You Can Be an Influencer – Part VIII: Are Your Reward Systems Backfiring?
“Influence masters first ensure that vital behaviors connect to intrinsic satisfaction. Next, they line up social support. They double check both of these areas before they finally choose extrinsic rewards to motivate behavior.” – Influencer
Often with influencing or motivating others, the first thing that we think of and do is connected to an extrinsic reward or punishment. I see this in myself with parenting. I want my child to clean up her bedroom. The first thing that comes to mind and out of my mouth tends to be clean it or suffer this consequence. I want a quick and easy result of a clean room, so issue an order. Unfortunately, my desire for a quick result is taking priority over engaging my child. It also backfires, because my daughter becomes defiant about not cleaning her room. It becomes a battle of the wills. She eventually cleans her room but our own relationship becomes distant.
Extrinsic motivation can be helpful and useful when used properly. So, how do we use it well? Let’s look at three rules for effective use of external motivators.
Extrinsic Rewards Come Third
Extrinsic motivation does have its place in influencing others. However, it comes THIRD in the list of steps to influencing others. When wanting to influence others, it is worth to pay the time to engage the individual to identify their personal motivators. Even though external rewards can seem quick and easy, they repeatedly have been shown to only motivate a behavior short-term. However, an intrinsic satisfaction will provide an endless supply of motivation. The second step is social motivation, which connects to accountability.
Let me give you an example of this step-by-step process with Jason, a coaching client. Jason is a valuable employee, but had not been completing a task at work. Jason, his supervisor and I met to clarify expectations and find ways to support Jason in moving forward with this responsibility. First, we discussed the responsibility and clarified it into a defined goal.
Then, his supervisor brought up the idea of using a consequence to move Jason forward with the task. I pointed out the anger that immediately registered across Jason’s face, which would probably lead to defiance. Instead, I suggested we ask Jason what he saw as internal rewards or consequences that would move him forward. Jason stated that gaining the approval of others was a strong motivator for him, and that he wanted to gain his supervisor’s approval. In a previous coaching session, Jason had discovered that a central value for him is helping others. Connecting this task to his value system would be a high motivator. Jason stated that now that he was clear on the expectations for the task at hand, he could move forward.
Next, we discussed accountability. Jason and his supervisor had not been meeting on a regular basis. Instead, comments were just being shared while quickly passing in the hall. A regular supervision time was set. This time would allow for Jason and his supervisor to clarify responsibilities, check-in on progress, and gain trust by building relationship. If Jason did not follow through with his responsibility, then a pre-determined consequence would go into effect. To date, Jason has been moving forward with his task.
Link External Rewards to Vital Behaviors
We can get into trouble when we link rewards to results instead of behaviors. If we are not watching the behaviors, sometimes people will use poor behaviors to get to a result just to receive a reward. And then the poor behaviors the employees are using backfire on the organization. The book, Influencer, gives this example, “One hospital found that anesthesiologists who were paid on personal production were less willing to jump in and help one another when someone else’s patient was reacting badly.” So they may have increased production, but hurt the hospital’s value of providing quality service.
In his book, Kaizen, Masaaki Imai gives a great example of how they reward behaviors instead of results. He shares how they awarded the presidential gold medal to a proposal that saved the company smaller amounts of money compared to other proposals given that saved the company much more money. Why? Because they were rewarding process, not results. Money was a result. The group that was chosen received the reward because their process best represented Kaizen principles, their identified vital behaviors.
Jon Gordon, a sought after speaker and best selling business author, in a seminar reinforced this idea. He talks about focusing on your purpose and the results will take care of themselves. Purpose goals drive number goals, not the other way around.
My daughter’s cross country coach is talented in motivating, and I enjoy watching her at work. She connects and engages each of the girls individually and rewards persistent behavior and attitude. When seeing persistent behavior in a child, she always praises them. She doesn’t focus on the team results at the end of the race, but praises the incremental improvements in the individual. Last year the team won state for elementary schools.
With Punishment Choose Wisely
Rewarding the right behaviors is always the first choice with external motivation. Punishment can work, but it does have draw backs. With punishment, you may get compliance but only over the short term. It may also lead to a person rebelling, or the person may not appreciate what you have done and put the relationship at risk. However, sometimes people never show the right behaviors and continually show the wrong behaviors. If you have tried to engage intrinsic motivation and social support, but still the wrong behavior continues, punishment is another step in accountability.
I often see this problem in organizations, where people refuse to fire employees who repeatedly violate a core value. For example, if a company has “excellence” as a core value, but an employee does not make the cut on their defined responsibilities in their performance evaluation, consequences need to happen. If behaviors are not held accountable, all employees see the core values as a sham.
When giving punishment, the best tactic is to make the consequences clear before-hand. The book, Influencer, calls it “placing a shot across the bow.” Let them know the negative things that will happen if they continue the behaviors, but don’t give the punishment yet. Use this as a warning. For some, the warning will be enough for people to change. However, if change does not happen, you must follow-through.
So, how do you use internal and external rewards? In my own life, it is often easier to coach others than apply to myself, but that is why looking in the mirror is so important. At the beginning of the article, I gave an example of my own struggle with my daughter. Here is how I am working to change. The other day, I needed my daughter to comply with a request, and instead of giving an order, I gave an activity that tied to her intrinsic interest that led to her compliance. Also, with cleaning rooms, it has become a part of a charted rewards system. My husband and I are also writing down our family core values to make expectations clear. If my business has core values, I think it would be a good idea for my family team also.
How do you motivate others? I would love to hear your ideas. I have an assessment tool that helps to identify a person’s motivators. Please call me at (812) 881-6862, email or connect on the Imajine Unlimited Facebook page.