A paradigm shift needed to get more out of employees

I can’t believe it. We are in the 21st century, and we have starvation in corporate Malaysia. I’m not talking about food-deprived starvation. Rather, I’m talking about another type of human need – the need to be motivated through positive reinforcement at work.

My observation is that very undesirable management behaviours are tolerated, and even accepted in Malaysia. This is based on a paradigm of “push and drive harder to achieve results.” But it need not be so. Let me explain.

Before this article is branded as being “soft and fluffy”, let me share with you some tangible results. I draw on the research conducted by the authors of the Carrot Principle, Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. Companies that most effectively recognise their employees:

• Have a return on equity that triple that of those that do the worst on recognition
• Have higher customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and employee retention rates. These scores will translate into dollars and cents

Okay, the “proof” is done. Let now be clear about what we are talking about. The core question is, “How can we affect people’s behaviour to have them achieve more?”

We have two choices – positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement involves some form of recognition for good work. It might be positive feedback, a simple thank you or a team celebratory morning tea. This is the “carrot” approach to achieving more through people. The aim is to have people do more of the behaviour for which they are being recognised. Negative reinforcement, on the other hand, is fear-based. It is the stick. It is the threat of negative consequences for not completing a task to target or to quality. The behavioural consequences of negative reinforcement are that people will perform to the minimum standard to avoid the negative consequences e.g. a scolding, recurring.

Positive feedback
Now here is the main point behind this article. I ask employees: “How good is your manager in giving positive feedback?” A common answer is: “Positive feedback – what’s that?”

I believe that managers are much too frugal with positive reinforcement. They spend too little time creating a positive culture in their teams or organisations, where people feel motivated and energised. This situation is not restricted to Malaysia. It is a common management malady around the world. However, this is not an excuse that we should hide behind. Rather, it should be a rally-cry for Malaysian companies to say that they want to be better than the rest of the world in building energised, motivated, high performing employees. The benefits to the nation, to companies and to individuals are great, so it is definitely a worthwhile rally-cry!

There are many really good bosses in Malaysia. They have developed motivated, high performing teams that will go the extra mile. I have had the pleasure of working with a number of these teams. A common factor among these bosses is that they have positive management styles. That is, they achieve results through positive reinforcement. They create a positive emotional connection with their employees.

However, outweighing the good bosses are the ones who are still in the very old hard-driving, achieve-the-results-or-else school. I was talking to a manager who works for a large local company. He works for a pretty high profile boss. I asked him, what it is like to work for that person. His eyes rolled. He said: “Shouting is like breathing to my boss. We are scolded in front of our colleagues if our boss is not happy with our performance.”

I had heard the same story from different people. I asked this manager how people felt when they were on the receiving end of the boss’s tongue lashing. He gave the classic answer: “I have given up. I just do what I have to do in my job.” I asked one more question – does this boss positively recognise the work of managers. The short answer was, “rarely.” This boss has developed a reputation for getting results. However, human beings are the collateral damage in the process of achieving those results.  And, this person’s style begs the question: “If a more positive style was adopted, would better results be achieved?”

If you delve a little more deeply into why Malaysian managers don’t give positive reinforcement, you will discover a cultural paradox. I was visiting someone’s house and started talking to a young 19-year-old university student. She was Chinese-Malaysian. I asked her what she did. She was studying medicine in Paris. After talking to her for a while, I turned to her father and said: “Your daughter is very intelligent,” to which he replied: “No, she is not that intelligent at all.” This is the cultural paradox in Asia.

When the current generation of managers were brought up, it was in an environment where parents did not praise them, lest they get “big heads.” However, they were certainly told when their performance was not up to their parent’s expectations. The paradox is that as human beings, we appreciate and are motivated by small gestures like positive feedback. Some people need more positive reinforcement than others and there is not a “one size fits all” approach. However, the general principle applies – employees in corporate Malaysia appreciate and are motivated by positive reinforcement.

Pat-o-Meter
So here is a simple test for the coming week. Start up a “Pat-o-Meter”. This very simple Meter has two separate dials. The first is the number of pats on the back and positive feedback that you give to colleagues. The second is the number of pats on the back and positive feedback that you receive from your boss and colleagues. If your Pat-o-Meter shows a healthy positive score, congratulations!  There is a good chance that you are on your way to developing a high performing team.

If your score is low, then you and your department are likely to be one of the throngs in corporate Malaysia that are starved of recognition. If this is the case, check to see whether people are coming to work and doing what is required, or whether they are coming to work full of energy, ready to go the extra mile.

And finally, today is the first day of the rest of your life. If you score low on giving other people recognition and positive feedback, now is the time to start.

A simple and cost-free starting point to end the starvation among the people around you is to learn the power of two words, genuinely delivered – thank you. Use these magic words consistently and watch what happens. Until the next edition.

George Aveling is Group CEO and International Partner, TMI Consultancy Sdn Bhd.