How to Lead Without Carrots or Sticks

“If you exceed all your goals for the year, you’ll get a 20 percent bonus.” “If you come in late again, I’m writing you up. The next step after that is a final warning. Then, if you come in late a 3rd time, you’re fired.” So many managers rely on these carrots and sticks to get performance out of their employees. And why not? They work, don’t they? We work hard to get the bonus, or we straighten up and fly right in order to keep from getting fired. Anyone can do carrot/stick management. But, leaders lead without carrots or sticks. Can you learn how to do that? You bet. Here’s how.

Behave how you want your team to behave.

Do you come in late, but hate it when your staff does that? Do you want all emails responded to the same day, but it takes you 3 weeks and 6 reminders to answer a question from a direct report? It’s no wonder this method doesn’t work. If you want toconvey that something is important, do that thing yourself.

To keep reading, click here: How to Lead Without Carrots of Sticks

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One thought on “How to Lead Without Carrots or Sticks

  1. “Do the unpleasant tasks.”

    This can come in unexpected forms. Our department reached a crunch time and management asked us to commit to working weekends for eight weeks. So what were they doing while we worked? One weekend, all the managers, including C level executives, were out in the parking lot washing and detailing our cars. And they did something like that for us each weekend!

    That meant a lot to us, many of whom had worked for companies that told us they owned us 24/7 and that no matter how much we did, why, that was just what they expected us to do!

    Does that mean we expect a big hoopla if we work late on something, or work some over a weekend? No, that is the nature of our business. But we are certainly more willing to do that as needed, because they showed us how much it is appreciated.

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