Progress Brings Hope!

We’ll talk about ‘the progress principle’ today. To set the background, Harvard professors came up with the initiative of ‘using progress stories to build hope’ to help the top leaders understand where their organization and employees are headed. The initiative was a lengthy one involving 238 employees from seven different companies. The employees were asked to fill a short survey daily to understand their moods and feelings, and to brief an event from the day that stands out for them in the form of a short anecdote. The research continued for months resulting in a collection of around 12,000 stories summarized in the form of ‘the progress principle.’ 

Making progress each day in meaningful work – describes, in a nutshell, the events that stood out for the employees. The employees and managers/leaders get into many deliberations with each other or separately to discuss work-life. However, “daily progress made” hardly finds its mention during those discussions. Hence, the survey came across as a shocking revelation, leading to a novel approach to keeping the employees motivated and organizations on the move. Talking about the progress we make daily, individually, and as a group not only keeps us in high spirits but also encourages us to do better each day. The simple formula keeps us on the move and enables us to move with the times.

Massive scientific experiments are also based on this simple principle –monitoring the results of daily experiments, keeping track, celebrating the success of each phase, and moving on to the next stage. 

How to get started?

If you are wondering how to include this as a process, we have three ways for you. Would be good to include all, but at least one to start with:

• Individually: Nothing better than inculcating a good habit yourself. Sit with yourself at the end of each day, make a diary entry, pen down your daily progress, and treat yourself for every progress (no matter how small) you make and every change you accept.
• Family: Family and friends stand by us during hard and challenging times. Discuss and appreciate the daily efforts put in by your parents, spouse, siblings, or children.
• Workplace: If you are a manager, it’s good time to start this practice now for your team. If you are an employee, form a group with your peers and spare 15 minutes daily for this activity. You might also suggest this to your leads and management and make them a part of this exercise.

Hope the blog conveys a meaningful and doable message. Stay tuned for more such write-ups.