Why Understanding Behavior is the Key Resource of Effective Leaders

The key resource for a leader is people. This means that if we are to assess leaders we should only use a single measure. And that is the understanding of the science of human behavior and applying these principles to their workplace. One of the most vital indicators of positive leadership is the percentage of individuals who volunteer to use their discretionary effort. This is the effort that people put into their job because they choose to do it and typically, we would call it going above and beyond the call of duty.

This discretionary behavior is always the result of positive reinforcement and never seems to exist under punishment. It seems that when the person receives positive reinforcement even if it is a personal benefit, their behavior can be consistent and long-lasting. On the other hand, when there is negative reinforcement, the person may deliver extra effort but without the same consistency and duration. The threat of negative reinforcement causes the discretionary behavior to diminish to a level of mere compliance. Whilst both types of reinforcement can produce discretionary effort, only positive reinforcement will give the sustained consistency and duration that is of value to the organization.

The very best leaders understand this situation and ensure that they contribute and deliver positive reinforcement which is certain and immediate to their direct reports. Creating a discretionary behavior can be difficult in a hierarchical structure because the leader may have to work through several layers of management. Each layer creates its own challenges because each manager will filter information that is to be passed on to subordinates. The canny leader can circumvent this problem by, with the permission of the manager, passing on positive reinforcement directly to the people concerned. This can be done in concert with the manager and becomes a powerful force in delivering positive reinforcement when this is applied this way.

The first and foremost challenge for the leader is to create an environment that encourages discretionary behavior from his or her managers. Then of course, the second challenge is to gain the managers’ cooperation in delivering positive reinforcement to obtain the same discretionary behavior from their staff.

Whilst this might sound to be quite simplistic, it is, in fact, quite a difficult process. First of all, we have to ensure that all leaders and all managers have a good practical working understanding of human behavior. This is the step which is omitted frequently. Understanding human behavior is the most important tool of the leader and manager and therefore should receive the same or greater level of importance as finance.

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