Quote

Choice involves freedom of thought—being able to act out of one’s own understanding of the situation. The elaborate rules of the compliance era were intended to box in workers’ judgment and behavior. I once saw a safety poster that actually said “Don’t Think!”—implying that free thought was dangerous. In contrast, managers in the new-work world are encouraging workers to think “outside the box.” This “box” is made up of the old constraints on thinking: the elaborate rules, the established procedures and precedents, and the tradition of relying on the boss’s judgment rather than their own and of using prevailing assumptions instead of their own understanding. The freedom of thought of committed workers has become a vital competitive resource that produces inventions, innovations, continuous improvement, renewal, and customer satisfaction.

Quote ID: 00316

Author

Kenneth Thomas

Source

Intrinsic Motivation At Work

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