LEADERSHIP: ARE YOUR CARROTS FRESH AND SWEET?

Published: 2007-04-10   please add a comment below

As children, we learnt about rewards.  We got dessert, if we finished our spinach.  We went to the fair, if our rooms were tidy.  It's not surprising therefore that as adults, incentives still work for most of us. 

But, it's also worth remembering those other childhood experiences that resulted in disappointment or anger.  We helped clean the garage, but someone forgot to give us the cinema money.  We did well in our exams, but no-one said anything.

So, is it surprising employees are dismissive when incentives are trivial or arbitrary?  Thereby, destroying motivation rather than creating it.

How would you rate the structure and quantum of incentives and rewards in your organisation?  More importantly, would your people say they're effective or not?

What approaches seem to work?  Here are some from successful client organisations I've seen over the years.  We're not all the same, so ensure you tap into a range of motivators.  Some executives and managers are turned on by money; others by opportunities for training or secondment.  Recognise both hard and soft factors - taking account of both quantifiable results (such as sales or production figures), but also less measurable contributions to teamwork or development of intellectual property.  Differentiate appropriately between different levels of high performance.  In some industries, stars will double their salaries and more.  In others, a 25% bonus is seen as good.  And, remember to praise and acknowledge people as well, both for performance and effort.

And, don't forget to reward yourself appropriately from time to time.  And, here's a way - which is also an interesting challenge!

Dr. Timothy Pascoe AM
PhD (Cambridge), MBA (Harvard), BE & BEc (Adelaide)
Creator, V|E|C|T|O|R Leadership^®