42. Compensate success | |
Problem |
How do you best provide appropriate motivation for success?
|
Context |
The organization consists of a group of developers meeting tight schedules
in a high-payoff market.
|
Forces |
Schedule motivations tend to be self-fulfilling: a wide range of schedules may
be perceived as equally applicable for a given task. Schedules are therefore
poor motivators in general. Altruism and egoless teams are quaint, Victorian notions. Companies often embark on make-or-break projects; such projects should be managed differently from others. Disparate individual rewards motivate those who receive them, but they may frustrate their peers.
|
Solution |
Establish lavish rewards for individuals contributing to successful
make-or-break projects. The entire team (social unit) should receive
comparable
rewards, to avoid demoralizing individuals who might assess their value by
their salary relative to their peers'. "Very special" individuals might receive exceptional awards that are tied less strongly to team performance. A celebration is a particularly effective reward [Zuckerman and Hatala 1992].
|
Resulting context |
The result is an organization that focuses less on schedules and more on
customer satisfaction and systemic success. Such high rewards may cause
individuals to overextend
themselves, leading to personal stress and potential risks to the project.
|
Rationale | There is a strong correlation between wildly successful software projects and a very lucrative reward structure. But, most American reward mechanisms are geared more toward weeding out problems than toward encouraging solutions. A good working model is that of groups of doctors and lawyers, where managers are paid less than the employees. [DeBruler] |