A split-screen digital illustration shows two mythological figures pushing boulders uphill. On the left, Sisyphos appears strained and frustrated, with a thought bubble containing an exclamation mark and angular, steep terrain. On the right, Naranath Bhranthan is smiling as he carries a boulder, surrounded by warm tones and a happy face icon. The title above reads: โ€œFrom Sisyphos to Joyful Grit: How to Motivate Through Effort, Not Just Success.โ€ The contrasting visuals emphasize differing attitudes toward effort and perseverance.

From Sisyphos to Joyful Grit: How to Motivate Through Effort, Not Just Success

Extreme effort, frequent frustrations?

Turnarounds and other ๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ can feel like that. Greek mythology considered this scenario a punishment: Sisyphos was condemned to maximum effort and daily setbacks.

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Facing so many setbacks, how can we sustain our turnaround efforts?

Interestingly, Indian mythology also had a man rolling a rock uphill every day. But amazingly, this guy ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ท๐—ผ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฑ the procedure. ย So, how to become a Naranath Bhranthan rather than a Sisyphos?

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One way is to learn to expect fewer successes.

Our โ€œrewardโ€ neurotransmitter dopamine helps with this; it stays elevated as successes becomes rare, keeping our spirits up. You can support this mechanism by noticing and celebrating not only the big, but also the ๐˜€๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜ƒ๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€.

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But wouldnโ€™t it be much better to not even depend on success?

To naturally choose the harder task? Because you enjoy the challenge, irrespective of outcome? This is probably a good mode during turnaround (if less so during business-as-usual). ย 

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Fascinating new experiments show that this can be achieved by ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด people for ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ task (rather than rewarding them for results only). What leadership skills do you need for this?

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One, being able to ๐—ท๐˜‚๐—ฑ๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐˜ required; you must have some understanding of the actual work that is necessary. Two, rewarding people ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€; you must have touchpoints throughout, not only to see the results.

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And remember: โ€œMoney โ€ฆ is very often the most expensive way to motivate peopleโ€ (Dan Ariely). Many people will appreciate other rewards just as much, such as genuine interest in their work and friendly support.