48 / MANAGING A TEAM
Using positive reinforcement
Rewarding progress and success
and recognizing achievements are
powerful ways to motivate your team.
By rewarding someone for doing
something right, you positively reinforce
that behavior, providing an incentive for
doing it again. There are two basic types
of reward: extrinsic and intrinsic. Many
people depend on and highly value
extrinsic rewards that are externally
bestowed, such as praise, a promotion,
or a pay raise. Others place a high value
on intrinsic rewards, which originate
from their own personal feelings about
how they performed or the satisfaction
that they derive from a job well done.
CASE STUDY
PRIORITIZING NEEDS
Theresa, a successful technical
writer and a single parent,
had been earning a good salary
and benefits that enabled her
to provide for her family’s
physical well-being: ample
food, comfortable housing and
clothing, and good medical care.
Her company then announced
that it was downsizing, and she
feared being laid off. This triggered
concerns about her safety needs
and meant that she became much
less concerned about the higher
order needs of belonging to a
group or her own self-esteem to
perform creative and technically
accurate work. Rather, she
was motivated to do whatever was
necessary to ensure that she kept
her job or could find a new one.
Once Theresa knew that her job
was safe, she changed back to
having a higher-order need,
energizing her behavior.
Many depend
on extrinsic
rewards that
are externally
bestowed, such as
praise, a promotion,
or a pay raise
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