Daniel Pink, The Telegraph, 2/14/11
Who, What, Where, When, Why and How can be referred to as the 5 W’s and an H. Daniel Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind points out that the Why is often unanswered by organizations. However research by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, shows that answering the Why motivated individuals to work harder on their projects, take a personal stake in their work, and produce greater results. Pink provides 2 tips as how to answer Why in a work environment to help motivate your team:
Provide A Context: What is the purpose of your organization? What are their goals? Has Your Team Defined a “Why”? Team members should be singing the same tune. Their messages should be consistent and their responses to Why should share common themes.
Keep the Why Alive: On a frequent basis, revisit they why: the purpose and why the daily activites conrtibute to the overall purpose and goals.
