Ever hear of Occam's Razor? It was a common principle in medieval philosophy and has been one of my guiding lights for years. It means that when you're trying to explain something, don't make it more complex than necessary. Today we call it the "KISS" principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
As a business psychologist, I'm constantly amazed at how complicated we tend to make things. Take management: What does it take to be a good manager? Some studies identify 127 skills managers need to be effective. Yikes! But if you apply Occam's Razor and cut through the clutter, you come up with a truly manageable number—four, to be exact. It's all about contingencies: what you do after someone does something. There are only four possibilities, and we use them all the time. If you want to manage people's behavior at work, here's what you need to know.
You can reward someone. We call this positive reinforcement. Experiments show that if you reward someone for what he or she did, be it good or bad, you'll probably get more of that behavior.
You can give someone grief. Here you're adding a negative to the situation—call it punishment. If you punish someone for what he did (again, good or bad), you'll get less of that behavior.
You can threaten someone: "If you don't do what I want, something bad will happen." When the person complies, you take away the threatened negative from the mix. We call this negative reinforcement. This contingency usually gets you more of the desired behavior.
You can do nothing. This is called ignoring the person's behavior. You don't add or take away anything. When you do this, you tend to get less of the behavior (good or bad) over time.
Of course, there are nuances in using these contingencies. For instance, if you prefer to avoid conflict, you may inadvertently reward bad behavior (and thus get more of it) by placating the wrongdoer. Or if you punish someone, you'll get less of that bad behavior, but no one will feel good about it. Threatening people usually creates a toxic environment, while ignoring them leaves them adrift and begs the question, "Who needs this kind of manager in the first place?"
Which contingency do managers use most? Research shows that they do the following, from most often to least often:
•They ignore the behavior
•They punish bad behavior
•They threaten their people
•They reward good behavior
The most effective management tool we have—the one that gets you more of the behavior you want and creates a positive environment—is rewarding people for their good behavior. But this is what managers do least of all! The good news is that this is changeable—you can reverse the above order and thereby get better results. But you'll have to make a conscious effort to better understand these four contingencies, so that you can pull the right lever at the right time.
SIDEBAR
It Takes Two
Can't decide which industry organizations or clubs to join? Use the 2-2-2 strategy, says Andrea Nierenberg, author of Million Dollar Networking (Capital Books, 2005).
Attend two meetings. This lets you experience the group, meet members, and get an idea of the organization's long-term goals.
Meet two people and exchange business cards. They can answer your questions about the organization and introduce you to other members.
Arrange two follow-up meetings (breakfast, lunch, or just coffee). Even if you don't join, you now have two new contacts. And if you do join, these new contacts can multiply into many more.
Dr. Tom McDonald, a Ph.D. in psychology, speaks on "People Skills" needed for "Business Results." Reach him in San Diego at (858) 523-0883 or tom@drtom mcdonald.com, or visit www.drtommcdonald.com