How often to you agree to something trivial, only to forget to actually follow through with it? Well, that trivial thing might have more impact than you think. Research shows that when we set expectations but don’t deliver, it has an enormously negative effect on people’s motivation.

We’ve all done it. We say “yes, sure. I’ll get onto that tomorrow.” And we forget. If you are a leader, then your ability to deliver on these commitments and expectations is paramount if you want your people to do their best work.

The Expectation Effect

Some recent research showed what happens to the dopamine levels inside our brains when we set expectations and if they are delivered. Remember, dopamine is the chemical that signals motivation, reward, makes us feel good, and keeps our attention. In short, it is THE performance chemical.

The researchers measure the level of dopamine in subjects under a number of conditions. When the researchers told people they were going to get a financial reward, the level of dopamine went up dramatically. Later, when those people received their financial reward, the level of dopamine went up again – to exactly the same level.

This shows us that expecting to get a reward is produces the exact same effect on our dopamine levels as actually getting the reward.

But what happened when the reward wasn’t given? In this case, the dopamine levels didn’t only drop back to baseline, nor did they stay the same as previously. When subjects found out that they weren’t ogint to get the expected reward, dopamine levels dropped off the scale. This represents a severe decline in motivation, attention and even problem solving, amongst other performance traits.

A little disappointment goes a long way

Most people think this only works for significant rewards, but it also happens for relatively ‘trivial’ things. Have you ever been waiting to cross the road at a set of lights, maybe you’re in a bit of a hurry, you press the button to get the walk signal and wait patiently. The other direction gets their walk signal and start crossing the road. Surely your turn’s next. The cars start racing through the intersection again for a while, then comes the red light. It should be your turn, but instead, somehow the other crosswalk lights up again and you are left waiting.

The expectation was that it was your turn to cross next. When it didn’t happen, you most likely got really irritated. This is a trivial thing, but it still set that dopamine response into action. If you were really in a hurry, chances are it also elicited some irrational behaviours and thinking.

And so it is with our people. Send that dopamine response on the downslide and you’ll find that they can’t do their best work – they might become irrational and exhibit some behaviours that aren’t productive.

Upholding expectations is a simple process that has very effective results. Stay on top of this if you want your people to do their best work.

A study recently showed that people who were allowed to use Facebook at work were actually more productive than those who weren�t. As astonishing as this sounds there might be some underlying reasons for this that sit at the heart of productivity. So let’s take a look at why his might happen and then what we can learn from it.

There are a number of conditions under which people are more productive and seem to work better. When I say work, I mean the sort of work that characterizes the information age. That is, creative thinking, problem solving and working smarter, not harder.

Being able to access Facebook during work hours helps to satisfy two of these conditions – autonomy and belonging.

Autonomy � having control over our own resources

It has been shown countless times that when people feel a sense of control or autonomy, they are better able to control stress, problem solve and think critically. Control over resources is important. When budgets are micromanaged and heavily prescribed, there isn’t a team in the world that doesn’t say “Heck! Why don’t they just give us the money and let us spend it the way we need to? We know better than anyone how to use the budget to its best effect!”

This holds true for most resources, including time. When we allow people to use their time how they want – without micromanaging or telling them what they can do and when – we might actually see them make better use of their time.

Most employees feel that they are experts at what they do – they do it every day – so they know how to best use their time. But is Facebook-ing the best use of time? If they’re using it to disconnect and recharge for a moment before working at high intensity again, then it could well be.

Belonging � Facebook feeds social connectedness

Social support and feeling connected to people is a major contributor to productivity. When people have a feeling of social support and connectedness, they are better able to handle stress and a decrease in stress leads to an increase in productivity. Take for example people who are about to undergo surgery. When people are merely able to hold the hand of someone they care about, the stress reaction (characterized by heart rate, blood pressure and the level of stress hormones) decreases dramatically.

Connecting with people with whom we feel safe also has a positive effect on problem solving and creativity. Simply conversing with other people helps provide a different perspective on a problem and can often be the seed that creates a new solution. This happens even when we’re not talking about the specific problem in question – in fact sometimes that works even more effectively.

But won’t people abuse the privilege?

Sure some people will. But most people are pretty reasonable. In many situations where people are given control of a precious resource, they tend to treat it fairly responsibly. In one particular study, they compared patients with chronic pain and divided them into two groups. One group had to call a nurse to administer their painkillers, while the other group was able to self-administer their drugs. Contrary to expectations, the patients who were allowed to self-medicate used less of the drug. Amazingly, they also reported feeling less pain. Might this be another by-product of a feeling of autonomy?

