Why your team loves the plan they build
The IKEA effect is the tendency to value things more when we help create them. In a 2012 study by Norton, Mochon, and Ariely, people valued boxes, origami, and Lego sets they built themselves far more than identical pre-made ones. For leaders, it means your team is more likely to follow plans they help build.
You spent your whole weekend on it. The new process for client onboarding. Step by step, beautifully organized, with a checklist and everything. You rolled it out Monday morning. Your team nodded politely. Then Friday comes around and nobody is using it.
If that's happened to you, the problem probably wasn't the plan. It might have been that it was your plan.
The IKEA effect
In a set of studies published in 2012, researchers Michael Norton, Daniel Mochon, and Dan Ariely had people build things: simple IKEA storage boxes, origami frogs and cranes, and small Lego sets. Then they asked people how much they'd pay for their creations.
People who had built something valued it much more than people looking at an identical, pre-made version. The origami folders valued their own amateur, somewhat lumpy creations almost as much as the market valued origami made by experts. And they assumed other people would value them just as highly.
The researchers named this the IKEA effect: we place extra value on things we helped create.
There was an important catch, too. The effect only showed up when people finished what they were building. When participants built something and then had it taken apart, or didn't complete it, the boost in value mostly disappeared.
What this means for your team
Think about what happens when you build a plan alone and hand it to your team. To you, it's an IKEA box you put together yourself. You love it. You can see every clever decision in it. To your team, it's something that showed up pre-assembled. They didn't build it, so they don't feel much for it. And they didn't get to point out the three places where it doesn't match how the work actually happens. No wonder it didn't stick.
People support what they help create. The plans you most need your team to follow are the ones they should help build.
How to use the IKEA effect with your team
1. Bring a draft, not a finished product. Show up with 60% of a plan, not 100%. Leave real room for input. If the plan is already done, asking for feedback just feels like theater.
2. Ask specific questions. "Any thoughts?" gets silence. "Where will this break on a busy Monday?" or "What step are we missing?" gets real answers.
3. Let them own a piece. Give someone responsibility for designing one part: the checklist, the template, the handoff. Their part becomes their box.
4. Actually use their input. If you ask for ideas and then ignore them, you'll get fewer ideas next time. When you use someone's suggestion, say so. "We're doing it this way because Maria pointed out..."
5. Help them finish. Remember the catch in the study: the effect needs completion. Don't let team projects stall at 80%. Help them get to a finished, working version they can see and use.
A warning for founders
The IKEA effect works on you, too.
That plan you spent the weekend on? You probably love it more than it deserves, simply because you built it. Just like the origami folders, you may be overestimating how good it is and assuming everyone else will see it the same way.
That's a great reason to put your plans in front of your team early. They'll catch the flaws you can't see, precisely because they didn't build it.
Build it together
You don't need to give up leadership to get buy-in. You still set the direction, the goals, and the standards. But when it comes to how the work gets done, let the people doing the work help build it. You'll get a better plan, and a team that actually wants to use it.
It's a lot easier than assembling it all yourself anyway.
If you're rolling out changes that keep fizzling, let's talk about how to bring your team along.
Study to link: Norton, Mochon & Ariely (2012), "The IKEA effect: When labor leads to love"
Frequently asked questions
What is the IKEA effect?
The IKEA effect is the increased value people place on things they built themselves. Michael Norton, Daniel Mochon, and Dan Ariely named it in a 2012 study using IKEA boxes, origami, and Lego sets.
How do I get employee buy-in for a new process?
Bring your team a rough draft instead of a finished plan, ask specific questions like "Where will this break?", give people ownership of one piece, and visibly use their input.
Does the IKEA effect always work?
No. In the original research, the effect mostly disappeared when people didn't finish what they were building or had it taken apart. Help your team get to a finished, working version they can see.
