Friends of Dave #333: always $$$ in the banana stand
Stick or Carrot or Neither: Which is really the more powerful approach?
“I think it’s so funny anyone thinks I have any power. I am more of an influencer than a carrot or stick….”
I was talking to a colleague recently who is spearheading a new, company wide initiative and she made the comment shared above during the discussion. It was totally off the cuff.
I found it fascinating.
Many people equate “power” to “command.” It’s a little like we discussed last week — as in, if you have the right title or position you must be in charge, or perceived to be in power.
But as we have talked about here a number of times before, the concept of effective leadership being measured by the ability to implement a “command and control” infrastructure seems awful outdated these days.
People value being included in the process and respect leaders that foster a sense of collaboration over those that just tell them what to do.
It got me thinking: which has more real power — the Carrot or the Stick? Or it something else?
Of course, there are times where people respond best to directives. I’m thinking times of crisis, emergency, stagnation or confusion. Perhaps there has been a lack of leadership and someone just needs to step up and say “this is what we are doing.”
In those instances, there is power in being The Stick because you don’t have the luxury of time — action is needed immediately.
But, when you think about it, those times are usually few and far between for most organizations….or at least should be. These days, if you find yourself a part of an organization where everything is a fire drill or crisis and the ONLY way to out of it is through someone barking orders, I’d say you are working for some weak leadership.
Command and control is one dimensional. It’s transactional. It requires people to completely trust (or, usually, fear) the person giving orders and not think for themselves. There is little creativity that goes into problem solving — it is just “do what we tell you to do.” Respond to The Stick.
Well, if you were around in the 90’s you might remember a rock band called Rage Against The Machine. It’s popularity probably peaked just as Millennials reached high school and, if their name wasn’t enough, their most popular song, “Killing in the Name” basically is an anti-establishment, anti-command and control anthem.
So…with that as context, let’s move on to The Carrot.
The Carrot approach to leadership is based on a system that relies on people to respond to rewards and incentives. If you do X you will get Y — and it assumes that everyone on the team covets Y.
On the surface, it seems to be a much better approach than The Stick. Tapping into people’s desire to achieve or to earn certainly can be powerful when you have built a team of like minded individuals. Everyone values the incentives provided and moves accordingly. The Carrot also provides an illusion of free will and choice that makes people feel better.
But it has it’s drawbacks as well. It’s still a relationship based on a transaction — you do X, I give you Y. There is still a large underlying component of fear. Fear of not achieving. Fear of failure. Fear of what happens if you don’t achieve — because in a Carrot-based system, management can’t afford to carry people that don’t execute toward the incentive or value it the same.
Think about your own organizations and how they have changed over the past 20 years or so. People are not “coin operated” like they used to be — they want work-life balance. They are now more cynical and skeptical of leadership than ever.
Hell, these days you offer people “unlimited vacation” days and they view it as a scam.
Once again, queue that Rage playlist on your Spotify…
So where does that leave us?
I’ll submit that there is an approach that can carry more impact than the old Carrot and Stick — it is the Influencer.
Instead of commanding people to do something or providing them incentive to go in a specific direction, the Influencer does neither. The Influencer approach requires a lot more patience and strategic planning because it is not transactional. It is all predicated on persuading people, sometimes under the radar, to do something without telling them explicitly that you are doing so.
The ability to influence others, get them to buy into a concept or idea and CHOOSE to take action themselves requires skill. It also requires gaining trust. It relies not on commands or incentives, but leaders who are able and willing to get close to members of a team or group, listen more than talk, and demonstrate that they relate to them.
Influencers are not typically feared — they are more loved and respected. And as a result, they are able to calmly, quietly and subtly plant seeds that empower others to think that taking a certain action is THEIR own idea. This also allows them to change course or message much easier if needed.
I believe having the ability to lead people to achieve a desired result not because they were told to do it or because there was some sort of prize they would receive but because they decided, willingly and seemingly on their own, that it was a priority constitutes real power.
I’ll leave you with one last sobering thought: Geoffrey Hinton, one of the “Godfathers of AI” spoke virtually this week at a conference at MIT. There he warned about the perils of the rapid spread of artificial intelligence. One of his biggest concerns was AI’s alarming ability to be programmed to influence humans.
His comment:
“It turns out if you can manipulate people, you can invade a building in Washington without ever going there yourself.”
So maybe it’s not the one who offers the Carrot or carries the Stick — it’s the one who is the Influencer that actually is in charge….
And, just like that, it’s May, Friends. Warmer days ahead for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Kentucky Derby post time this evening is 6:57pm ET.
Enjoy!
XOXO
Dave
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