Culture Works

Leadership Research

Research by Adrian Gostick & Chester Elton

For more than two decades, their studies of recognition, teamwork, culture, and resilience have shaped how the world's best organizations lead.

Two Decades · The Research Model
Recognition The Carrot Principle
Teamwork The Orange Revolution
All In · Culture All In
Resilience Anxiety at Work
1M+ Leaders Reached
30+ Countries
New York Times Bestselling Authors
Research Used by Fortune 500 Organizations
Trusted By
The Foundation

Our Core Areas of Leadership Research

Two decades of research across four domains — each grounded in landmark studies and bestselling books, and each a framework leaders can apply.

Recognition & Engagement

How the best leaders use recognition to engage their people, retain talent, and accelerate performance.

Rooted in The Carrot Principle

Teamwork & Collaboration

What separates the highest-performing teams — and the disciplines that turn any group into one.

Rooted in The Orange Revolution & The Best Team Wins

Culture & Belief

How leaders align systems and behaviors to build a culture where people are engaged, enabled, and all in.

Rooted in All In

Resilience & Well-Being

How leaders reduce workplace anxiety and keep teams steady, healthy, and performing through change.

Rooted in Anxiety at Work
Two Decades of Discovery

The Evolution of Our Research

A continuous journey to understand what drives performance — each phase building on the last, never quite linear.

The Early 2000s
Phase 1

Recognition

  • The Carrot Principle
  • The 24-Carrot Manager
  • Managing with Carrots
Phase 2

Teamwork

  • The Orange Revolution
  • What Motivates Me
  • The Best Team Wins
Phase 3

All In · Culture

  • All In
  • Leading with Gratitude
Phase 4

Resilience

  • Anxiety at Work
  • The Gratitude Habit
Today

Flagship Research & Books

Research-driven ideas that have helped millions of leaders and organizations perform at their best.

The 24-Carrot Manager

Recognition unlocks talent and builds stronger teams.

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Managing with Carrots

Recognition that attracts and retains the best people.

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A Carrot a Day

365 daily ideas for recognizing and motivating your team.

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The Invisible Employee

Use recognition to see the hidden potential in everyone.

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The Orange Revolution

Break down silos and align teams around shared goals.

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What Motivates Me

Discover what drives individual motivation and strengths.

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All In

Build a culture of belief, accountability, and high performance.

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Leading with Gratitude

Eight leadership practices for extraordinary results.

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Anxiety at Work

Practical strategies for reducing stress and building resilience.

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Research in Action

Our research has informed real-world initiatives and measurable results across industries.

Healthcare

Improving physician engagement and patient experience.

Financial Services

Strengthening leadership accountability and performance cultures.

Technology

Building collaboration and innovation in fast-growing teams.

Government

Strengthening service, accountability, and team resilience.

Education

Building positive school cultures and educator well-being.

Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast
Free Research Report

Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast

A 300,000-person study on what actually builds high-performance cultures — and why employee engagement alone isn't enough to sustain results.

Why engagement alone falls short 3 traits of the most profitable cultures 7 steps managers use to build them How to apply it across your org

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