Shocking Facts About Human Behavior

I thought I would record a few random, disjointed observations about behavior and positive reinforcement in the workplace in a sincere effort to shock and surprise my readers. Explaining why one supports a particular idea, belief or perspective can be quite tiring; it is much more fun to just say what you think and leave the room—figuratively of course.

So, here are some observations you may find interesting:

One of a leaders key responsibilities is the behavior of his or her subordinates.

Changing someone’s behavior usually means changing your own.

Many managers hire and promote average performers; high performers can be threatening and challenging.

The reluctance of leaders to fire senior managers who perform poorly seriously erodes profitability.

Most managers would rather deal with numbers than with people; talking to people about their performance is emotionally aversive.

Most of our behavior attempts to influence the behavior of others.

A manager’s behavior influences the behavior of everyone who reports to them; subordinates attempt to please him or her and avoid doing anything that would anger them.

What people say to each other and how they say it (tone of voice, facial gestures) may be the most important, controllable factor in a company’s profitability.

There is no such thing as “just business;” the workplace is highly emotional. Hierarchies sensitize individuals to subtle nuances of language and non-verbal behavior that reflect upon their value and stature.

Praising a subordinate in front of others can be as damaging as criticizing them publicly.

Weaknesses in subordinates are reinforcing to weak managers.

Initiative in subordinates is punishing to weak leaders.

Saying negative things about other employees pairs you with aversive stimuli and subsequently you become aversive to the listener. Saying positive things can have the opposite effect.

The things that reinforce or punish people are not related to logic or reason.

Attention and eye-contact often inadvertently reinforce employees for dysfunctional behavior.

Compliments, money, and attention are quite aversive to many people.

Subordinates can sense sincere reinforcement by reading the gestures and inflection that convey positive emotion.

The behavior that gets people promoted is emulated by other employees.

Subordinates determine what kinds of behavior are reinforcing and punishing to their manager by listening to his questions and comments.

Asking an employee for his advice is usually a strong reinforcer.

Positive or negative comments about a person who is not present can establish them as a reinforcer or an aversive stimulus; language has the power to effect stimulus value prior to actual experience.

Although there is no great wisdom reflected in these observations, some are counterintuitive—others axiomatic. Most leaders and managers do not understand how classical conditioning works. If you say negative things, then you are paired with aversive stimuli and you become an aversive stimulus. If you repeat that someone has said negative things, then that person becomes a negative stimulus to anyone listening.

Correspondingly, positive comments (words, phrases, gestures, inflection—real emotion) establishes you as a positive stimulus—a reinforcer to those with whom you speak. If you repeat positive things about another employee, like “You know Jim said he really admires your writing skill,” then both you and the other employee (in this case, Jim) become positive stimuli.

One of the reasons that traditional training in Positive Reinforcement fails, and subsequently leaders fail to use Reinforcement effectively, is because classical conditioning—the effect of language and pairing—is not included in the training.