9 Stupid Management Practices (and what to do instead)
Just because every organization uses these management practices does not make them effective:
- To achieve management excellence, you need to avoid faulty management practices
- Managing individual behaviour is the answer, but it requires an understanding of the basic behaviour-based principles that drive good performance.
Here are 13 of the most commonly used and misguided management practices, along with alternatives to consider.
#1 Employee Of the Month:
What’s wrong?
A program meant to motivate all employees to deliver superior performance can only have one monthly winner. The others are left with performances that go unrecognized — violating every known principle of effective positive reinforcement.
What to do instead!
Understand what you want to achieve as a result of this kind of program, and then establish an initiative based on criteria that recognizes all employees who deliver outstanding performance.
#2 Stretch goals
What’s wrong?
It is proven that people fail to reach stretch goals 90% of the time. The primary reason is that stretch goals are typically set too high.
What to do instead!
Set many mini-goals. To achieve the kind of improvement an organization needs, in both people and production, managers must ensure that positive reinforcement is delivered for the many small achievements along the way to reaching the larger, desired goal.
#3 Performance appraisals
What’s wrong?
Any system that doesn’t recognize performance as it’s happening misses the opportunity to get the most out of and the best from employees.
What to do instead!
Set up an environment in which each employee knows how well they have done at the end of every working day. Evaluate each performer against what they are expected to do, not against others.
#4 Ranking
What’s wrong?
Your competition is outside your organization, not inside. Publicly displaying how employees rank based on objective measures breeds unhealthy competition and inhibits sharing and teamwork.
What to do instead!
Evaluate individuals and units in terms of what they need to accomplish, rather than comparing their performance to others. When the conditions are right, people will not only achieve at high rates but also help others do the same.
#5 “you did a good job, but…”
What’s wrong?
It has become commonplace to provide positive and constructive feedback. While it may seem efficient to address both at once, the positive statement rarely has the intended effect, and employees tend to focus only on the negative.
What to do instead!
Be clear to separate the good and the bad. Give the good feedback first, and deliver the corrective input at a later time. That way, the good will be valued, and the employee will be more responsive to the corrective feedback.
#6 the sandwich
What goes wrong?
The sandwich practice is a cousin of the “you did a good job, but…” And creates a “waiting for the other shoe to drop” environment where attempts at social reinforcement are received with suspicion.
What to do instead!
Be direct. If behaviour needs correcting, pinpoint the behaviour to be stopped: tell the person the consequences of continuing the undesirable behaviour. Then discuss the behaviour you want to see in its place and positively reinforce all instances of the new behaviour.
# Overvaluing smart, talented people
What’s wrong?
Smart, talented people are not in short supply. Thinking that some employees are more competent than others is harmful to all.
What to do instead!
Most of what we call talent is nothing more than unrecognized practice. Given the right environment, most people can become “smart and talented.” Create a culture where managers are rewarded for the number of “smart, talented people” they produce, not just for the number they hire.
#8 Promoting people no one likes
What’s wrong?
There is a perception among leaders that managers who are well-liked are not effective at producing results. There is a correlation between ineffective managers and other operational costs: high turnover, grievances, absenteeism, training, and recruitment.
What to do instead!
Look for managers and leaders who achieve results the right way: those who understand behaviour from a scientific perspective and can design systems, policies, and procedures that bring out the best in people every day. These folks are always well-liked.
#9 all forms of reorganizing
What’s wrong?
Financial considerations almost always take precedence over human ones in any form of reorganization. None will be successful without the energetic and enthusiastic behaviour of all employees. Yet plans for creating such behaviour are usually a mere afterthought.
What to do instead!
Make decisions quickly. Incorporate the best practices of both organizations into the work of the new organization. Integrate policies, management practices, and managers. Ensure that all managers understand how to incorporate positive reinforcement into the new organization’s work on the first day, so that employees will recognize it and trust that everything will be okay.
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