How can you change unwanted employee behavior? What types of behaviors should managers target?
The first step of Aubrey C. Daniels’s management approach is to identify the desired behavior by clearly defining your objective. The objective may be to solve a problem, like frequently missed deadlines, or achieve a goal, like heightened productivity.
Keep reading to learn how to change employees’s behavior by identifying what you want out of them first.
Identify the Desired Behavior
To change employees’ behavior, Daniels recommends that you start by establishing the objective; then, work backward and decide which employee behaviors are most likely to lead to those desired results.
(Shortform note: Many experts agree with Daniels that backwards goal-setting is a powerful technique for achieving success. For example, in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey emphasizes the importance of defining your end goals before changing your behavior, as this allows you to focus your intentions and efforts in the proper direction. Covey recommends this approach to both businesses and individuals who are seeking greater success or fulfillment.)
Daniels notes that often, executives are the ones who identify objectives—they’re responsible for knowing the company’s mission and values, so they have a better idea of what the company needs employees to achieve. In contrast, managers are responsible for implementing the behavioral strategies needed for employees to achieve the desired objective.
(Shortform note: In Conscious Capitalism, John Mackey and Raj Sisodia draw a similar distinction between executives and managers. They write that executives supply the ideas that help companies make progress, while managers put those ideas into practice. Mackey and Sisodia argue further that to be effective, executives and managers must be enlightened—they should aim to build a business that improves the lives of everyone it touches, especially employees. If you want to integrate this wisdom with Daniels’s approach, consider Mackey and Sisodia’s tips for enlightened leaders and managers, which include developing your emotional intelligence, acting with integrity, and encouraging experimentation.)
As you decide which employee behaviors to target, Daniels suggests that you consider three factors. Let’s explore each.
Factor #1: The Behavior Should Be Achievable for the Employee
Daniels suggests that behavioral interventions are best suited for cases when an employee is undermotivated—when they’re capable of achieving excellence, but they don’t want to for one reason or another. Daniels’s methods are not as helpful when the employee is simply underequipped to perform the desired behavior. If they lack adequate know-how or resources, you should address that—for example, with additional training—before asking them to change their behavior.
(Shortform note: How can you tell the difference between an employee who’s undermotivated and one who’s underquipped? Here are a few signs to watch for: Undermotivated employees usually perform tasks correctly, but they only do the bare minimum. They might resist taking on new responsibilities, express dissatisfaction with work more often, and exhibit little enthusiasm. In contrast, underquipped employees often struggle to complete tasks correctly and consistently. They might frequently ask for help, make repeated errors, or show their frustration with the tools and training provided. Identifying these signs can help you determine whether to address motivational issues or provide additional training and resources.)
Factor #2: The Behavior Must Directly Contribute to the Objective
Daniel says that before you decide to target a specific behavior, you should consider how it contributes to the objective. If an objective depends on external factors beyond an employee’s control—like market conditions, organizational constraints, or actions by other departments—then targeting that employee’s behavior won’t garner the results you want to achieve. Instead, Daniels says you should focus on empowering employees to take ownership of behaviors that have a direct impact on the objective.
For example, say that your objective is to boost sales. It would be inappropriate to ask a salesperson to increase the number of customers entering the store, as that’s influenced by factors like location, advertising, and external demand—things that are largely out of their control. But you could consider targeting behaviors like whether the employee proactively reaches out to prospects, uses upselling and cross-selling techniques, and follows up on leads.
(Shortform note: Daniels’s recommendation to focus on behaviors that employees can control aligns with insights from Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows. Meadows argues that the world is made of complex systems where outcomes are influenced by multiple interconnected factors, many of which are beyond an individual’s control. In these cases, trying to target one isolated behavior without accounting for external variables can be ineffective. Instead, Meadows advises focusing on “leverage points“—areas within the system where small changes can have a significant impact. Similarly, by targeting employee behaviors that directly influence an objective, managers can better leverage their efforts and achieve more meaningful results.)
Factor #3: The Behavior Must Be Specific and Measurable
Daniels clarifies that you should ensure you’re targeting behaviors that are specific and measurable, rather than attitudes or personal qualities, which are subjective and hard to change from the outside. This ensures that both employees and managers have a clear understanding of what the desired behavior looks like and how progress can be tracked. For example, setting a goal to “improve customer service” is too broad and open to interpretation, whereas a goal like “respond to customer emails within two hours” is specific and measurable.
(Shortform note: Although Daniels says managers should avoid targeting attitudes or personal qualities, it’s OK to target problematic behaviors that are rooted in bad attitudes and personality traits. In The Asshole Survival Guide, Robert Sutton advises this approach, encouraging managers to impose negative consequences for rude employees as a way to discourage their bad behavior. Other experts concur, and echo Daniels in that when doing so, you should give precise feedback about the specific, measurable behavior you want to change. For example, if an employee constantly interrupts others, you might say, “I noticed you interrupted people five times during our last meeting. In the future, let others finish speaking before you jump in.”)
