Behaviour – management’s obsession

How come Thomas behaves this way at home and yet a different way at work? He is the same person, though behaving in a different way. What is driving his behaviour?

“Management” try to drive, influence, manipulate behaviour with “consequences” – either positive or negative, incentives or punishment respectively. Daniel Pink, author of “Drive”, questions the effectiveness of this approach – “When it comes to motivation there’s a gap between what science knows and what business does”. Looking at my time as an employee I don’t think consequences ever got the best out of me. I became obstructive and difficult which usually led to more consequences. Oh, if only I knew then what I know now!

We are all highly complex individuals; I wonder if carrot and stick tactics can ever secure the right behaviours and what are the right behaviours anyway?

So how come Thomas behaves one way at home and yet another way at work? Perhaps if we looked at that instead of obsessing about the manifestation (behaviour) we might make some progress.

What happens when you put your brightest, best behaved, superstar employee into a corrosive work environment – who wins over time, the superstar or the system? And what are the tell-tale signs of a corrosive environment? Yes you got it – “management” always talking about behaviours!

Maybe it’s Thomas’ work system that is driving his behaviour. Or is he really the only one behaving that way?

There is an art to creating an environment for success, I think that’s a worthy obsession.