Teamwork Tuesdays: Teresa Amabile: The Progress Principle

One of the most powerful ideas in motivation and performance comes from Teresa Amabile, called The Progress Principle.

After studying thousands of workdays across different industries, she found something surprising: It’s not big wins, bonuses, or recognition that drive people the most day-to-day — it’s progress.

She writes in The Progress Principle: “Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.”

That means people don’t need everything to be perfect or finished to feel motivated.
They just need to feel like they’re moving forward.

When people see progress — even small wins — they gain energy, confidence, and momentum. When they feel stuck, motivation drops quickly.

So as leaders, coaches, or teammates, the goal isn’t just to push for results.
It’s to create environments where people can see and feel progress every day.

That might look like:

• Breaking big goals into smaller steps

• Recognizing small wins

• Removing obstacles that slow people down

Because when people feel like they’re getting better, moving forward, and making a difference—they stay engaged, they stay motivated, and they perform better.

Simple takeaway: Progress fuels performance.

Something to Think About:

How can we create more opportunities for our team to see and feel progress each day — and what small wins are we currently missing or not recognizing?