My book review this week is on Jurgen Appelo’s book – Managing for Happiness. As the sub-title (Games, Tools, and Practices to Motivate Any Team) suggests the book is a very concrete manual, with specific games, tips, and ideas for motivating teams and bringing more joy into the workplace. It’s not about ping-pong tables, coffee and fancy perks. It’s about managing well. The author’s premise is that happier teams are more productive. Two major ideas include:
- Intrinsic motivation is key. The word CHAMPFROGS is a mnemonic to help remember ten ways of building intrinsic motivation.
- Curiosity – give people plenty to be interested in.
- Honor – are your teams proud of their work?
- Acceptance – do people feel accepted and appreciated?
- Mastery – is the work a stretch?
- Power – can your teams influence outcomes?
- Freedom – some people feel empowered by autonomy.
- Relatedness – are people developing rewarding social relationships?
- Order – some people need more certainty than others; few thrive in chaos.
- Goal – some people want to feel a higher calling in their work.
- Status – the pursuit of status is not limited to wealth accumulation.
- Rewards motivate people to get more rewards. They can actually damage the productivity and relationships on your team. So be careful. The six rules of rewards:
- Don’t promise them in advance.
- Keep them small.
- Continuously reward, rather than doing it only once.
- Make it public.
- Reward the behavior, not the result.
- Rewards should come from peers, not supervisors.
