Incentives?

In the last post I wrote about Positive Thinking and how it is likely to work against instead in favor of one reaching their objectives. Just as I finished that post I ran across an article by Bill George, former chairman of Medtronic, a medical equipment company in the Twin Cities. He is now a professor at Harvard Biz and a guy who thinks deeply and communicates directly. Here is the article that caught my eye. Bill cited it in his latest Tweet and it comes from Drake Baer writing in Inc, It appears on their website here
http://www.inc.com/drake-baer/why-incentives-dont-actually-motivate-people-to-do-better-work.html

Bill has been advocating the idea of Engagement with regard to employees. He has spoken and written about what it means and how it works. Check him out and see if you like him as much as I do.

And let me say how this is supported by coaching.

The process of coaching is one of supporting the client to become more and more who the person actually is. We have all been in situations where we try to perform up to expectations of superiors. It begins with mom and dad, continues through school and on to adult life with spouses and bosses. The more closely aligned we are naturally with those in authority, the better we get along and often the more successful we are in our lives. The question that arises is whether our compliance or non is really about us.

After almost 20 years as a professional coach I can attest that most of the people I have worked with are not in complete sync with those above them in their lives. The one constant, however is that sooner or later the actual person comes out. Or goes off the rails emotionally because they can't keep faking and can't change. These difficult situations arise when a conflict rises inside the individual and that person tries to live on with the unresolved conflict. In this context it's easy to see the problem.

So the coach knows the client is creative, resourceful and whole and trusts the client to have everything they need to gain their success. As they describe it. All that's needed is clarity.  The embedded conflict causes stasis. When one believes things that cannot coexist, their activity is stalled when the conflict arises. The coach is always challenging the client to be aware of and aligned with their beliefs. If the client can't do that, independent activity is impossible.

So if you want to know why Engagement is so important, it is all about alignment between the organization and the customer, the boss and the employee, between all the participants. This requires communication and agreement. It also guarantees the worker can be successful.

How cool is that?

Check out the myth that is widely believed about incentives.