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So… anyone else feeling beaten over the head by dire stats on employee engagement?
Like, we get it—it’s tanked. Badly.
Knowing this is easy. Fixing it? Well… less so.
The secret? It might lie in a pile of Legos.
Hear me out.
Years ago, I saw a TED talk by behavioral economist Dan Ariely about an experiment he ran.
The TL;DR: A participant was paid to build a Lego Bionicle. Upon completion, their work was either displayed or immediately dismantled. Then, they were asked: Want to build another? And so on.
The result? The people whose Bionicles were dismantled tapped out - made way fewer - than the people whose work stayed intact.
The insight? Motivation isn’t just about getting paid. It's about believing your effort meant something.
We don’t need to be saving babies. But we do need to feel like our work has weight.
So, to the leaders who are really trying to win the engagement game—who are building programs and action plans—maybe today, you take a break. Take a breath.
And start here:
1. Know that dialogue matters
Not every meeting needs an update, a directive, or a list of action items. Sometimes, just bringing your team together to talk—about what’s shifting, what’s unclear, and what’s on their minds—is enough.
Just being in a conversation together allows you to collectively plan for – rather than be blindsided by – shifting priorities.
2. Celebrate learnings even as priorities shift
So if there’s a project in flight, and suddenly it needs to be deprioritized? Rather than leaving people feeling like it’s being dismantled before their eyes, harvest the insights. Ask questions like…
- What insights did we gain?
- What new skills did we build?
- What pieces of this work can form the foundation for what’s next?
Nothing is more demoralizing than erasing work. Instead, carry it forward.
3. Recognize inputs, not just outputs.
When we give someone a project (an output) and that project gets decommissioned, they lose the right to win. But. What if we invite that person to generate new inputs? Like…
- Experimenting with new approaches to problem-solving
- Building a diverse team to tackle a challenge
- Learning a new skill that makes work more effective
When employees know that what they bring matters—not just what gets delivered—motivation sticks around.
Can we start here?
Does this address the challenges you’re seeing? What’s missing? DM me —I’d love to hear what’s landing for you and what questions you still have.
Or, if you want to chat, click here to book a no-strings, 15-min Ask-Me-Anything!
Either way, wishing you a day full of meaning - that no one can dismantle.
Related: Storytelling: The Secret Weapon of Effective Leadership