There is a spectrum of management styles.
Carrots or sticks?
I happen to believe more in the ‘carrots’ or positive reinforcement style. I have witnessed tyrant bosses wielding a large ‘stick’ too. There is some good research reported in the best selling book, The Carrot Principle, by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. They report that the practice of workplace recognition achieves better results in motivating employees.
They break down the styles of managers with respect to recognition into four types:
Positives (26 percent) – Those who believe in recognizing employees and practice it with or without the company permission.
Fearful (20 percent) – Instinctively lean toward recognition but are apprehensive about acting without permission from upper management.
Controllers (22 percent) – Those who might be inclined to recognize employees but who resist because of their overly analytical natures – nervous of the imprecise aspects of recognition such as inequity or jealousies.
Negatives (32 percent) – Those who do not believe at all in recognition, many vehemently opposing it on the basis that it is a waste of time.
The result
The research provides solid evidence that the ‘positives’ enjoyed the highest employee trust levels and the most productive teams while the ‘negatives’ were the least productive with the least engaged team.
This is great news! The book is highly recommended since the authors provide the how and why of building a recognition culture in a company.
If you were in the survey, which group would you be in?
