The real incentive: Leading by example
When organisations reach out for support, their request usually revolves around a practical issue with a seemingly straightforward solution.
“We’re not moving fast enough because people are spending too much time on things they shouldn’t be doing. We have started setting goals, but we don’t have enough time to follow up on them. It would be great if you can implement a solid framework.”
Seems simple, right?
Identifying the real issue
In cases like this, it’s entirely possible that there is a lack of clarity and that it causes people to spend time on unnecessary things. If so, implementing a goal setting framework could be a good first step to start solving that.
However, what I often find is that it’s not that straightforward. Many times undesired behaviour is a result of conflicting incentives that are unintentionally created and reinforced through a leader’s own behaviour.
A personal example
As a team lead, I urged my team to avoid overworking and to take compensatory days off after busy periods. Despite my sincerity, I was the first to arrive in the mornings and often worked evenings and weekends without taking any compensatory time myself.
Not only did my words not match my actions, my style of working was also appreciated within the company. Me telling my team to take care of themselves was not as much of an incentive for their behaviour as was seeing me work a lot and be successful with it.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Needless to say, nobody changed their work habits until I did.
Something being said is not strong enough to counter something being done. If the two are inconsistent, it’s likely that the latter prevails.
You can write on the wall that you value openness as part of your company culture, but if team members are consistently not taken seriously when they speak their mind, they are not very likely to open up over time.
Similarly, goals can be set and clearly communicated, but if leadership comes in with shiny new projects on a regular basis and expects the team to jump on board, then it’s not surprising that people start spending their time on different things.
Aligning words and actions
If what you say you want, and what you do are not aligned, and perhaps even contradicting each other, you’re likely incentivising behaviours that you are hoping to avoid. Changing a process or implementing a new framework will not be enough.
Working towards real behaviour change:
Identify and address implicit incentives
Align leadership’s words with actions
Implement strong processes to support desired behaviour
To truly drive change, it's crucial to remove discrepancies between words and actions. By aligning leadership behaviour with organisational goals and establishing strong processes, you can foster the desired behaviours and achieve lasting results.
