance Your Work Career

By Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D. on January 2, 2012 in Cutting-Edge Leadership

A new program of research has discovered a powerful motivator: the idea that "small wins" at work can increase your motivation, your productivity, and your work engagement and satisfaction. How does this work? Read More

Have Done Lists

Submitted by Lyndsay Katauskas on January 2, 2012 - 2:11pm.

I think celebrating the small wins is what motivates us to want to do more good work. It also lets us keep our focus on the actions and behaviors that we are engaging in to produce more of what we want--whether that is customer satisfaction, an increase in productivity, accolades, knowing we're good at what we do, helping our team, etc. It also seems to help people create a mindset that is present-future oriented so they can plan ahead to feel the same result of another small win, rather than hold out for a long-term goal that may or may not have clearly defined. The rewards keep us focused on what's important. I also encourage people to make "Have Done" Lists at the end of the day so they can see all that they've accomplished over the day, rather than focus on all of the items on their to-do list that were not able to be checked off during that day (or in the days to come). Thanks for a great article Dr. Riggio--I'll add to my list of articles that I'll be sharing with clients and friends.

Lyndsay Katauskas, MEd
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