New Year Resolutions of a Manager - National HRD Network

From
National President’s Desk
Non-monetary rewards
Bob Nelson a famous motivational speaker
and author, once said "You get what you
reward."
I couldn't agree more with him. There is
nothing more satisfying than a simple word
of praise from your manager. While many
types of rewards and recognition have direct
costs associated with them, there are others
which may be less tangible, but still very
effective. These "non-monetary" rewards
include formal and informal
acknowledgement, assignment of more
enjoyable job duties, opportunities for
training, and an increased role in decisionmaking.
This article focuses on non-
Editorial
What do we deal with day in and day out, in
our organisations and in our communities,
by and large? With notably exceptional
situations, the list includes: problems,
tiredness, burn-out, anger, depression,
frustration, emotional and physical violence,
competition, adversity, greed…How about
the new year beginning on a positive note?
Behavioral sciences have dealt extensively
with matters as above; maybe rightly so. But,
there is the other side to human life, as in
the list of six core virtues stated in the
Character Strengths and Virtues handbook:
1. Wisdom and Knowledge: creativity,
curiosity, open-mindedness, love of
learning, perspective
2. Courage: bravery, persistence, integrity,
vitality
3. Humanity: love, kindness, social
intelligence
4. Justice: citizenship, fairness, leadership
5. Temperance: forgiveness and mercy,
humility and modesty, prudence, selfregulation
6. Transcendence: appreciation of beauty
and excellence, gratitude, hope, humor,
spirituality
(at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Positive_Psychology. On December 23,
2006)
monetary rewards, and as we will see, these
types of rewards can be very meaningful to
employees and so, very motivating for
performance improvement.
To achieve desired goals, reward systems
should be closely aligned to organizational
strategies.
Non-monetary recognition can be very
motivating, helping to build feelings of
confidence and satisfaction. It can also lead
to increased employee retention
To be really effective, the managers should
get to know different employees' likes and
dislikes. Research indicates that the type
of recognition employees appreciate most
is to be recognized by people they work
directly for. The number one choice for
recognition is sincere praise given in a timely
manner with specific examples.
A branch of psychology called Positive
Psychology has been making rapid strides
and inroads into studying the conditions and
processes that contribute to the flourishing
or optimal functioning of people, groups and
institutions (Gable and Haidt, 2005; abstract;
p.103). A growing number of psychologists
are continuously developing theories and
practices that involved human happiness
positivity to the predominantly negativity
engaging the attention of scholars and
practitioners.
In their seminal paper that introduced the
special issue of American Psychologist
devoted to Positive Psychology, Selgman
and Csikszentmihalyi (2000; p. 10) wrote: If
psychologists wish to improve the human
condition, it is not enough to help those who
suffer. The majority of "normal" people also
need examples and advice to reach a richer
and more fulfilling existence. This is why
early investigators…were interested in
exploring spiritual ecstasy, play, creativity,
and peak experiences.
Scolars like William James, Carl Jung, Carl
Rogers, Abraham Maslow, Martin Seligman,
Albert Bandura, Mihali Csikszentmihalyi,
Shelly Gable, Jonathan Haidt, and so on
have been at Positive Psychology for several
years. Gable and Haidt (2005) called for a
movement on Positive Psychology to
develop because the advances in
psychology have come "at the cost of
understanding what is right with people." (p.
105). They note that "…despite the
Being chosen to work on a task team to
accomplish a company initiative is
motivating because it helps employees gain
new skills and experiences, demonstrates
trust in their abilities, and adds variety to an
individual's work. Individual Development
Plans help identify strong candidates for
developmental opportunities.
Hence, I would advise all to make creative
use of personalized non-monetary rewards
reinforces positive behaviors and improves
employee retention and performance. These
types of recognition can be inexpensive to
give, but priceless to receive
I wish all the readers and Fellow
professionals a Happy and Prosperous
2007.
P. Dwarakanath
philosophical,
historical, and
theoretical
underpinnings
that led to the
c u r r e n t
imbalance in
psychology
[ t o w a r d
negativity], we
believe that there
is little empirical
justification for our predominantly negative
view of human nature and the human
condition. (p. 107).
Developments such as appreciative inquiry,
whole system involvement, holism etc. are
directly or indirectly related to what Positive
Psychology has been calling for.
Through this editorial, I strongly urge
students, researchers, teachers, scholars,
practitioners and my fellow HR professionals
to join this movement! Being positive does
no harm; in fact it empowers, it elevates, it
engulfs.
References:
Gable, S.L. & Haidt, J. (2005). What (and
Why) Is Positive Psychology? Review of
General Psychology, 9(2), 103-110.
Seligman, M.E.P & Csikszentmihalyi, M.
(2000). Positive Psychology: An Introduction,
American Psychologist, 55(1), 5-14.
C. Balaji
| HRD News Letter | January 2007, Vol.22, Issue:10 5|