The IKEA Effect: Why We Love What We Build - and Why That Can Be a Problem

I first heard about The IKEA Effect from Damian Hughes on the High Performance podcast. It’s one of those ideas that immediately resonated with me - a simple phrase that explains a deeply human truth.

In short, the IKEA Effect is a cognitive bias: we tend to overvalue things we’ve had a hand in building. Whether it’s a piece of flat-pack furniture or a new leadership programme, once we’ve put in effort, we believe it’s worth more. The name comes from the IKEA experience - you build it yourself, so you feel more invested in it… even if it ends up a bit wobbly.

This idea struck a chord because it describes something I’ve felt first-hand over the past two years: the emotional attachment that comes from building something of your own, in my case, Growth Consulting.

Building a business and the bias that comes with it

When you start a business, you pour in your time, energy, experience, and belief. You shape every element: the services you offer, the frameworks you develop, the brand you put out into the world. And in doing so, it becomes personal.

That sense of ownership is incredibly powerful. It fuels the long hours, the tough decisions, the persistence when things don’t land first time. You believe in what you’ve created - sometimes more than is perhaps rational. That’s the IKEA Effect in action.

It’s also why we sometimes find it hard to let go, to make a change, to listen to feedback or to recognise that what we’ve built, whilst it may be meaningful to us, might not be perfect for those we’re trying to serve.

In my own journey, I’ve caught myself falling into the trap. Holding onto ideas just because I built them. Feeling defensive about suggestions to change something that took weeks of thought and effort. Wanting to protect the work rather than improve it.

But the longer I do this work, the more I realise that building something isn’t the same as finishing it. Value doesn’t just come from the effort we’ve invested. Instead it comes from how useful, relevant, and resonant that thing is to others.

The IKEA Effect at work

The same bias shows up in organisations every day - especially in the areas of leadership and culture.

• A team resists a new process because they designed the current one and are proud of it.

• A leader doubles down on a programme that isn’t delivering because they championed it.

• A senior exec defends the old values because they helped write them even though the culture has moved on.

We get attached to what we’ve built. And that attachment can either drive improvement or block it, depending on how we manage it.

In my culture change work, co-creation is critical. When people have a hand in shaping something - a new way of working, a team charter, a behavioural framework - they’re far more likely to buy into it. Not because it’s perfect, but because it’s theirs.

This is the upside of the IKEA Effect: ownership builds belief. It gives people pride, accountability, and motivation.

But it only works when we stay open to iteration. When we treat what we’ve built as a starting point and not a sacred object.

What this means for leaders

So how do we stay conscious of the IKEA Effect and use it to help us?

Here are a few principles I try to apply in my own work (and that I share with the leaders I support):

✅ Name the bias. Once you know it exists, you can start to notice it both in yourself and others. Ask: Am I defending this because it works, or because I built it?

✅ Design for co-creation. If you want people to own a change, involve them and involve them early. Let them shape it. Shared effort leads to shared belief.

✅ Build in feedback loops. Get input from others who weren’t involved in building it. Their perspective helps counterbalance your own bias.

✅ Stay purpose-driven, not pride-driven. Be proud of what you’ve built but be even more committed to why you built it. That makes it easier to evolve, adapt, and even dismantle what no longer serves the purpose.

✅ Know when to let go. Sometimes, the bravest move is to walk away from something you care about because something better is waiting to be built.

One final reflection

The IKEA Effect isn’t a flaw in our thinking it’s a feature of being human. We care about what we create. We’re wired for meaning, contribution, and identity. The key is being conscious of where that bias helps us grow and where it might be holding us back.

So whether you're leading a team, shaping culture, or building a business from scratch:

Keep building.

Take pride in what you've achieved.

But don’t forget to step back and ask the harder question - Is this still the best way? Or am I just in love with it because it’s mine?

If this resonated, I’d love to hear your take. Where have you seen the IKEA Effect at work - in yourself, your team, or your organisation?