THE CARROT OR STICK MOTIVATION APPROACH- IS IT STILL RELEVANT?

Business – The Ultimate Resource defines motivation as “the creation of stimuli,

incentives, and working environments which enable people to perform to the best of
their ability in pursuit of organizational success”. I like this definition because it
recognizes the importance of an enabling environment for motivation to thrive.
Some management theorists and psychologists have identified several types of
motivation, but for the purposes of this discourse I would categorise motivation into
two broad types – extrinsic and intrinsic.
Extrinsic motivation is that which is driven by external stimuli. In other words, the
kicker to this type of motivation is external to the person and is more of a reactive
phenomenon, requiring a response from the individual. It is usually measured by
tangible and often material outcomes such as increased remuneration and promotion.
On the other hand, the intrinsic type is one that arises from within the individual. It is
driven by a force embedded in the psychological recesses of the individual and is
aimed at satisfying a deeply personal and sometimes, intangible desire. These may
include solving a difficult problem and spearheading innovation.
The carrot and stick approach to leadership focuses exclusively on extrinsic
motivation; an external influence that compels people to act in certain ways but does
not consider intrinsic motivation at all.
An old school theory, it comes from a story about a mule, which posits that the ideal
way to get the mule to move forward is to dangle a carrot in front of him and if the mule
refuses to move, hit him with a stick from behind. The carrot here is the reward for
compliance, while the stick is the punishment for noncompliance.
This reward and punishment paradigm assumes that human beings’ reactions can be
manipulated based on the promise of pleasure or pain. Unfortunately, human beings
are not that simplistic, and it is rather difficult to predict with certainty human response
to external stimuli. Motivation is dynamic and our motives vary over time. One person
could give up his principles in order to amass wealth, while another could give up
wealth, health and life itself to defend his principles. Ultimately, humans are driven by
a multitude of different motives at any one point in time.
There is a strong argument that motivation is more about employees feeling great
about their work and less about them being seen to be doing great work. The better
employees feel about their work, the more motivated they are likely to remain over
time.
The challenge for me is that for the same reason that humans are complicated, it would
be unrealistic to expect that every human being would act rationally and be motivated
solely intrinsically. Some humans need a nudge all the time and all humans may need
a nudge sometimes.
Some leaders may be lured into adopting and relying solely on the carrot versus stick
approach to motivate their employees, as it has a strong appeal to logic on the surface.
Unfortunately, when the leader becomes focused on the compliance-only model, the
chances are he is the only one who will be motivated.
As a leader, it would be much more beneficial to embrace a mix of both the reward
and punishment system and a more modern and intrinsically attuned approach to
motivating employees.
i. Encourage shared values: What are we doing as an organization and as a
team? Why are we doing it? Who benefits from our work and how? What does
success look like for our team and for each employee? What role does each
employee play in keeping that promise?
When the employee finds it relatively easy to answer some of these salient questions,
the principle of co-ownership kicks in more readily. Employees are motivated when
their work has relevance.
ii. Create a pleasant work environment. It has been repeated often that people
don’t leave jobs, they leave bad bosses. Very few people if any, want to be in a
toxic work environment. Especially, when it is considered that the average
person will spend a quarter of their life at work.
An atmosphere of camaraderie, warmth and healthy competition has a greater chance
of impacting employees positively. This will reduce the proclivity for absenteeism and
high employee turnover.
 iii. Show respect. Your employees are qualified and possess the right skills-set –
that must be why you hired them in the first place. Show them the respect they
deserve and watch them take the company higher and consistently. This is
because respect tends to fill people with pride that is positively reinforcing.
iv. Recognize innovation and show appreciation. Far more powerful than the
carrot or stick approach is how committed you are to recognizing and
acknowledging employees’ contributions; the feeling of appreciation is
invaluable. A “well done” said to an employee has the potential to re-energise
that employee, inspiring increased and improved efforts. Never underestimate
the power of acknowledgment.
v. Continuously assess your own motivation. The best way to lead is to show
the way. Employees are very much in harmony with leaders who demonstrate
a genuine connection to the business. Be engaged, be enthusiastic about your
company, your team and the work you do. It increases your chance of
motivating others. Employees feel motivated when their leaders are motivated.
To conclude, it is important to note also that motivation could be positive or negative.
As businesspeople, I would assume that what we want to do is ensure we are
positively motivated.
Let the words of Zig Ziglar be a constant reminder of the reasons to reassess our
motivation continuously.

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s
why we recommend it daily”. - Zig Ziglar