It's not true in every organization, but it is true in many. Managers often don't understand their employees. They don't know how to motivate, inspire, and correct people effectively. As I work with my clients, I hear the same questions repeatedly: "How do I get my employees to ?
?quit complaining?"
?do more than the bare minimum?"
?contribute in meetings?"
?show up on time?" etc.
I also hear all kinds of answers for each situation. Some proposals are good, and some are not. The good suggestions show an understanding of human nature and an effort to apply behavioral principles. The bad ones usually feel good to the manager, but they violate some basic principle of human relations.
Human behavior is a complex subject. However, events that appear to be random, isolated behaviors actually fit into predictable patterns for most people. If you understand the patterns, you will know what to do in most situations. I've developed the Five Be's of Motivation to reduce these patterns to five easy to remember and apply principles.
So, let's get started?
1. Be Positive
People do things for one of two reasons: to avoid pain or to pursue pleasure. As a manager, you constantly work between these two options. If you use negatives - like verbal reprimands, threats, or other punishments - to drive behavior, people will do just enough to avoid the pain. You will condemn yourself to bare minimum effort from your employees. If you focus on rewarding good behaviors, you improve the odds that you will get cooperation and extra, discretionary effort rather than conflict, complaints and bare minimum performance.
Noticing unacceptable behaviors and stopping them with punishment is easy. It takes effort to recognize good behaviors and praise them. You need to do both; but the more you recognize the good, the less likely you are to see the bad.
2. Be Specific
Make sure you speak only about specific behaviors. Whether you administer discipline or offer praise, the more specific you make your words the better.
Emotional involvement (anger) from a negative situation often makes specificity a bigger challenge during discipline. For example, one of your employees consistently challenges you in meetings. Many people get angry at the situation and tell the employee to "stop being rude and inconsiderate." Well, "rude" and "inconsiderate" are interpretations of behavior, not behaviors. A better statement would be, "I don't appreciate it when you interrupt and challenge me. I see those behaviors as rude and inconsiderate. I won't do it to you, and I don't expect you to do it to me." (I suggest you do this in private.) Depending on the situation, you might take further disciplinary action based on company history and workplace rules. Whether you take further action or not, focus on specific behaviors and not interpretations.
Here are some examples:
- Rude, inconsiderate, disrespectful, arrogant, obnoxious, flighty, unfocused, smart aleck, and pushy are interpretations.
- Interrupting, rolling eyes, speaking loudly (or softly), shrugging shoulders, looking away, walking away, and tone of voice are specific behaviors.
3. Be Certain
People act based on what they expect to happen to them in the future. Whether it's avoiding pain or pursuing pleasure, it's still about expectations. Your employees need to know - without a doubt - what to expect from you based on their actions.
Make sure that everyone clearly understands the rules of conduct in your workplace. Ideally, you will write down anything that is mission critical to your operation. I don't suggest that you make your employee handbook look like the Code of Federal Regulations, but you should have a few well-written and clearly defined behavioral expectations for your business. People need to know the rules. They need to know what to expect when they follow the rules - and when they don't.
4. Be Consistent
Consistency works in close partnership with Certainty. It is Certainty's twin in the daily struggle to create a high-performing, results-oriented team. If you don't consistently apply your workplace rules, your employees will never develop a sense of certainty.
Consistency applies to both positive and negative behaviors. If you say that you will reward certain behaviors, then always reward them. If you say that certain behaviors are unacceptable, always act to stop them.
5. Be Immediate
Act now. When your employees do something worthy of praise - do it now. When they need correction - do it now. Delayed consequences have very little impact on behavior.
I'll illustrate the point with my behavior.
I like cheesecake. Eating cheesecake offers me both immediate and future consequences. The future consequence is negative - I could develop a weight or blood pressure problem. The immediate consequence is positive - it tastes good and gives me pleasure. When I have the opportunity to get cheesecake, I find it difficult to resist even though I understand the negative consequences. Why? The immediate, certain positive tends to overshadow the future, possible negative.