So, what can we learn from this?

Well, the real lesson is that if we can create a feeling of autonomy and belonging then we get more productive people. Facebook might be just one example of this.

But the other lesson is this: we often make rules for the sake of those people who might offend. We make blanket rules because we think that one or two people might do the wrong thing if we give them a chance. Start making rules that satisfy the people who will do the right thing – and then manage the people that don’t.

We all do it. And usually to our own detriment.

There’s not necessarily a pattern: sometimes the task is too hard, sometimes too boring. Sometimes it’s too big or other times it’s too trivial. Whatever the case, there are two real explanations for why we procrastinate.� One is changeable and the other isn’t.

The unchangeable reason: we are wired to be lazy

Human beings have an inbuilt, hard wired tendency to do the easiest thing. This is an evolutionary throwback and one of our most useful survival mechanisms. Our need to survive taught us to preserve energy. After all, you don’t want to be attacked by a saber-toothed tiger (or another human) only to find out that your fuel tank is empty and you are unable to run away or put up a good fight.

For this reason we found ways to save energy physically. For instance, we found an optimal walking speed that allowed us to cover a good distance but which also left us with enough in reserve to run or fight if we needed to. Likewise, we also saved energy mentally by doing the easier thing. We still do this today – given the choice between two things our overwhelming tendency is to do the thing that requires the least energy. This natural tendency is impossible to change, but you can fool it – which is the topic for another post.

The Changeable reason: we get a buzz

The first thing that weed to know here is that patterns of behaviour are reinforced by a chemical called dopamine. Whether it is a physical skill like swinging a golf club or a behaviour like your child tidying up their room, or even a pattern of thinking, the circuits for all of these things are strengthened by this same chemical. Dopamine is also called the reward chemical – it is responsible for the good feeling we get when we get something we like. This is the mechanical reason that positive reinforcement reinforces patterns of behaviour.

But why do we get a reward response when we choose not to do something? Especially when it’s detrimental down the track? Well, every time we decide to do the easier thing, we can internally relax a little. We get that little omens of ‘phew! Now I don’t have to do that hard thing’ and that is what creates the dopamine rush.

So the unfortunate reality is that procrastination re forces procrastination. It gives us a little dopamine reward and therefore reinforces the behaviour for next time.

How do we stop this from happening? Here are two things you can do

1)��� Reward the harder thing.

Plan a small reward for doing the harder thing – this might be a quick trip to the coffee shop or reading an article that you’ve saved and haven’t had a chance to get to. It’s important to set up the reward first because the expectation of reward produces dopamine. This way the dopamine is for doing the harder thing rather than the easier thing

2)��� Set a short time limit to get the harder thing done.

Take a stopwatch or use the countdown timer on your smartphone and set it for no more than 60mins. Set yourself a target of completing the task (or part of the task if it will take longer that this) and then press the start button. This creates a sense of immediate deadline and produces both adrenalin and dopamine in small amounts. Again the dopamine is for the harder thing rather than the easier thing. It’s important to use a timer rather than just looking at the clock. The clock doesn’t give the same sense of urgency.

There are others things we can do to beat procrastination. Try these simple ones first and then we’ll deal wit some others in a later post.

The simple rule is that when you practice, you actually get better. But when it comes to multitasking (or technically, task-switching) we find the exception to the rule.

The accepted wisdom is that as we have become accustomed to the information age and the influx, overload and immediacy of this information, we have developed skills to cope effectively. We are becoming better at managing a number of separate tasks all at once, with more efficiency, controlling our attention between multiple activities.

This is wrong.

New research shows that people who are heavy multitaskers don�t actually get bet at multitasking, but they do get better at something � getting distracted. Heavy multitaskers are prone to getting more distracted by irrelevant information than those who don�t multitask as much.

While it seems that we�re practicing multitasking, what we�re really practicing is getting distracted. This is more evidence that we need to focus on completing one thing at any given point in time.

