Incentives For All Humankind

 I am not an elephant!  

I AM NOT AN ANIMAL!  

I AM A HUMAN BEING!  

I…AM…A MAN!

If you are older than 40 you probably remember those words from the 1980 movie “Elephant Man.”  The title character, John Merrick, a severely deformed man in 19th century London on whom the movie was based (real name Joseph Merrick), yelled those words as he was surrounded by an angry mob.

I too am angry today.  And I too am human. 

What Pigeons Can Teach You About Your Incentive Program

That was the title of an article on the Incentive Magazine site yesterday. (Full disclosure – I write for them frequently – both print and online.)

The lead in to the article…

"Why do psychologists spend so much time watching pigeons?  A pigeon's brain learns much the same way a human's does.  The scientific study of motivation usually involves teaching pigeons to earn treats by behaving in certain ways.  If you want to teach a bird to jump over a stick, you start by giving him a treat when he approaches the stick.  Sooner or later, he will climb on the stick, and you reward him for that. Before long, he’s an expert stick-jumper.

In theory, incentive programs are structured the same way.  Your team members achieve goals that benefit the organization, and you reward them with praise, money, or other incentives."

You want to know why your motivation programs suck?  

This type of thinking.  That’s why.  

You want to know why you’re never satisfied with the outcome of your reward efforts.  This kind of thinking.  That’s why.  

I am insulted and ashamed that this is the type of stuff that passes for incentive know-how and thought leadership.  (Note:  the “idea” of the article is fine – but the positioning of incentives and rewards is so off base.)

To quote later from the same article:

"As a manager, you have many tools at your disposal to condition your employees to do their best."

Are we conditioning employees?  Are employees simply lab rats and pigeons who will toe the line when bribed with a piece of food?  I don’t think so.

It’s about Guiding not Conditioning

If you are running incentive programs to “condition” your employees – get out of the game.  Find a nice lab to work in.  People aren’t conditioned.  They are guided and mentored.  Incentives are a great way to provide directional cues for behavior – but they DO NOT condition behavior in your organization.

I am so tired of “experts” talking about antecedent, behaviors, consequences and operant conditioning and these simple animal-based experiments that are supposed to explain the behaviors in an organization.  

C’mon – we are not animals – we are contributors, partners, helpers, associates – but we are NOT animals. 

Here Are The Facts

• I’m not an animal.  I think, understand, reason and evaluate.  Don’t think your incentive will “condition” me – it might influence me but I still reason and think through what you’re asking.  I don’t blindly follow the carrot. 
   
• I do not get “conditioned” – I am guided and taught.  Teach me why, give me the rewards for doing better or more than I thought possible within the context of my skills and I’ll thank you and work harder.  I’m not conditioned – I’m reinforced.  Completely different.
   
• I will first decide if I want to do the things you ask based on your (and the company’s) values, mission, goals – not the reward nor the stick.  I choose to respond.
   
• I am not brainless.  Treating me as a brainless pigeon in your corporate coop only ensures that I will give you pigeon results – lots of activity and lots of crap.
   

Here's my net-net.  If you think that the humans that work in your organization are like pigeons or dogs, or donkeys – you get what you deserve.  Good luck with that.  I'll stick with treating employees like contributors.

Rant Over – I just heard a bell and now for some reason I’m hungry and my mouth is watering.