Members Click Here for Additional Tools
Get Instant Access to 200+ Cheat Sheets, Videos, and Other Immediately Usable Tools for Busy Managers – Try Out a Wily Manager Membership Today!
People do what gets reinforced (this is both a good news and a bad news story)! Here’s how you can use consequences to manage performance.
The ABC’s of Performance Management
For more information, take a look at ‘Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement’, by Aubrey C. Daniels
Activator (or antecedent)
- Something that comes before a behaviour or activity which sets the occasion for that behaviour
- Most often over-used by managers
- Have only short-term effects
- Cause a behaviour to happen a limited number of times
- Must be paired with a consequence to be effective
Behavior
- What a person does
- Performance
- Action
- Event
- Decision
Consequences
- The result of a behavior
- A response to an action
- What is said or done about someone’s work or an activity
- An event that occurs after a given behavior
- What happens to the performer as a result of the given behavior
Leaders often overuse activators and underuse consequences.
Types of Consequences
There are four types of consequences:
- Positive reinforcement – Makes me feel good about something I’ve done
- Negative reinforcement – I do something because it will allow me to avoid something negative
- Punishment – Makes me feel bad about something I’ve done
- Extinction – Being ignored for something I’ve done
Positive and negative reinforcement are consequences that will increase behavior, while punishment and extinction are consequences that will decrease behavior.
Consequences That Drive Performance
Consequences can be:
- Positive OR Negative
- Immediate OR Future
- Certain OR Uncertain
The consequences that will drive performance are positive, immediate, and certain.
Get Instant Access to 200+ Cheat Sheets, Videos, and Other Immediately Usable Tools for Busy Managers – Try Out a Wily Manager Membership Today!