Here are some tips for maintaining focus:

• Be clear about the most important thing you need to do at any point in time
• Turn off your email alerts on your computer AND your phone. For those brave enough, divert your telephone if you need intense focus
• Don�t be afraid to close the door to your office for an hour or two when you really need to knuckle down
• If you work in a cubicle or open plan office, have a signal for when you�re working flat out � put your headphones in or something similar (even if you�re not playing music)
• Talk to your team about this so everyone�s on the same page

Multitasking has been proven time and again to impair productivity, increase error rate and increase time on the primary task. But still we do it and, worse, we might even expect it of our staff.

Another argument against multitasking come from neuroplasticity. It seems that we only really embed behavioural change when we focus on an activity with full attention. When we just �go through the motions� and get distracted, the behavioural re-wiring is only temporary.

Stop multitasking, start focusing.

�Your job as a manager is to make yourself redundant.�

It�s an old line that has helped inspire many leaders to manage their teams in such a way that they, as a leader, are not really needed anymore. The team can run itself and the leader can happily go on holidays without a care that the team will be in great shape when they return.

However, I recently spoke with a manager who does not believe in empowering his staff at all. And I was quite surprised to find out that he had come back from a holiday and found that the team had functioned terrifically.� That�s when I learned of the shortcut he had taken.

There are two ways to make sure that your team can run by itself. You can help them achieve Autonomy or you can force them to be Automatic. There is an enormous difference.

The Automatic team is so well drilled that they don�t put a foot wrong. They are like a well-oiled machine and will do the same thing over and over again without so much as a mistake. These teams can work well without a leader � all they need is for someone to wind them up and go. But what is the expense?

The Automatic team is great for tasks that require auto-pilots. However, if they have to solve an out-of-the-ordinary problem or give a client special attention, or if something out of left field goes wrong, they are toast. These teams don�t really have the ability to do anything outside of the norm. They wince at the need for abstract thinking and cannot make decisions by themselves. In short, they have been so well drilled that they become fearful of doing something different. �Correct� is so well defined that they are paralysed at the thought of doing something �incorrect�.

On the other hand the Autonomous team will thrive in this kind of environment. They are empowered to make decisions that will greatly benefit the team and have no hesitation in problem solving and choosing the correct path, even when thrown a curve-ball. Even if they are in an auto-pilot task, they will look for ways to improve and try new approaches to get things done.

Autonomy and Automatic are mutually exclusive. If you have shown your team that there is only one right way, then you miss out on the potential benefits that your team members can bring. However, there are probably also times to be Automatic � especially when under enormous pressure or following a strict protocol. Be sure to understand which one your team will benefit from the most and then strive to make it happen.

Only 5% of People can actually recite vision:

While speaking at a lunch the other day, I asked the same questions I ask every audience:

1) Who has a company Vision?

At this point the entire audience raises their hands. The other day, there were two hundred people in total, and I couldn�t see one person without their hand up in the air.

Then comes the follow up question:

2) Who can clearly articulate that Vision? And I mean, come up on the stage, take the microphone for 60 seconds and let everyone know what the Vision is and what it means.

Now at this point, without fail, only about 5% of the room puts their hands in the air.

This is disturbing.

The $5m Question:

After all, almost every organisation has a Vision, but why do we create these? Is it just something to put on the wall and walk past every now and then? Clearly not. We build a Vision in order to guide people�s actions and inspire them to turn up to work everyday.

There is something I like to call the �5 Million Dollar Question�. Put simply, it�s this: if one of your employees won $5 million today, would they still turn up to work tomorrow. The answer for most organisations is �no way�. But a clear vision that inspires people and causes them to come to work everyday with a sense of purpose has the potential to supersede financial motivation.

So where do we go so wrong?

A compelling vision needs three main attributes if we really want it to do it�s job:

1) It needs to be EMOTIONAL
It has to appeal to people�s emotions in order to incite the kind of motivation and purpose that people really want. Without an emotional response, the next two factors are hard to execute.

2) It needs to be MEMORABLE
The Vision needs to be constructed so that people can recall it easily. One of the key roles of Vision is to shape people�s actions. And since we make choices on an hourly basis about the behaviours we undertake, the guiding Vision needs to be front of mind so that people make the right choice more often than not

3) It needs to be CREDIBLE
Without credibility, people won�t believe. If it�s too far fetched, has no evidence or is something that didn�t work in the past, then be prepared for people to actually disengage.

So these are the three main criteria that a Vision needs to fulfil. If yours doesn�t match up, then scrap it and start again. Don�t keep the Vision alive just because it�s always been there.

In the next few posts, I am going to elaborate on each of the three factors and talk about the usual stumbling blocks that people face.