| Copyright © 2004 by Michael Campbell |

Management is the act of directing, guiding, controlling,
administrating for a purpose. How one "manages" however,
is usually up to the individual.

Management of people, like teaching and training usually
relies on positive or negative reinforcement for ones
actions. Positive reinforcement can be thought of as
building trust, whereas negative reinforcement can be
thought of as spreading fear.

Fear focuses on what was done wrong, puts people down,
belittles them, makes them feel unworthy. Trust focuses on
what was done right, looks at how much was achieved, makes
people happy and more likely to perform even better the
next time.

Fear yells at the employees and makes public humiliation
a weapon. People will start avoiding public contact with
the manager. Trust talks quietly and never reprimands one
employee in front of another. Everything that is said
remains private, with one to one meetings held in a
separate room.

Fear says don't do this, or you're fired, don't do that, or
you're fired. Fear holds the job and never gives a sense it
is truly yours. Trust leads by example and says do this, do
that, gives power and decision making capability to the
employee, making them feel the job is truly theirs to do.

No one likes a manager that uses fear. Employee turnover is
likely to be very high. Employees probably won't care. They
just punch the clock to get a paycheck. Everyone likes
someone they can trust. With trust, employees are likely to
put in years of service and take pride in the work they do.

Fear leads to animosity and bitterness between employees.
They are not likely to develop friendships or good will
towards each other. They are likely to compete against each
other, rather than the true competition. Trust creates team
players, employees that work together for the common good of
the organization, realizing they are "in the same boat."
Together - as a company - they sink or swim.

Fear leads employees to say, it wasn't me, it was like that
when I found it, I don't know. Trust leads employees to be
accountable for their actions, to learn from mistakes, so
everyone can help each other from preventing the same
mistake from happening again.

Fear destroys creativity and freezes employees into
predictable mindless patterns, where they are afraid of
change and self improvement. Trust spawns creativity where
employees constantly think about better ways of doing their
jobs, to anticipate and adapt to change, and not be afraid
of failure, or trying new things.


As you can see, all behavior can be modified quite simply by
using positive reinforcement. If the reinforcement happens
at the same time as the action, it increases the likelihood
that the positive action will happen again.

By being a positive person, setting a good example, offering
encouragement, forgiving mistakes, talking quietly, people
are more likely to listen to you. Especially if you reward
them for a job well done. It could be a simple pat on the
back, a handshake, or other little bonus like getting off
early.

That's the most important thing of all, to recognize all the
achievements, even the small ones. Say good catch if someone
prevents a mistake. Say good job to a person in front of the
other employees and supervisors. For positive reinforcement,
recognition of an achievement, is the greatest motivator
of all.

Remember, fear is all about punishment. It is an absence of
love and compassion. It brings up painful emotions like
anxiety, apprehension and dread. It is impending danger and
the expectation of evil.

Trust is all about goodness. It is faith and belief in the
integrity, confidence, reliance, and friendship of another
person. It is certainty, dependence, assurance, an entirely
positive state of mind.

What type of teacher, trainer, parent and manager will
you be?


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by Michael Campbell
CEO Dynamic Media Corporation
http://www.internetmarketingsecrets.com
Successful online marketing strategies since 1988.

Michael Campbell has written several best-selling ebooks on internet
marketing, including Revenge of the Mininet, Clickin' it Rich and
Nothing but 'Net. For more articles like the one above, be sure to
subscribe to receive his free newsletter, "Internet Marketing Secrets."

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