One of the most important functions of a leader is to apply positive reinforcement to those behaviors that contribute to the objectives of the business. In conjunction with this, the leader must reduce the positive reinforcement for behaviors that don't contribute or hinder the progress of the group and the individual to those same objectives. To facilitate the acquisition of the objective, the leader also has to simplify and clarify the milestones along the way. In this way the leader can apply frequent and relevant positive reinforcement to his or her followers. This means that success is celebrated at regular intervals.
Leaders are perpetually shaping and modifying the behavior of their followers whilst promoting the end goal on the final objective. Progress is a frequent topic of conversation which keeps the focus on the next objective. Often the leader must initiate changes in direction even though it may not appear to be the shortest route to the objective. The leader has to provide structures to accommodate the hopes and aspirations of their followers in such a way that they support progress to the next milestone.
One of the most powerful indicators of effective and competent leadership is the number of followers who contribute their discretionary effort towards achieving the common goal. Discretionary effort is the extra effort that is applied voluntarily. Its behavior that is above the norm and if it's withheld no punishment will be given. It is the level of effort that cannot be demanded and vanishes with punishment and resentment. Effective leaders know how to create and maintain the environment that encourages this behavior from a significant number of followers.
When you look at successful businesses, you will observe the frequent application of discretionary effort. You will also note that the results of discretionary effort is not used as a weapon to encourage the lower performers. Instead, the behavior and the working environment are analyzed to discover the reason for the higher performance.
We already know that behavior is a response to the consequences of that behavior, so that the reason for the higher performance can be found in the influences present in the working environment. Once the environmental influences have been discovered, it is intelligent move to assess if these factors can be reproduced for others. When you compare this approach to what normally happens in our businesses, you can see how the institutional approach has failed in the past, is currently failing and will fail in the future.