Acting immediately has an added benefit when the behavior is inappropriate. If the behavior continues without correction, you are likely to get angrier every time you see it. As you get angrier, you will probably have more difficulty keeping your response proportional to the behavior (i.e. ? not blowing your stack). Act now and you will be better able to maintain self-control.
Copyright 2005, Guy Harris
You may use this article for electronic distribution if you will include all contact information with live links back to the author. Notification of use is not required, but I would appreciate it. Please contact the author prior to use in printed media.
About the Author:
Guy Harris is the Chief Relationship Officer with Principle Driven Consulting. He helps entrepreneurs, business managers, and other organizational leaders build trust, reduce conflict, and improve team performance. Learn more at http://www.principledriven.com
Guy co-authored "The Behavior Bucks System TM" to help parents reduce stress and conflict with their children. Learn more about this book at http://www.principledriven.com
ohare limo service Grand Rapids ..I'm often asked, "Why is my team always fighting fires... Read More
Multiculturalism is a reality in North America and for those... Read More
Franchisees of a particular franchise must get along in order... Read More
From the moment he putted with Bob Hope on the... Read More
One of the greatest challenges a coaching manager has is... Read More
We exist in such a rapidly-changing environment. Technology is moving... Read More
Maybe you find yourself in a new team environment and... Read More
In most organisations the administration/support team, although they can be... Read More
Introduction:Working with teams, whether as leader of a single team... Read More
Today, most of us have been involved in a team... Read More
Have you seen the tee-shirt with the slogan, "Talk to... Read More
Last month's edition of Footprints and Monuments illustrated a parallel... Read More
Team Building Question:Our office has recently learned that about 20... Read More
"When teamwork kicks in, nobody can beat you." Don Shula,... Read More
A tight knit team is a group of competent individuals... Read More
In days past, loyalty was a given. The worker in... Read More
The Dance of ConflictWhen faced with the prospect of meeting... Read More
The first in a series of articles giving a slightly... Read More
Do you remember how you felt after your last interaction... Read More
Why do we human beings complicate things? Is it that... Read More
The second in a series of 2 articles giving a... Read More
Many believe a leaner government promotes better freedoms with respect... Read More
When was the last time you spent excessive time and... Read More
To be a success is not always to be a... Read More
Franchisors should also be heavy on the award side of... Read More
executive chauffeured services Barrington Hills ..As a business owner, I've had staff come and go... Read More
A Successful Team is built around mateship, around respect for... Read More
Teams, teams, teams. They're all the rage these days. Whether... Read More
A tight knit team is a group of competent individuals... Read More
Over the years there has been much ado about team... Read More
Do you let your people express their thoughts about the... Read More
For companies to be competitive, decisions have to be made... Read More
Managing a small business continues to become more challenging. However,... Read More
Having experienced more than my fair share of conflict over... Read More
Everyone knows, works or lives with "innies." Who are they... Read More
At a time when many companies are scaling down their... Read More
Have you seen the tee-shirt with the slogan, "Talk to... Read More
So much has been written on this subject; Team Work,... Read More
As a manager, your employees will come to you with... Read More
Picture yourself entering a corporate meeting, team meeting, or business... Read More
1. Humor reduces stress levels and stress is the number... Read More
Did you know your work environment can actually make you... Read More
Young minds are quite easy to shape. International Terrorist recruiters... Read More
I declared a Communications Major two years into school, after... Read More
"Asking questions can be a means of establishing authority, fulfilling... Read More
The world of work has changed. It used to be... Read More
Feedback is such an important communication tool. Openness, honesty, candor,... Read More
For a brief time, I tried to sell life insurance.... Read More
Reed Employment made a survey of their clients and compiled... Read More
In the constantly changing world of Call Centers, asking agents... Read More
Team Building |