Team Incentives

The Daniel Pink Video I linked to a couple of weeks ago sparked a lot of conversations. (link)
It also triggered a flood of emails to my account about TEAM INCENTIVES.
I have reviewed over one hundred client “team incentives.” The fact is that MOST of them are counterproductive. They serve to discourage, not encourage.
Here are some signs that your program MIGHT be flawed:
- Goals are not tied to tangible numbers/outcomes
- Goals are tied to outcomes they cannot fully control (such as Net Profit)
- Your team does not have a clear path to achieve company goals
- Your team does not have ability to calculate themselves (instead, they are “surprised” at the end of period)
- Your team does not believe that your goals are obtainable
Incentives are a great thing to have in place but it can be much worse to have a demotivating goal than no goal at all.
Motivated and energized,
