First Lesson Every Leader Must Learn

We all start out doing something that we do not enjoy as a means to make money. It does not matter the industry or the stage of your career. One will find themself getting paid for something that they are not motivated to do. You can spend that time learning or passing time. Learning can simply be observing and understanding the process. Passing the time is an example of a trap. Whether it’s intentionally burning the clock, or just working with no intention. The traps are what each leader must identify to protect their employees from themselves.

Once the traps are identified an employer can build a model minimizing traps, and incentivizing quality. We have now hijacked the mammalian mind. We have preemptively identified the choke points and built a model that avoids the trap. As we know the best way to not fall into a trap, is to completely avoid it. Not try to outsmart, or to out maneuver. It will always be best to COMPLETELY AVOID. This is the employers job. Do not send your guys into traps and be mad when they inevitably fall into one.

Now, we have a business model that avoids all known traps. Now what’s the process of hijacking the mammalian mind? The goal to incentivize the employee to take responsibility and avoid the unknown traps. When you send a supervisor on a job and he has additional work that hasn’t been accounted for. There MUST be a system in place to reward that employee for seeing the work that needs to be done, and then making sure that it gets done. Have the system in place so that he is willing adjust. We need employees that attack problems, not try and cover them up.

Finally, I hear you asking. How can we make sure that my employees attack problems? Have a bonus system in place. The anticipation of a bonus will incentivize the employee to attack the problem, and the thought of just covering up the problem never even crossed his mind.

So, the first lesson that every Leader must learn:

Motivation is unpredictable. Systems are predictable. Create a system that motivates your employees and the quality work your after will come.