Why Do I Give Two Hoots?

“And there is nothing wrong with Performance-Reward (Work=Paycheck). It is the contract that we make with employees. They show up each day and do their best in exchange for the agreed-upon compensation.”

Helen looked down, picturing something.

“I know you see yourself as a Motivator,” I continued. “And here is why Motivation is so important for managers.

“I asked you before, if I was getting the Performance I wanted, as a Manager, why did I give two hoots whether it was Motivation or Manipulation (Performance-Reward). Here is why.

Performance-Reward requires you, the Manager, to be present, either physically present or present-by-threat, meaning, you will be back to check on things. So, Performance-Reward requires the proximity of the Manager.

“Secondly, the duration of the behavior is short, happens only to the specification required to get the reward. And if something happens to threaten that reward, diminish that reward, delay that reward, the performance stops.

“And that’s why Motivation is so important. As a Manager, we need sustained performance even when we are not around. We need more than Performance-Reward.” -TF
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4 thoughts on “Why Do I Give Two Hoots?

  1. Kevin

    Hi Tom. First off, this is a fantastic blog, very insightful.

    I whole-heartedly agree with your opinion that performance-reward is not the same as motivation. Actually, I see evidence of it at work and at home (as a parent). But I feel like you’ve stopped short of giving us any real answers. You’ve told what motivation IS NOT, but you’re not telling us what it IS, either.

    Please pick up where you left off! 😉 What are some techniques we can use to create long-term motivation?

    Thanks,
    Kevin

    Reply
  2. kurt

    Tom,reading about rewards and motivation makes my thing about raising children. Apart from the emotional contract and the paycheck, I see lot’s of similarities. Creating opportunitiesetc.
    So is a good parent a good manager and is a good manager a good parent? I wonder … ;-))

    To repond to Kevins question from my experience. If you create innermotivation, you create long term motivation with people. But to create innermotivation, you need to look “inside”. And there were it’s often stops.

    Reply
  3. Tom Foster

    Kurt,
    I don’t know if a good parent makes a great manager or vice-versa. It’s possible. There are many similarities. Thanks for posting your thoughts. Gives me something to think about.

    Reply

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