Reward, do you reward? Do so please.
Can I shock you?
For me perhaps the most important principle of motivation apart from Principle of Focus is this: “you get what you reward”. Put another way, “you get what you honour or choose to honour.” You get what you give (let out).
Little Digression
[On focus, though not my focus now and here, “everything you focus, expands, or expounds.”] So the way to achieve increase in a thing is to FOCUS on it: power concentrate on it
Reward…
This assertion on reward is true everywhere. It’s true in every relationship. It’s true of children and child upbringing. It’s true of lovers and loving. You get what you honour. You get what you REWARD. It’s truest even in leadership and teamwork.
Question?
What do you reward? What do you honour? What you reward or honour is what you get. What you VALUE is what you receive. Conversely, what you DESPISE runs from you, and it’s impossible to get what you DESPISE (looks down on – a strong warning to you). LAW of nature doesn’t tolerate it, and must fight you not to get what you despised.
When you positively reinforce your desired results/behaviour in your team, group or department, you get faster, bigger and greater results than when you engage in criticizing bad performance/behaviour, though bad. You must develop deliberate spirit of ignoring “advertising”, “publicizing” bad/poor performance cum performer. I know a country that can ignore major national problems but spend fortunes advertising people they supposed to ignore. Some companies and organizations do likewise. Such groups engage in advertising/promoting bad performance/behaviour, instead of reinforcement of their desired goal/results/performance.
Results
Leaders who have address means of rewarding good performance than leaders who go around putting off fires cause by their people’s poor performance ACHIEVE more.
Why Many Leaders Don’t Reward
The whys most people don’t reward or technically put don’t maximize the concepts include but not limited to;
1. they’ve not been sold and or told the WHY ie., the important of rewarding and the effects of rewarding on motivation and leadership.
2. they’ve not been taught HOW-TO (empowered) effectively reward followers, subordinates, teammates, and those deserving to be rewarded.
3. it’s not that rewarding is not in their plans/programs, but they wait too long to effect reward. Reward supposed to be prompt so as to attach it to the object of reward.
4. this #4 follows as fallout from #3 – rewards should be linked appropriately to what is rewarded for (object of reward). Same holds for punishments or sanctions.
5. again, fallout of #3 also include waiting too long to reward can make an event, a problem, challenge or manifestation of impatience to overtake the reward plan.
let me stop on these 5.
Nature of Rewards
But what nature can reward take? Too simple – reward can take the nature of;
1. Heartfelt appreciation or gratitude for things done or given FULLY expressed clearly in words and or writing. Gesture, body language or emoji may not be the best expressions here as they can cloud meanings.
2. Payment in terms of money, position/status and kinds to a deserving rewardee.
3. Recognition. Recognition of one’s feat publicly perhaps by announcement, testimony, mouth-referral, award, monumentizing a name/legacy can be means of reward.
4. Honouring. Honouring ie esteemed regard can be a way of rewarding an achiever. An honoured man/woman is called honourable. Honourable is not a prefix for dishonourable politician’s name. When a dishonourable man puts Honourable as prefix to his name, it is a stolen title. Same is with His Excellency; only God is His Excellency.
5. More Roles, More Assignments, and More Leadership. Reward can be by more responsibility, more opportunities to serve, more scopes and opportunity to lead, more expanded territory of assignments, more promotions, and roles. Perhaps, this could be more juicy, but all are juicy.
6. Verbal & Written Rewards. Some rewards can be IM (Instant Messaging) eg WhatsApp, Messenger, Yedaconnect, WeChat, etc, compliments, and emails that can take you 5minites to accomplish.
7. Prizes, Bonuses, Incentives, and similar Financial Gratifications. These can be a form of reward. Organizations give their accomplished distributors rebates, discounts, incentives, and bonuses as rewards to encourage them to do more next trading year. Organizations also give employees prizes, incentives and some financial gratification including promotion for outstanding performance in a working season/year.
let me stop here.
Question????
Do you REWARD people? I mean your subordinates, teammates, people working for you directly and indirectly, people who performed pleasantly well to you, people who give you gift? Don’t answer yet!!! Be sincere…do you reward? Do you take time to know who to HONOUR (REGARD, ESTEEM, VALUE, RESPECT SPECIALLY) and do you REWARD? Of not, START REWARDING today.
let me leave you with a..
TAKE HOME
A.
You will get what you REWARD. Period.
This is a law on nature, a law of nature and a law of God…tripod law.
B.
Any thing you’ve never got means you have never rewarded that thing, in any scale whatsoever.
Start rewarding friendship, relationship, associates, employees, subordinates, peers, family members, whoever that comes your way and GOD ultimately.
What do you think?
Mike Ihezuo
Mike Ihezuo might have have raised a dust on what you have not paid attention to. That’s Dr Mike (aka Leader Mike) characteristic manner of leading, teaching and speaking. He’s a speaker and Author par excellence. Feel free to contact him on https://mikeihezuospeaks.net/meet-mike-live and https://leadershiproundtablehq.com, also @mikeihezuospeakstv, #LeadershipXcellence, @mikeihezuospeakshq, @MikeOIhezuo, @LeaderMikeO, leadermikeo@gmail.com or WhatsApp from the window you receive the Post.
