Where’s your sticker?

Here’s a classic example of motivation gone wrong – a big Australian company that once placed large stickers on employee’s desks declaring them “not competent” (as told to me by a friend and ex-employee of the company).

Now, while most of us could look at this example and clearly see that it’s not going to do much for motivation, as a leader in your organisation, do you recognise when you’re doing this in other, subtler ways?

I know I don’t always.

A criticism might slip from my lips in front of the whole office when it could have been delivered directly to the person in question in private.

A well-deserved opportunity for praise may pass unnoticed, despite feeling great appreciation.

A hastily typed email may not convey the jovial tone in which a comment was meant in your head.

Now, you wouldn’t go and slap a “not competent” sticker on an employee’s desk – but are you a good enough leader to recognise if you just slammed a virtual one down in their inbox or mentally imprinted it on their forehead?

And more importantly, can you adjust the behavior for next time?

Kirsty Dunphey is the youngest ever Australian Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year, author of two books (her latest release is Retired at 27, If I Can do it Anyone Can) and a passionate entrepreneur who started her first business at age 15 and opened her own real estate agency at 21. Now Kirsty does lots of fun things which you can read about here. Her favourite current projects are Elephant Property, a boutique property management agency, Baby Teresa, a baby clothing line that donates an outfit to a baby in need for each one they sell andReallySold, which helps real estate agents stop writing boring, uninteresting ads.