Do Small Steps Help People Work Together Better?

What is it about?

Coordination is a critical component in the success of many activities—whether in business, government, or even personal projects. The question is, how do you get a group of people to work together effectively? One solution, explored in this study, is "gradualism." This approach suggests starting with small, manageable tasks and gradually increasing their complexity as the group gains confidence and trust in each other’s abilities. Imagine a team tackling a project. Instead of jumping straight into a challenging task, they begin with smaller, more achievable goals. Success in these smaller tasks builds momentum, boosts confidence, and makes it easier to take on larger challenges. This approach doesn’t just apply to work teams; it’s used in a wide range of fields. In business, for example, new teams often start with easy projects to ensure they can coordinate well before moving to more complex assignments. In law enforcement and military operations, teams are trained on less critical tasks before handling high-stakes assignments. Even in financial sectors, like microfinance, small loans are issued first and then gradually increase as the borrower proves they can handle larger amounts. Gradualism also plays a key role in international coordination. A great example of this is the 1997 Anti-Bribery Convention. Instead of introducing sweeping regulations all at once, the effort was broken down into smaller steps that allowed different countries to join the initiative at their own pace, ensuring better participation and effectiveness. Our study investigates whether the gradualism approach works in high-stakes settings. Using controlled experiments, we found that groups who started with smaller, simpler tasks coordinated more successfully when faced with challenging situations, compared to groups that tried to tackle difficult tasks right away. This suggests that the success of earlier, simpler tasks strengthens the group’s ability to handle more complex challenges down the line. The effectiveness of gradualism stems from two key factors. First, the approach provides clear choices: group members must fully commit or opt out. This clarity helps everyone make firm decisions. Second, starting with smaller tasks builds confidence. As the group tackles easier challenges, they grow more confident in their ability to succeed, which carries over to even tougher tasks. In simpler terms, taking one step at a time helps build coordination and makes it easier for groups to work together and succeed, especially when the tasks are big and complex.

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Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash

Photo by Michał Parzuchowski on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Effective coordination is vital for success in many organizational and economic activities. Yet, achieving it isn’t always straightforward. Our study sheds light on a simple but powerful mechanism to improve coordination—gradualism. This approach involves starting with smaller, lower-stakes tasks and gradually moving to larger, higher-stakes challenges. For the first time, our study demonstrates how this step-by-step method can help groups coordinate more successfully, ultimately achieving socially optimal outcomes. What sets our study apart is its innovative use of a behavioral game theory model and a randomized laboratory experiment to show that gradualism outperforms other approaches to coordination. By starting with low-stakes tasks and increasing the difficulty over time, we found that groups are more likely to succeed in complex, high-stakes tasks later on. This gradual buildup not only boosts confidence but also strengthens the group’s ability to handle challenges as they arise. Our findings also highlight an important spillover effect. People who experience gradualism in one group setting tend to contribute more when they join new groups. However, if their contributions go unrewarded, they become less inclined to contribute in future groups. This suggests that for gradualism to work, it needs to be paired with positive reinforcement in the long run. The implications of this are significant, especially for organizations or societies that involve diverse cultural or institutional backgrounds. Gradualism can help create the right environment for cooperation across different groups, but it requires careful management to ensure it produces lasting benefits. The importance of this study extends beyond the laboratory. It offers practical insights for managers in fields where coordination is essential. Whether in finance, law enforcement, venture capital, or even healthcare, industries that rely on effective teamwork can benefit from the gradualist approach. In real-world teams, gradualism can be used as a strategy to gradually ramp up the stakes, helping groups succeed in larger projects with bigger investments. Moreover, it can also act as a risk-mitigation tool, allowing managers to assess performance in low-stakes situations and swap out low-performing members before the stakes get too high. Ultimately, our study provides a valuable insight for managers: leading a group from simple tasks to more complex ones can foster stronger coordination and higher productivity. Gradualism can be a game-changing strategy to ensure successful group performance in high-stakes scenarios, making it a powerful tool in any leader's toolkit.

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