INCENTIVES
advantage of years of experience and training. They’ve learned how to pace themselves in order to win. Your people may not have the same type of experience and perspec- tive. Consciously or unconsciously, they rely on their manager to set the pace that enables them to become winners.
Learning how to set a proper pace for subordinates requires determining where each person’s stress comfort zone lies. Research has shown that, up to a certain point, performance increases by increasing stress. This is the point where it’s effective to push people with deadlines, incentives, or other forms of pressure. Beyond this point, increasing stress causes performance to drop sharply – and only through decreasing the pressure will a manager be able to im- prove performance. This relationship between performance and stress was shown over 75 years ago by Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson at the Harvard Physiologic Laboratory. The results hold true today. Too little stimulation can be just as
Over- or Understimulation How the right mix creates management success KEN BLANCHARD
Most employees need stimulation. Stimulation such as pep talks, encouragement, or even nagging can spur people on to greater heights – or it can push them over the edge into exhaustion. The quality, quantity, and timing of stimulation determines whether such efforts are a positive or negative force.
Successfully providing stimulation to employees involves more than just lighting fires under them. Providing
18 | MARCH 2019 SELLING POWER © 2019 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.
the proper amount of stimulation is a question of energy and adapta- tion. Seasoned athletes have the
great a problem as too much. In one study, participants were restricted to a single room and told to do abso- lutely nothing. Most of them rated the situation unbearable after three or four days. During the experiment, the bored subjects developed tension, sleeplessness, personality changes, reduced intellectual performance, and feelings of depersonalization. Happily, all these symptoms quickly disappeared when they resumed their normal activities. Other research shows that people overwhelmingly agree that boredom on the job is even more uncomfort- able than long hours, heavy work- loads, and pressing responsibilities. According to a study of 2,000 peo- ple at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Occupational Safety, those who reported being bored at work felt that their abilities were not being used and that their jobs did not provide as much complexity and variety as they wanted.
AARISHAM /
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31
