Aligning Incentives
Why is it so difficult to align incentives?
A brief, non-professional example:
My landlord loves his lawn and his trees. While he lives 1,500 miles away it’s one of the first things he wants to see when he comes back to town. But…he didn’t want to pay for a regular gardener or pay the water bill. My wife and I are responsible people, but we’re also not made of time or money. How green and weed-free do you think the land around our house is? (Answer, if you needed it, I just mowed my lawn for the third time this season…dead grass doesn’t grow.)
Why does this always happen, especially in professional environments?
Two main reasons come to mind.
- People don’t recognize the importance of doing so and thus don’t take the time to think it through (or they are incapable of thinking along those lines)
- Assumptions are made about what motivates people rather than getting to know those they are attempting to motivate
There’s much you can do if you don’t recognize the importance except experience the outcome of not taking care of business beforehand.
As for the second point, take the time to ask people what matters to them. Context will change the conversation, but this should be one of the first conversations you have with all new hires. A few questions to help get to the bottom of things:
- Which accomplishments are you most proud?
- What are your goals?
- What do you want to get out of working here?
- When are you most excited to come to work (describe people, environment, type of work, compensation etc.)?
I’m sure there are more questions to ask – this was only after a quick think. What else would you want to know to help set up incentives?
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