Do You Need to be Rewarded?

Aren’t people fascinating? Like your manager for instance, why does he do what he does? To answer this question and hopefully gain a more clear perspective into what a better manager does do, we are going into undercover mode. Leave weapons behind. We’ll pack an open mind and notebook as we venture into the world of management consultant Larry Childs. The intel we gather today is fascinating and will help in your personal development quest.

Today, Larry is trying to help managers figure out why you the technician, do what you do. This breaks down to expectations and rewards. Are you being positively rewarded for the type of behavior that your manager desires?

While we ponder that question, lets take a peek into the world of Bob, a highly successful technician. Bob understands what his manager needs and expects from him. Bob gathered this information by sitting down with his manager and asking him point blank. He then took notes. You know what makes Bob so special? The stuff Bob’s manager needs from him is less than what he needs from himself.

Bob does not need to be rewarded by his manager. But Bob needs a manager who rewards his staff for desired behavior and meeting expectations. This tells Bob that his manager is tuned in, front and center. A tuned in manager means he is in more of a position to help support Bob’s educational and developmental needs and to remove obstacles from his path and get him what he needs to get the job done.

Folks like Bob are a cut above. They are driven by inner excellence. We feel that everyone has the potential to be like Bob. Getting there is not an easy road to travel. A start is to take your manager’s expectations* and make them your own minimum requirement for a job well done.

Yes, people are interesting. And why they do what they do is downright fascinating. If you’re driven by the passion of inner excellence the why of what you do will be a great shining light  for those who still need rewards to follow.

*Can a manager’s expectations be unrealistic? Sure. While you’ll need to deploy common sense here, a good gauge that your manager is on track is if a coworker like Bob has been there a while.