Author: Susan Fowler

(Image credit: Mohamed Nohassi/Unsplash Images) I was curious to see the results of an AI search on “How to motivate employees.” As someone who’s devoted her career to applying empirically sound motivation science, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Still, I was dismayed by the amount of misinformation and never-proven motivation practices.  I find it fascinating… Continue reading Leader beware: How AI perpetuates mistruths about motivation

I’ve always been fascinated by unexpectedly fruitful friendships throughout history. Take the bond between Albert Einstein and Henry Ford that teaches us the value of mentoring. Or how a cross-generational creative collaboration like the one between the late great Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga can keep you relevant. (I even appreciate how photos of unlikely long-term companionship between animal species remind… Continue reading Lessons on motivation from the odd friendship of Maslow and Frankl

As a kid one summer, I captured grasshoppers in a glass jar. I was transfixed watching the mechanics of them jump. I remember the ping as they flung themselves against the tin lid I’d punched holes in so they could breathe. Before going to bed, not wanting to wake up to a jarful of dead… Continue reading Free your leadership by challenging assumed constraints

Warren Buffet regards WD-40 Co. as a brand with one of the best competitive moats on the planet — meaning it can fend off competition and maintain profitability into the future. Most people assume that WD-40’s success is the product’s secret formula. And they are right.  But Chairman Emeritus Garry Ridge believes it’s the company’s other… Continue reading WD-40’s secret formula might surprise you, Garry Ridge says

“You can’t motivate someone else — motivation is an inside job” is a widely accepted leadership axiom. So why do managers keep trying to motivate people from the outside in? Why do they attempt to manipulate behavior by incentivizing goals with tangible and intangible rewards? Why do they praise, hand out tokens and award badges… Continue reading Why keep trying to motivate people when you can’t?

Motivation is at the heart of everything people do (and don’t do). This truth begs a question: As a leader are you focused on honing your motivational leadership skills? Or, like so many managers, are you still held accountable for leadership competencies rooted in outdated command-and-control, leader-centric, and carrot-and-stick management theories at odds with what… Continue reading Why mastering motivation makes good business sense

Coping with radical change is taxing. For people to thrive rather than merely survive requires complex processing, reflection, learning — and psychological sense.  Psychological sense™ is a person’s ability to fulfill their foundational psychological needs so they can experience optimal motivation, sustained high performance, and a state of thriving. When people unlock their psychological sense,… Continue reading Unlocking psychological sense

Procrastination is more than a symptom of bad time management. You might not be surprised that procrastination is linked to depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness and reduced life satisfaction. But a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s (JAMA) online network in January 2023 relates procrastinating with severe mental health problems, disabling pain,… Continue reading Proof that procrastinating is bad for your health

If you’re exhausted heading into the new year, join the crowd. Ask most people what’s to blame for their depleted energy, physically and mentally, and they point to one major category of ills: profound change. This is where I ask you to depart from the crowd. Change isn’t the culprit zapping your energy — change… Continue reading Strategies to experience a positive difference in the new year

You might consider me a member of the correctness police. Your disdain might be justified, for I know my advocacy for certain ideas can come off as over-the-top. I may drive my team nuts, for example, when I ask them to eliminate the term “drive” from their vocabulary. To be fair, I only request it… Continue reading How leadership language can drive employees nuts