The Top Ten Ways to De-motivate People as a Manager

2. Give people challenging assignments when they don’t have the skills for the work (This will lead to burn-out and poor morale after the thrill of the new assignment wears off)

3. Evaluate all work all the time (Measuring all work and giving immediate feedback will lead to people taking short-cuts just to get good scores and will sub-optimize the whole system)

4. Keep communications closed (When people do not have access to organizational information, they create their own, usually wrong and spread it around)

5. Reward all the time (People will lose interest in the work, especially if they enjoy it)

6. Have lots of silly contests and competitions (Treating adults like children will produce similar behavior)

7. Rank and rate people against each other (This is the best way to destroy relationships at work)

8. Have a annual performance review (This will serve to remind people that they are never really in control of their destiny at work)

9. Punish often (This is the best way to lower morale and help people to lose all joy at work)

10. Call people human capital but invest more in technology and machines) (This will remind people that they always come a distant second next to any new investment)

Now, that you have learned these rules, forget them! Be different! Organizations, our economy and our society need managers to be different. Everything we have tried to date have failed people. People view their work as just jobs to make ends meet. Joy has been lost at work. Is it any wonder why America doesn’t produce anything anymore? Is it any wonder why people can’t wait to retire? Be different as a leader and the world will be a better place!

I’ll be cheering you on as you go!

Craig Nathanson